How Does the NHL Draft Work (The Ultimate Guide)

The majority of hockey players who make it to the National Hockey League do so through the annual NHL Entry Draft which was known as the NHL Amateur Draft from 1963 up until 1979.

What is the NHL Entry Draft?

The NHL Entry Draft is held every year to enable each of the league’s franchises to select the rights to eligible amateur players from across the world. During the Entry Draft, each club takes a turn to select a player with the franchises choosing in a predetermined order from 1 to 32. The Draft is one of the NHL’s most popular and important procedures and is typically held in a full arena with the event being televised live in North America.

Between 1963 and 1994, the order the franchises drafted players in was based on the final regular-season standings in the previous season. For example; the last-placed team drafted first and each team followed in order until the previous season’s top-placed team drafted last.

The NHL changed this format in 1995 when it introduced the NHL Draft Lottery. In this system each of the franchises that failed to make the playoffs in the previous season were entered into the Draft Lottery. The winner of the lottery was allowed to move up in the draft-selection order by a maximum of four spots and the other teams could move down in the selection order by just one spot.

For instance; if the Montreal Canadiens were originally scheduled to pick fifth in the Draft based on finishing fifth-last in the standings the previous season, the club would be able to choose first if it won the lottery. If the Canadiens were scheduled to pick sixth they would move up to second spot etc.

This system meant that just the five worst clubs from the previous campaign would have a shot at the first-overall pick. The teams with the worst regular-season records had the best chance of winning the lottery.

Between 2013 and 2015 the winner of the Draft Lottery automatically moved up to first place in the draft order while all teams above the lottery winner in the original order of the Draft would move down a spot. The league then changed things again between 2016 and 2020 as there were three separate lotteries which were for the first, second and third overall picks.

Any team which was originally scheduled to draft higher than one of the lottery winners would move down in the selection order by a maximum of three sports. The system was changed to two lottery winners in 2021 for the first and second picks while teams originally scheduled above them could move down in the order by two spots at the most.

In 2022, the two teams which won the lotteries could move up in drafting order by a maximum of 10 positions. This meant that the team which selected first overall had to finish in the bottom 11 of the league in the previous season. For example; if the 15th-place team won the first lottery it would be able to move up to fifth place in the selection order and the last-place team from the previous season would draft first overall.

Who Can Be Selected in the NHL Draft?

Specific amateur players are eligible to be selected by franchises in the NHL Draft.

• All North American-born players who are 18 years of age by September 15^th and under the age of 20 by December 31st of the draft year are eligible to be selected.
• International-born players are eligible at the same age but can be drafted up to the age of 21.

North American players who aren’t drafted by the time they turn 20 years old are considered to be (UFA’s) unrestricted free agents. In addition, players who were drafted two years earlier and never signed a contract with the club that drafted them may re-enter the Draft as long as they aren’t over the age of 20. Players over the age of 20 are automatically considered to be UFA’s and a player may enter the NHL Draft just twice.

For example; players who were born from January 1st, 2003 to September 15^th are eligible for the 2023 NHL Draft. Also international players who were born in 2002 are eligible as well as players who were drafted in 2021 and were born after June 30^th, 2003 but haven’t been signed by the team that drafted them.

How Many Rounds are in the NHL Draft?

There are currently seven rounds in the NHL Draft (2023), which means a total of 224 players may be selected as each team makes one pick per round. It’s possible for a team to make more than one selection per round if it has acquired another franchise’s draft pick in a trade.

How is the Order of the Draft Determined?

The order of the NHL Draft is decided by the final standings in the previous season as well as the NHL Draft Lottery.

The lottery determines the top 16 picks which are for reserved for the 16 teams which missed the playoffs. Picks 17 to 24  of the Draft are given to the teams which didn’t win their division in the regular season and who were eliminated in the opening two rounds of the playoffs.

These picks are based on reverse order of the team’s regular-season finish, meaning the team with the fewest points gets the highest pick and so forth. The regular-season division winners are awarded the 25^th to 28^th picks based on the same regular-season point criteria. The clubs which are eliminated during the Conference Finals are pick 29^th and 30^th while the Stanley Cup runner-up selects 31^st and the Stanley Cup champion drafts last at number 32.

How Does the Lottery Work?

The 2023 Draft Lottery was used to determine the final official draft order. Each of the 16 teams which missed the playoffs in the just-concluded season had different odds of selecting first or second overall in the Draft. The franchise which finished last in the regular season with the least amount of points had the best odds of winning the lottery. In this case it was the Anaheim Ducks with 58 points.

There were two lotteries held, one for drafting second overall and the other for drafting first. Each of the teams in the lottery is able to move up a maximum of 10 positions, meaning a team must finish in the bottom 11 of the standings to have a chance of drafting first overall. Also, a team may win the Draft Lottery just twice in the span of five years.

The lottery was introduced to prevent teams from purposely finishing last (tanking) in the league to automatically draft first overall.

These are the odds percentages of winning the Draft Lottery based on the position of the teams in the final standings:

The Chicago Blackhawks won the right to draft first overall in 2023 after entering the lottery as the 30th-placed team in the regular season and with odds of winning the lottery at 11.5 per cent.

Do You Get Paid After Getting Drafted?

Once a player is drafted by an NHL club he must sign a contract before being eligible to play in the league. Players who are under the age of 25 and entering the league must sign a two-way entry-level contract (ELC).

An entry-level deal must pay the player at least the minimum NHL salary but it also comes with a $925,000 maximum salary. The entry-level contracts for players between the ages of 18 and 21 must be three-year deals while those aged 22 to 23 are signed to two-year contracts and 24-year-old’s are given one-year deals.

Players aged 19 and under who are on entry-level contracts are allowed to appear in a specific number of NHL contests without having their entry-level deal kicking in. Once a player appears in 10 NHL games however, his contract will begin. This means a player may appear in up to nine games without the team having to use up a year of the contract.

This scenario is allowed to take place twice for a player unless he is 19 years of age on September 15^th of the first year of their contract and reaches the age of 20 anytime from September 16^th to December 31st.

• The minimum NHL salary from 2023/24 to 2025/26 is $775,000.
• The entry-level contract maximum for players drafted in 2023 is $950,000 per season while it raises to $975,000 in 2024 and 2025 and in 2026 it reaches $1,000,000.
• If the player plays in the minor leagues the compensation in 2023 is $82,500 while it raises to $85,000 in 2024 and 2025 and $87,500 in 2026.

The good news for those who are just entering the NHL is that they are allowed to be given performance bonuses and signing bonuses with an entry-level contract. However, signing bonuses aren’t allowed to be more than 10 per cent of the player’s annual salary. Performance bonuses are capped at $2.85 million, which is also the total salary of a three-year entry-level deal, and they count toward the club’s salary cap.

Where Do Most NHL Players Get Drafted from?

Most players who are drafted into the NHL come from various leagues throughout North America and Europe.

These include:

• USA Hockey National Team Development Program;
• CHL (Canadian Hockey League) which consists of the OHL (Ontario Hockey League), WHL (Western Hockey League) and the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League);
• NCAA collegiate and university hockey;
• Major European Junior Leagues in nations such as Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland, Slovakia, Austria and Russia. These include the Swiss Elite Junior A and Junior B Leagues, Czech Under-20, Russian MHL, the Swedish J20 Elit and J20 SuperElit and the Finland Jr A SM-Liiga.

Are Draft Picks Tradeable in the NHL?

NHL teams have the right to trade current and future draft picks to each other when conducting player trades and this is a very common occurrence throughout the league.

How Long Does a Player’s Draft Rights Last and What Happens If They Are Not Signed?

An NHL team has two years to sign a North American player after drafting him. He may then re-enter the draft after the two years are up as long as he’s under the age of 20 when the draft takes place. He may decide not to enter the draft if he chooses though and can become an unrestricted free agent.

There’s an exception to this rule for NCAA college players as an NHL team retain the rights to college player that have been drafted until 30 days after the player leaves college.

However, the rules for European players differ as an NHL team retains the exclusive rights to drafted European players for four years. The rules concerning drafted players rights are in Section 8 of the current NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement.

Can You Play in the NHL Without Being Drafted?

Yes, players who were never drafted by an NHL team and who have reached the age of 20 are considered to be (UFAs) unrestricted free agents. This means they are allowed to sign a contract with any club which offers them one.

What Time of Year is the Draft?

The NHL Draft usually takes place shortly after the Stanley Cup has been awarded and before free agency kicks in on July 1^st. However, this has altered slightly some years due to unforeseen circumstances such NHL lockouts and the Covid 19 pandemic etc.

The dates of the past 10 NHL Drafts are as follows:

List of the last 20 First Overall NHL Draft Picks:

What is an NHL Expansion Draft?

The NHL typically holds an expansion draft when the league expands and accepts new franchises. In general, each existing club will be allowed to “protect” a specific number of players and those who aren’t protected will be available for the expansion teams to select in the draft.

The specific rules concerning the draft may vary each time a draft is held. The most recent of the NHL’s 13 total expansion drafts took place in 2021 when the Seattle Kraken joined the league.

How Does the Expansion Draft In The NHL Work?

The last expansion draft took place in July, 2021. Each of the existing teams were allowed to make a lost of either seven forwards, three defencemen and one goaltender or eight total skaters (forwards or defencemen) as well as a goaltender. This list means the players who are on it aren’t allowed to be taken in the draft by the expansion team.

Players who had no-movement clauses in their contracts at the time of the draft had to be protected by their club unless whey were willing to waive the clause. In addition, all first and second-year pro players as well as the team’s unsigned draft picks were automatically protected in the draft and didn’t have to be included on the club’s protected list.

There were other specific clauses in the draft as each team had to leave one defenceman and two forwards who were under contract and had played at least 40 games in the previous season or played at least 70 games in the previous two seasons unprotected.

The goaltenders who were left unprotected had to be under contract or be a restricted free agent when their contract expired. If a goaltender was about to become a restricted free agent goalie, the he must have been given a qualifying offer before the draft. Also, injured players who missed more than 60 consecutive games at the end of the previous season weren’t allowed to enter the draft unless the NHL approved it.

The Seattle Kraken chose one player from each of the existing teams except the Vegas Golden Knights as they were exempt from the draft as they franchise had just joined the league in 2017. Seattle was directed to select 14 forwards, nine defencemen and three netminders with 20 of the players having to be under contract for the upcoming season. In addition, the chosen players had to have a combined salary of between 60 and 100 per cent of the previous year’s salary cap ceiling.

What are Considered Some of the Most Successful First Overall NHL Draft Picks Ever? 

There have been thousands of hockey players drafted into the NHL since 1963 with some of them becoming superstars and others simply not working out. Some of the best first-overall picks include:

• 1970 – Buffalo Sabres – Gilbert Perreault
• 1971 – Montreal Canadiens – Guy Lafleur
• 1973 – New York Islanders – Denis Potvin
• 1981 – Winnipeg Jets – Dale Hawerchuk
• 1984 – Pittsburgh Penguins – Mario Lemieux
• 1985 – Toronto Maple Leafs – Wendel Clark
• 1987 – Buffalo Sabres – Pierre Turgeon
• 1988 – Minnesota North Stars – Mike Modano
• 1989 – Quebec Nordiques – Mats Sundin
• 1990 – Quebec Nordiques – Owen Nolan
• 1991 – Quebec Nordiques – Eric Lindros
• 1997 – Boston Bruins – Joe Thornton
• 1998 – Tampa Bay Lightning – Vincent Lecavalier
• 2001 – Atlanta Thrashers – Ilya Kovalchuk
• 2002 – Columbus Blue Jackets – Rick Nash
• 2003 – Pittsburgh Penguins – Marc-Andre Fleury
• 2004 – Washington Capitals – Alexander Ovechkin
• 2005 – Pittsburgh Penguins – Sidney Crosby
• 2007 – Chicago Blackhawks – Patrick Kane
• 2008 – Tampa Bay Lightning – Steven Stamkos
• 2009 – New York Islanders – John Tavares
• 2011 – Edmonton Oilers – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
• 2013 – Colorado Avalanche – Nathan MacKinnon
• 2015 – Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid
• 2016 – Toronto Maple Leafs – Auston Matthews
• 2018 – Buffalo Sabres – Rasmus Dahlin
• 2019 – New Jersey Devils – Jack Hughes

What are Some of the Most Disappointing First Overall NHL Draft Picks Ever?

Not ever first-overall draft pick is going to become a superstar. Some players carve out solid careers for themselves but don’t quite reach the star level. Others, such as those listed below, could probably be labelled as major disappointments for one reason or another after being selected first overall:

• 1964 – Detroit Red Wings – Claude Gauthier
• 1965 – New York Rangers – Andre Veilleux
• 1967 – Los Angeles Kings – Rick Pagnutti
• 1974 – Washington Capitals – Greg Joly
• 1982 – Boston Bruins – Gord Kluzak
• 1983 – Minnesota North Stars – Brian Lawton
• 1993 – Ottawa Senators – Alexandre Daigle
• 1999 – Atlanta Thrashers – Patrik Stefan
• 2000 – New York Islanders – Rick DiPietro
• 2012 – Edmonton Oilers – Nail Yakupov

Jamie

Jamie is the founder of Hockey Response and he is the chief writer/ lead editor. Jamie has been playing hockey for over 20 years. He was the defenseman of the year in NL and has played Jr A level hockey. Jamie has coached several kids hockey camps and he was the assistant coach of the Western Kings.