Not long after the new Stanley Cup champions get to hoist the mighty trophy, teams turn their attentions to the next generation of stars vying for a place in NHL systems.
The NHL Entry Draft has been a staple since 1963, offering passage for North American and international players to the insular league.
To help you get to grips with this vital date on the North American hockey calendar, this is everything that you need to know about the NHL Draft.
What is the NHL Draft?
The NHL Entry Draft – better known simply as the NHL Draft – is the annual process by which every one of the 32 teams in the league takes it in turns to systematically select players who have declared themselves eligible.
As for its purpose, the NHL Draft is designed to give teams that performed the worst in the league the best chance of selecting the best talent of the year or the young player type that they need the most to improve as a unit.
How Does the NHL Draft Work?
The NHL Draft works by ordering teams based on the results of the NHL Draft Lottery and the regular season records and then allowing them to pick any player made eligible for that year.
Eligibility rules dictate that players in North America need to be between 18 and 20-years-old, while those being drafted from overseas – mainly from Europe – need to be 18 to 21-years-old.
There are seven rounds in the NHL Draft. As there are now 32 teams in the league, a total of 224 players will be picked by NHL teams, with those teams winning the exclusive rights to offer the prospect professional contracts.
How is the NHL Draft Order Determined?
The NHL Draft order is determined by the NHL Draft Lottery, postseason finishes, and also the team’s record from the regular season in the year before.
First, the 16 teams that don’t make it to the postseason go into the NHL Draft Lottery, which determines their picks in the NHL Draft.
Of the teams that get into the playoffs but don’t win their divisions or get to the Conference Finals, their picks are then stacked after the first 16 based on their regular season records.
Next in the order, it’s the division winners who didn’t get to the Conference Finals, then the Conference Finals losers, the team that lost in the Stanley Cup Finals, and then the eventual Stanley Cup winners.
What is the NHL Draft Lottery, and How Does it Work?
The NHL Draft Lottery is the process that determines which teams of the 16 that didn’t make it to the playoffs will get the first and second overall picks, as well as where their picks will land in the first half of each round.
Since 2022, there have been two lotteries in the NHL Draft Lottery. Each of them picks one team that will get to move by up to ten places higher in the draft than what their regular season record would allow.
With this process, only the 11th worst teams in the NHL can potentially get the first overall pick, but those with better records would still greatly improve their pick position by winning the NHL Draft Lottery in either round.
With 16 numbered balls in play, all of the possible four-ball combinations are randomly assigned to the teams in the NHL Draft Lottery, with more number combinations going to lower-placing teams.
Next, the 16 balls will be put into a lotto machine and drawn to create four-digit combinations. Whichever franchise that combination belongs to will win that part of the NHL Draft Lottery.
Once the first round of the NHL Draft Lottery lands on a winner, the numbered balls are returned to the lotto machine and another four-ball combination is drawn to determine the winner of the second round.
After those two moves have been made, all other teams are ordered by the inverse of their regular season records from the campaign prior, shuffling back places according to the new placements determined by the two lottery rounds.
What are the Odds for a Team to Get the No. 1 Pick in the NHL Draft Lottery?
For the first lottery of the NHL Draft Lottery, these are the odds that each team gets to potentially win the draw based on how many number combinations they’re assigned per their final standing in the league:
- Team 1: 18.5%
- Team 2: 13.5%
- Team 3: 11.5%
- Team 4: 9.5 %
- Team 5: 8.5%
- Team 6: 7.5%
- Team 7: 6.5%
- Team 8: 6%
- Team 9: 5%
- Team 10: 3.5%
- Team 11: 3%
- Team 12: 2.5%
- Team 13: 2%
- Team 14: 1.5%
- Team 15: 0.5%
- Team 16: 0.5%
Team 1 in the list above is the team with the worst NHL regular season record.
However, it should be noted that teams can only advance up to ten places up the NHL Draft order. This means that teams 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 of that order can’t land the No. 1 overall pick in the draft.
When and Where is the 2023 NHL Draft?
The 2023 NHL Draft will take place from June 28 to June 29, 2023, at the Bridgestone Arena. Hosted in Nashville, Tennessee, the event will see only the first round take place on June 28.
On June 29, the NHL Draft will run through Round 2 to Round 7. Prior to NHL Draft Day, however, the NHL Draft Lottery will be shown from 7 pm ET on May 8, 2023, to determine the top order of the draft.
In Round 1, teams are given three minutes to make their selection and submit it as being “in” before the next team gets their chance to make a pick.
That said, there tends to be a small break between picks in the first round for ceremony and player presentations.
Can Teams Move in the NHL Draft Order?
Teams can move around in the NHL Draft order by trading for the picks of other teams years, months, days, or even minutes before the draft calls for that pick to make a selection.
In the 2023 NHL Draft, the New York Islanders’ first-round pick was traded to the Vancouver Canucks in a package deal for Bo Horvat, and then the ‘Nuks moved it on to the Detroit Red Wings for Filip Hronek.
Through some crafty foresight and without conditions like the pick changing if it ends up being a top ten selection – which is often an included clause – a top team could be in with a shot of winning the Stanley Cup and the NHL Draft Lottery.
Usually, though, teams chasing a deep Cup run will trade away these valuable assets for improvements to their lines, as the New York Rangers did at +1200 to win outright in the NHL odds to acquire Vladimir Tarasenko.
What is the NHL Draft Combine, and Why Does it Matter?
The NHL Draft Combine is an annual event that some 100 draft-eligible prospects are invited to from across North America and Europe.
At the NHL Combine, prospects will undergo medical tests, partake in interviews, undergo fitness tests, and run other drills with their fellow draft hopefuls over four days.
What is an NHL Draft Big Board?
An NHL Draft big board is a way for pundits, experts, outlets, and even fans to create a kind of NHL Draft rankings, ordering the draft-eligible players in order of talent.
It can be a useful tool for seeing what scouts and other experts think of the class and who should be seen as the top talent in the NHL Draft regardless of position.
What is an NHL Mock Draft?
An NHL mock draft is a much more predictive form of NHL Draft rankings as, in a mock draft, the website, pundit, or fan picks where they think draftees will be taken based on the NHL Draft order.
Very much a form of NHL Draft simulation, it’s best to wait for the results of the lottery to know which teams will be picking where, as many will pick players that address distinct weaknesses in the prospect pool or lines.
Is the First Overall Pick in the NHL Draft Always a Success?
Overall, those taken No.1 in the NHL Draft tend to have good careers in the league. However, as they’re often drafted to one of the worst teams, it can take a few years to get going.
Even though injury stopped him from winning the Calder Trophy (which goes to the best rookie each season), 2015’s No.1 overall pick Connor McDavid is always a hot pick to get one or more points in the betting online when the Edmonton Oilers play.
McDavid’s establishing a career among the very best in the league’s history, and since 2000, the likes of Marc-André Fleury, Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, Nathan MacKinnon, Aaron Ekblad, and Auston Matthews have also become feared in their own right having gone first in the NHL Draft.
However, there have also been some notable NHL Draft busts from the No.1 spot, including Erik Johnson (2006), Greg Joly (1974), Patrik Stefan (1999), Rick DiPietro (2000), Alexandre Daigle (1993), and Nail Yakupov (2012).
Has a Rookie Ever Won the NHL MVP Award?
Technically, a rookie has never won the NHL MVP Award – the Hart Memorial Trophy. Not wanting to take away one from Wayne Gretzky’s illustrious mountain of records and accolades, but he wasn’t a rookie when he first won the Hart Memorial Trophy.
Gretzky did play his first NHL season in 1979/80, but he had already featured throughout the previous WHA season for the Edmonton Oilers professionally. Once the WHA folded, he came to the NHL as a sophomore skater in pro hockey with the same team.
This is validated by the fact that Gretzky wasn’t eligible for the Calder Trophy, with Ray Bourque instead taking the crown as the top first-year player.
Instead, Gretzky and Crosby tie the record as the youngest NHL MVP winners: both star players won the Hart Trophy when they were 19-years-old.
Who are the Top Prospects of the 2023 NHL Draft?
There’s a lot of debate as to who the top prospects of the 2023 NHL Draft are once you look below the anticipated No.1 overall pick. Connor Bedard is being hailed as the best talent since Connor McDavid and will certainly go first.
Here’s who many would consider to be in and among the other top prospects in the 2023 NHL Draft:
- Connor Bedard
- Matvei Michkov
- Leo Carlsson
- Adam Fantilli
- Zach Benson
- Will Smith
- Matthew Wood
- Axel Sandin Pellikka
- Dalibor Dvorsky
- Michael Hrabal (top goaltender)
With that being everything that you need to know about the NHL Draft, you can watch the futures of the league’s franchises change before your very eyes when NHL Draft Day comes around each year.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 29th March 2023
