The NHL Draft that will begin Tuesday evening will be unlike any other in league history.
Not because left winger Alexis Lafreniere, who will go first overall to the New York Rangers, is such an outstanding prospect.
Or even because many scouts seem to regard the talent pool to be exceptionally broad and deep.
No, what separates this draft from all that proceeded it is that it will be conducted in October. During a pandemic. With the people making the selections scattered across North America.
In a normal year, member teams gather in a central location -- last year, it was Rogers Arena in Vancouver -- with more than a dozen executives, scouts and staffers from each club gathered around a rectangular table on the venue floor.
But very little about 2020 has been normal, so it's no surprise that this draft won't be, either.
Rather than convening in one city for a few days of meetings, trades and prospect-collecting, each team will set up operations in its home city and the draft will play out virtually.
For the Penguins, who are not scheduled to have a choice until the third round (No. 77 overall), Jim Rutherford will preside over a group consisting of director of amateur scouting Patrik Allvin, assistant general manager Jason Karmanos, director of hockey research Sam Ventura and hockey operations manager Erik Heasley.
The various regional scouts who usually have seats at the draft table will be involved remotely this time, offering input when a player with whom they are familiar emerges as a potential target for the Penguins.
"All of our scouting staff will be available by phone," Rutherford said. "When we're getting closer to our pick and we're zeroing in on a certain player, I'm sure that Patrik or one of those guys will be talking to the regional scout who scouted (the prospect under consideration) the most."
Assessments from those scouts could be especially significant if the Penguins, who will have one choice each in Rounds 3-6, identify a prospect they determine might be worth trading up to get.
They did that during Round 3 in 2019, when they gave Arizona picks Nos. 98, 151 and 207 in exchange for the 74th overall, which the Penguins invested in right winger Nathan Legare.
"If we see a player start to slide farther than we expected, that's when we start talking about (trading up)," Rutherford said. "Probably within about 10 picks of ours. You see a player on the board who you think, 'Wow, I'm surprised he's still there. He may not slide to us. Maybe we need to move up.' "
Barring a trade, the Penguins won't be actively involved in the draft until midday Wednesday, after about 2 1/2 rounds have passed. That means Rutherford and his staff will be able to observe and prepare for any technical glitches that develop because of the draft being conducted online, although Rutherford said he does not expect any to develop.
"There shouldn't be," he said.
Then again, this is 2020, when very little seems to go as expected.