Penguins apply to host 2012 NHL draft
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The Penguins drafted defenseman Joe Morrow, center, in the first round of last month's draft with was hosted at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
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The Penguins appear to have a strong chance to show off Consol Energy Center to the hockey world next summer.
The team has applied to play host to the 2012 NHL draft, team vice president Tom McMillan confirmed Tuesday, and it is believed Pittsburgh is likely to be awarded the event.
An NHL spokesman said the league can't add any information, including a timetable for when the 2012 draft site will be announced.
"It's like a convention of hockey," McMillan said of the draft, which draws management from every team, top NHL executives, international media, agents and many prospects hopeful of hearing their name called.
In the NFL, by contrast, teams typically work from a "war room" in their city rather than gather on the floor of a singular venue. The NHL has the noted tradition of having prospects join team brass on stage to don a team jersey when they are selected.
There usually are trades, sometimes significant ones, and NHL general managers often can be seen conferring on the floor of the arena.
The draft is held in late June over two days, beginning with a prime-time first round. It was in St. Paul, Minn., last month.
The Penguins, McMillan noted, consistently have expressed an interest in bringing large events to the arena, which opened 11 months ago. That also would include at some point the NHL All-Star Game, which will be in Ottawa in January 2012.
Non-NHL national events scheduled for Consol Energy Center include second- and third-round games of the men's NCAA basketball tournament next March and the NCAA hockey Frozen Four in 2013.
Separate from the allure of a new arena, the Penguins were the home team Jan. 1 for the outdoor Winter Classic at Heinz Field and participated in NHL Premiere in 2008, opening the season in Sweden.
McMillan said being chosen for such events "is a tribute to the city and the fans," but a chance to bring the draft here for the first time since 1997 no doubt hinged on a new venue replacing Mellon/Civic Arena.
"We weren't going to get those types of events in Mellon Arena," McMillan said.
If the Penguins are awarded the draft, McMillan said the team will look to make it "a weeklong celebration" with ancillary activities as they did when they were part of the Winter Classic.
Tickets to the draft are free and subject to a distribution system.
NOTES -- The Penguins, further adding depth at forward, signed Jason Williams to a one-year, two-way contract worth $600,000 at the NHL level. Williams, 30, has 93 goals, 225 points in 447 career NHL games over the past 10 seasons, with occasional stints in the minor leagues. He had two goals, five points in 27 games with Dallas last season after spending the first half of the season in the American Hockey League. Williams, a right-handed shot, can play all three forward positions. ... They also signed defenseman Scott Harrington, their second-round pick in the 2011 NHL draft. Harrington, 18, who participated earlier this month in the club's development camp, signed a three-year, entry-level contract. He will spend the 2011-12 season back in junior hockey with London of the Ontario Hockey League, and the contract will kick in when he turns pro.
First Published July 27, 2011 12:00 am
