Draft weekend is upon us! Two days from now, more than 200 players will have their rights selected by NHL teams with the hopes of lifting Lord Stanley’s Cup in the future. Teams will draft those players hoping they become key cogs on a contending team. There is plenty of intrigue heading into Friday night’s first round (7 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN+) outside of the first pick — the Celebrini name bar is all but stitched to the back of a San Jose Sharks jersey.

With Matvei Michkov coming over to North America sooner than expected, surely that bodes well for Ivan Demidov’s hopes of going second overall? And in what order do the defensemen get picked? Who are the biggest risers and fallers? How many trades will be made by Friday evening? Which team will go off the board?

There are so many questions heading into the draft, and only one thing is certain: There will be surprises.

The mock draft vastly differs from the Big Board. The latter is a pure ranking of players based on model outputs, viewings, industry intel and other factors. This close to the draft, the mock is what industry knowledge tells us might happen on Friday night in Las Vegas. Teams have varying lists every draft, but this year more than I can remember, the variance is staggering. A few teams have players in their top five that other teams have in the late teens. Truly, this comes down to how each team feels about each player.

As one of the game’s most feared sluggers, Shohei Ohtani‘s potential participation in the Home Run Derby is an annual topic of discussion heading into the All-Star break.

But Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts isn’t so sure that would be a good idea this season.

Roberts told reporters Wednesday that he would “probably not” want Ohtani to compete in the Derby because of the physical exertion of the event, which would require Ohtani to endure “rounds and rounds” of swings.

He expressed concern that the workload would present a risk because of Ohtani’s rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery.

“The one side of it, for him to be in the Home Run Derby, it’s great for baseball, clearly,” Roberts said before Wednesday night’s 4-0 win over the Chicago White Sox. “The other side of it, on the manager of the Dodgers side of it, you’re trying to be more cautious and appreciating the fact that there’s a lot more swings, higher intensity, you know, going through the rehab process with his elbow.”

Ohtani underwent right elbow surgery in September 2023 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels and is limited to hitting this season. He hit his NL-leading 25th home run Wednesday, a 437-foot drive that marked his third leadoff blast of the season, and also has an MLB-best .322 batting average.

When asked about the Derby following Tuesday night’s 4-3 win over the White Sox, Ohtani said that he has “feelings of wanting to do it” but would need the approval of his doctors and trainers as well as the team. A day later, he reiterated his thoughts.

“It hasn’t really changed much since yesterday,” Ohtani said after Wednesday’s win. “It’s something I have to talk to a lot of people about and make a decision.”

Roberts said that he and Ohtani would have a discussion about the Derby and how it might affect his rehabilitation. He acknowledged that he would ultimately defer to Ohtani.

“I don’t ever want to be the guy that says you can’t do it, because I wouldn’t want to have somebody tell me I couldn’t do it,” Roberts said. “But the surgery adds a different component.”

Roberts added: “No one can argue that a manager wouldn’t want their player to swing as hard as he can for essentially 45 minutes when [that player] is supposed to be on a break, right? But the other side is, obviously, he’s the biggest star in the game, and it makes [the Derby] more attractive.

“So I think whatever he decides, I’ll support it.”

Ohtani has competed in the Home Run Derby just once in his career, in 2021, when he lost to Juan Soto in a memorable swing off in the first round.

This year’s Home Run Derby will take place at Globe Life Field in Texas on July 15, one day before the All-Star Game.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

NEW YORK — The New York Yankees are suddenly staggering, losing nine of their past 12 games and four straight series after consecutive losses to the Mets. Wednesday’s defeat was especially ugly: a 12-2, rain-delayed pounding at Citi Field. The Yankees remain in first place by one game only because the second-place Baltimore Orioles are also in a rut.

That doesn’t mean Aaron Judge has stopped hitting.

The superstar slugger continued his rampage Wednesday, pushing both Yankees runs across with his 30th home run of the season in the Yankees’ 82nd game — the same pace he was on in 2022 when he finished with an American League-record 62 home runs.

Wednesday’s blast, a two-run shot off Danny Young, was Judge’s second home run of the two-game series — he hit a grand slam in Tuesday’s loss — and his 287th career home run, tying Bernie Williams for seventh most in franchise history.

“It’s great, but nothing to really focus on,” Judge said. “We got a season ahead of us, a lot of ballgames ahead of us.”

Judge joined Babe Ruth as the only players in franchise history with 30 home runs before July — Ruth reached the number twice, in 1928 and 1930. He is the third player in major league history with 30 home runs before the All-Star break three times in his career, joining Mark McGwire and Ken Griffey Jr. He is the seventh player in major league history with 30 home runs and 75 RBIs before July, and the first since Chris Davis in 2013.

Judge has made that history on the back of an otherworldly tear after a sluggish first month of the season. Since May 1, Judge is batting .379 with a 1.412 OPS, 24 home runs and 17 doubles in 49 games. He is hitting .309/.433/.712 with 60 walks in 80 games this season.

“It’s remarkable,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said. “Just more great at-bats tonight by him. Kind of running out of adjectives and superlatives and what have you. I mean, it’s amazing what he’s doing.”

Judge finished Wednesday 2-for-2 with a walk for his 20th multihit game since the start of May. He and Juan Soto combined to drive in seven of the Yankees’ nine runs in the two losses to the Mets as the rest of the offense continued to struggle, especially against left-handed pitching.

He could’ve inflicted more damage on Mets pitching Wednesday, but Boone replaced him with a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning with the Yankees trailing 11-2.

“I want every at-bat,” Judge said. “The game is never over. So I want every at-bat, but I’m not the manager. He makes the call, and I wasn’t upset at all.”