From selection order to the draft lottery, our guide contains everything you need to know about the NHL Entry Draft.
The annual NHL Entry Draft is the most common way for new players to enter the league; each year, teams strategically pick from a pool of emerging talent to expand their ranks. In fact, some of the best NHL Draft classes of all time have gone down in history for giving hockey legends their first exposure to the biggest league in the sport.
In this guide, we’ll explain all you need to know about the NHL entry Draft. Whether you’re curious about the format or just wondering when you can watch it take place, we’ll help catch you up to speed on one of the most important events in the hockey calendar.
What is the NHL Draft?
The NHL Entry Draft is an annual event in which teams are allowed to add new talent to their ranks. Players can be Drafted from college, junior leagues, or professional leagues abroad, but not from other NHL teams. As such, the Draft has gained a reputation as the best place to keep an eye on future star players.
When is the NHL Draft?
The Draft is usually held in June every year, two or three months following the conclusion of the NHL season. That means the 2026 NHL Entry Draft is expected to be held in the summer of 2026, but an official date has yet to be announced.
In exceptional circumstances, the Draft has ended up being postponed – the most notable recent example of this being the 2020 edition. With the current season not finishing until late September due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Draft took place in early October.
Where does the NHL Draft take place?
The Draft is hosted by one of the 32 NHL franchises, with the venue determined by the league after a bidding process. In 2025, the Draft was hosted in Los Angeles, California, at the Peacock Theater, which marked the second time the Los Angeles Kings had been selected as entry Draft hosts.
Who is eligible for the NHL Draft?
Players from North America must be 18 years old by 15 September or under 20 years old by 31 December in the year of the Draft. Interestingly, American players who go unDrafted past the age of 20 become unrestricted free agents, meaning they are free to sign with any team.
Players from outside North America, however, must be Drafted before signing with an NHL team and are therefore eligible beyond the age of 20.
How many years are you eligible for the NHL Draft?
North American players are eligible to be Drafted for two years, starting from the year they turn 18, and ending in the year they turn 20. If a player is 21 years old by 31 December of a Draft year, they become ineligible for the entry Draft and must join the league through free agency or other means.
How does the NHL Draft work?
The 32 NHL franchises are entered into a selection order that is influenced by various factors. The selection process is weighted in favour of the teams that had the weakest performance in the previous NHL season, giving them a chance to boost their roster next year (which intends to keep the league evenly matched).
The basic order is therefore determined as follows:
The teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs.
The teams that made the playoffs but did not finish at the top of their division or make the Conference Finals.
The teams that finished top of their divisions but did not make the Conference Finals.
The teams that lose in the Conference Finals.
The team that lost in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The team that won the Stanley Cup.
The exact order of teams within each group is determined by their points tally from the previous regular season – the team with the lowest tally will pick first.
What is the NHL Draft lottery?
The selection order is further affected by the Draft lottery. The 16 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs in the previous season are entered into a lottery to determine who gets the first three picks of the Draft. Early Draft picks allow you to choose from a wider pool of players before other teams can steal them, so the closer a team can place to the first pick, the better.
The odds of winning the lottery are weighted towards the teams with the lowest point tallies from the previous season. The team with the worst record has an 18.5% chance of winning the lottery, while the team with the 15th-worst record has a 1% chance.
The teams that do not win one of the top three selections in the lottery remain in the order determined by regular-season records. For example, if a team registers the worst regular season record but does not win any of the top three selections in the lottery, they will pick fourth.
The lottery only determines the top three selections, ensuring that no team can drop more than three slots in the order.
How does the NHL Draft lottery work?
During the lottery, each team in the league is assigned a series of random four-number combinations. A lottery machine is then filled with 14 ping-pong balls, each assigned a unique number. Four of these balls are selected from the machine, and when their numbers are shown, the team that was assigned that combination receives its place in the Draft.
Although these combinations only use numbers from 0 to 9, extra balls are added to make the lottery process more difficult to manipulate. If any of these extra balls are selected, they are removed from the machine and the balls are randomised again until a valid number is chosen.
The number of combinations assigned to each team is influenced by its chances of winning. For example, if a team has an 18.5% chance of winning, they are assigned 18.5% of the possible number combinations.
How many rounds of the Draft are there?
Each Draft is comprised of seven rounds, meaning each team is allocated seven potential selections every year. This does not necessarily mean, however, that every team will Draft seven players in every Draft, teams are allowed to trade Draft picks.
How do NHL Draft trades work?
Draft picks are essentially commodities for NHL teams, and they can include future Draft picks as assets in trades. For example, one team may trade a player and a future first-round pick for a player from another team. This means that in every Draft, there are teams with the rights to more than one selection in a particular round, or no selections for a specific round.
Follow all the NHL action with Betway
Now that you know how the NHL Draft works, you can stay updated on the newest additions to your favourite NHL teams each year. And if you’re keen to learn more, discover how to bet on the NHL so you can follow the action from home, or read our guide to the Stanley Cup playoffs for an explanation of the postseason.
And once you’re ready to play along at home, head to Betway’s NHL betting page to find the latest odds on all the season’s biggest games!
