It’s every NHL video game addict’s dream: the chance to craft a tailored-made squad at your choosing. Except tonight in Las Vegas, it’s not a gamer’s simulation, it’s for real.

The 2017 NHL Expansion draft, the first since 2000, will take place in “Sin City” with the newly minted Golden Knights selecting 30 players to join them for their maiden season.

In all, this will be the 13th expansion draft in the league history with the last being held in 2000 when the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild joined the NHL.

The first came in 1967, when the league doubled in size for six to twelve with the likes of Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Philadelphia and Los Angeles were created.

Arguably, the most successful draft came when the Florida Panthers became the second Florida team to join the league in 1994. Just two years later, they made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately falling to the Colorado Avalanche.

So, success can be had through process and many are expecting Vegas to be the best expansion team ever given salary cap restrictions and talent present in the league compared to past years.

How It Works

The NHL’s expansion draft is much different than the Entry Draft, which is scheduled to take place two days later on 23 June in Chicago.

Here are the basics of how this process works. Vegas will be selecting 30 players that are on current NHL rosters. They must take 14 forwards, nine defensemen, and three goalies - one player from each franchise.

Each club can protect nine players and that can come in two forms: seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goalie or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goaltender.

One other caveat in regard to selection: any first and second year players are automatically protected and so too are veterans with no-trade clauses.

Last weekend, clubs sent their protected lists to the league office, and on Sunday those lists were made public. With that knowledge, Vegas had a 72-hour window to being conducting player interviews with potential picks.

On Wednesday, June 21 at 10a.m. Vegas will submit its 30 selections to the league and they will be kept secret until they are revealed at the NHL Awards later that evening.

Any pre-arranged trades or selections must be kept secret per NHL rules.

Building A Team

Ever since general manager George McPhee and McCrimmon joined the organization last July, they’ve been conducting “Mock Drafts” to project what a potential squad might look like.

“This week is what we’ve been working toward all year,” he said.

The mock drafts take into consideration players they think will be made available, salary cap restrictions and of course the identity they want the team to take.

“There are a lot of moving parts and we won’t be able to answer a lot of our questions until we’re able to check out the entire landscape and make our player selections,” said McCrimmon.

Despite the uncertainty, there are a few quantities they want to control. First and foremost, as with any successful team in the NHL, speed will be a priority.

“Speed is going to be one of the traits we stress. We want to play up-tempo so any opportunity we have for speed and skill, we’ll look real hard at players like that,” said McCrimmon.

The Knights also want to make sure they’re adding talent that will be in the organization for a long time. Per the rules, any player made available in the draft must already be under contract for the 2017-18 season.

Vegas won’t want to build a team that’s front loaded with big-time talent under short-term, high-money deals and they’ll try to avoid taking a number of low-price players, just because they’re locked into more stable contracts.

Balance will be tricky, but it will be necessary.

“The template the NHL is using for this expansion will help us to be a team that competes every night,” McCrimmon continued.

“We’ll be balancing those interests with selecting players that will be with the organization and part of our future as it grows and develops.”

Two things, or should we say, players, are a definite for Las Vegas next year. The team signed Vadim Schipachyov to a two-year, $9 million dollar deal after he finished third in league scoring while winning the title with SKA St. Petersburg this past season.

McPhee said in a statement, "Vadim is a highly skilled playmaker who has had an impressive career in the Kontinental Hockey League."

According to McCrimmon, Schipyachov is the perfect piece to begin constructing the team.

“We’re looking for players everywhere and European free agents were one of those areas,” he began. “Schipyahov brings a lot of skill to our lineup and we want to be able to drive offense which he’s really demonstrated in the KHL.”

Joining Schipyachov is Reid Duke, the team’s first amateur signing. Duke spent several years in the WHL with the Lethbridge Hurricanes and Brandon Wheat Kings.

McCrimmon, who has owned the Wheat Kings since 1992, is excited that his former player is joining the new team in Vegas.

“We're delighted he's actually the first guy. He embodies everything that we want in hockey players and sets a great example for all the other young men who are going to sign.”

And, as amateurs go, the Knights have to think about the Entry Draft, which is just 48 hours after the Expansion Draft. Interestingly enough, in the minds of the Vegas folks the two drafts aren’t linked as closely as you’d think.

When asked if it’s difficult to create an amateur draft plan without an actual roster yet, McCrimmon says, “The entry draft and the expansion draft don’t overlap in anyway. There’s not NHL team that patterns their draft strategy off their current roster.”

Vegas owns the sixth overall pick and a total of seven selections next weekend.

No matter what transpires in the next few days, McPhee sums up Vegas’ mission quite nicely. “There’s really only one way to build a successful NHL team, and that is through a combination of strong drafting and development, effective trading and free-agent procurement.”

Players Are Excited

So, what about the players perspective? How would they feel playing for an expansion team?

First of all, this isn’t going to be a talent-less team made up of unwanted veterans and it should be ready to compete in the first year. So that should entice players.

And second, if you listen to McPhee, this team won’t hold any punches.

“It’s not about playing some stripped, sit-back style,” McPhee said. “Players don’t enjoy that. They want to play a game where they have some freedom in how they can move and how they think. Hockey should never be boring.”

McCrimmon says players are reacting positively to the organization’s message and the general mood around the league is trending upward.

“I feel strongly that players are really excited to play in Las Vegas,” he said. “The quality of leadership, facilities and climate in addition to the excitement of being the first professional team to call Las Vegas home are all attractive to the players.”

You can find Vegas roster playing its first preseason game in Vancouver on September 17 and its first official game at the T-Mobile Arena on September 26 against the L.A. Kings.

RYAN O'LEARY