While only a handful of players start their professional careers in the NHL after being drafted, the path to the Stanley Cup starts at the draft.
Before the Panthers won back-to-back championships with the help of outside additions Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand, selections of Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad helped set the tone and take Florida from downtrodden to playoff contender.
Each year, all 32 teams hope to either set a similar foundation for themselves or keep the pipeline of talent flowing with impact additions.
The Sporting News takes you inside the NHL Draft and how it works.
MORE: How does the NHL Draft Lottery work?
What is the NHL Draft?
The NHL welcomes its newest wave of players at the annual draft each year. The draft is typically held in late June between the end of the Stanley Cup Final and start of free agency.
NHL teams hold the rights of any player they select, and those rights extend for two years. Players who compete in NCAA hockey can, however, continue to play at the collegiate level before signing with the team that drafted them.
NHL Draft rules
Number of rounds and picks
The NHL Draft spans seven rounds, which amounts to 224 total picks. Since the Kraken entered the league, all but one draft has spanned 224 picks. The vast majority of players drafted do not jump right to the NHL.
Eligibility rules
To be draft-eligible, players must turn 18 by Sept. 15 of the current year. Only North American players 20 years old or younger or international players 21 or younger are eligible to be drafted.
How is draft order determined?
The order of picks is determined by record from the previous season, with the top of the draft determined by a lottery. The lottery determines the top two selections in the draft, with the exception that a team can only move up a maximum of 10 slots, and the rest of the teams are ordered by record from worst to best.
MORE: Complete list of every Stanley Cup winner in history
How does the NHL Draft Lottery work?
The NHL Draft Lottery determines the top two picks in the draft order. All 16 teams that miss the playoffs — or the team that owns a non-playoff team’s pick — are included in the lottery. The lottery is weighted to give teams with the worst records a higher chance of landing the No. 1 or No. 2 pick.
A team can only jump a maximum of 10 slots if it’s drawn during the lottery, and that scenario played out in 2025 when the Utah Mammoth were drawn for the No. 2 pick but were only able to slide up to No. 4.
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NHL Draft order
The NHL Draft is comprised of seven rounds, each of which has 32 picks in a traditional year.
Here is the order for the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft:
| Pick | Team |
| 1 | Islanders |
| 2 | Sharks |
| 3 | Blackhawks |
| 4 | Mammoth |
| 5 | Predators |
| 6 | Flyers |
| 7 | Bruins |
| 8 | Kraken |
| 9 | Sabres |
| 10 | Ducks |
| 11 | Penguins |
| 12 | Rangers |
| 13 | Red Wings |
| 14 | Blue Jackets |
| 15 | Canucks |
| 16 | Canadiens |
| 17 | Canadiens |
| 18 | Flames |
| 19 | Blues |
| 20 | Blue Jackets |
| 21 | Senators |
| 22 | Flames |
| 23 | Hurricanes |
| 24 | Flyers |
| 25 | Flyers |
| 26 | Predators |
| 27 | Kings |
| 28 | Sharks |
| 29 | Blackhawks |
| 30 | Predators |
| 31 | Capitals |
| 32 | Jets |
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NHL Draft timeline
The NHL Draft process includes the lottery, scouting combine and the event itself. Here was the timeline for the 2025 NHL Draft:
- May 5: NHL Draft Lottery
- June 6-7: NHL Draft Combine
- June 27: NHL Draft round 1
- June 28: NHL Draft rounds 2-7
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NHL Draft changes over the years
- 1963: First NHL Draft held
- 1980: Age minimum lowered to 18
- 1980: NHL Draft opens to public
- 1984: NHL Draft televised for first time
- 1995: NHL introduces draft lottery
- 2025: NHL decentralizes draft
The first NHL Draft was held in 1963. The draft was renamed from amateur draft to entry draft in 1979, and major changes were made in 1980 when the age minimum was lowered from 20 to 18 and the league started allowing the public to attend the selections. In 1984, the NHL Draft was televised for the first time.
Until 1995, the order was determined simply by record, with the worst teams at the top. The implementation of a lottery gave more teams a chance at the No. 1 pick, and the weighting system used to determine odds has been changed multiple times since.
In 2025, the NHL is decentralizing the draft for the first time. That means each team’s braintrust can operate remotely during the event, rather than general managers convening on the floor of the draft and all making decisions in one place. The draft remains a public event, however.
