The 2025 NHL Draft will begin on Friday, June 27, but the annual event will have a slightly different look in 2025.
Just a week after the Panthers won their second consecutive Stanley Cup, the league looks to the future, as top prospects like Matthew Schaeffer and Michael Misa will hear their names called.
This year’s draft will be held in a familiar city, but it will be different than it was in past seasons — and fans can expect the event to look a whole lot different.
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Here is the location for the 2025 NHL Draft.
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Where is the 2025 NHL Draft?
The 2025 NHL Draft will take place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The last time the draft was held in California was 2010 when the event took place at the Staples Center.
Most of the likely first-round picks are expected to be in attendance for the event and will get to walk across the stage when their names are called. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman will be the emcee for the first round beginning Friday at 7 p.m. ET.
Why are teams not at 2025 NHL Draft?
This year’s NHL Draft is going to look very different than in years past, with the league shifting to a more decentralized format. While many of the prospects will be attending in person, the teams will be operating from their headquarters in their respective cities.
The 2025 draft will look a lot like the 2020 and 2021 drafts that were conducted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams themselves voted to decentralize this year’s draft, with many citing an increased focus away from all of the festivities.
“Some people like it; some people don’t,” Kings president Luc Robitaille said. “I put a lot of value on what scouts do in the season and the traveling and so forth, so the less distraction you have when you’re in the room when it’s time to make a decision that can impact a franchise for 10-plus years, I think it’s very important. Is the show itself, being on the floor and talking to everyone, fun? Yes. But at the end of the day, that draft every year could make or break a franchise.”
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Where is 2026 NHL Draft?
The NHL has not chosen a location for the 2026 draft yet. Regardless of where it is held, the return of the decentralized format for the event is a strong possibility.
“I’ve already heard a lot of people who voted for this saying, ‘Well, maybe we should go back to that,’” Bettman said. “At some point over the summer, we’ll poll the clubs again. We can go either way. We’re easy. It’ll really be the preference of the clubs.”
