Did you ever wonder how NHL teams know who they'll be drafting in time to have a jersey printed for the lucky winner?

No, it's not ESP, it's Velcro.

Most teams narrow their draft selections down to between 15 and 20 players, then have nameplates made with velcro strips or an adhesive that will stick to the pick's new sweater. Some teams, like Edmonton, are paranoid. The Oilers' first pick was 19th overall, so they assembled 28 nameplates just to be safe. Other teams, like Carolina, Washington, Dallas and Pittsburgh just don't want to get involved and don't print any. "Our first pick was 58th overall," said Caps PR guy Brian Potter. "We would have had to print a hundred of those things."

If the teams that printed nameplates are lucky, their most coveted prospects will last into the later rounds and each pick will get to take pictures, conduct interviews and go on TV with his name on the back of his new sweater. If not, they just get the standard "01" instead.

All that is dependent on the adhesive's staying power.

While leaving the arena, second-overall pick Jason Spezza was waiting outside the National Car Rental Center for a ride back to his hotel with his family. In the Florida humidity, his nameplate had begun to curl at the edges and was threatening to fall off.

"Oh well," shrugged Spezza. "I guess I'll have a real one soon enough."

Lindsay Berra covered the NHL draft for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.