How the NHL entry draft works: A complete guide

Growing up, I’ve always been fascinated by the moment a young player’s name gets called at the NHL Draft. The nervous kid in his team’s jersey, the handshake with the commissioner, the jersey going over his head for the first time. I find the whole process — the scouting, the evaluation, the gamble — completely captivating. After years of following it closely, here’s everything you need to know about how it works.

What Is the NHL Entry Draft?

The NHL Entry Draft is the annual process by which all 32 NHL franchises select the rights to amateur players. Once a team drafts a player, that team holds the exclusive right to sign them to an NHL contract — no other team can negotiate with them.

The draft takes place in late June, after the Stanley Cup Playoffs have concluded. It runs for seven rounds, with each of the 32 teams receiving one pick per round, for a total of 224 selections.

Who Is Eligible for the NHL Draft?

To be eligible for the NHL Entry Draft, a player must meet these age requirements:

• North American players: Must turn 18 on or before September 15 of the draft year, and must not turn 21 before December 31 of that same year.
• International players: Players from outside North America over the age of 20 are also eligible, even if they have not previously been drafted.

If a player is older than the eligible window, they can bypass the draft entirely and sign with any NHL team as an unrestricted free agent.

Players enter the draft from three main pools:

1. Major junior hockey — The Canadian Hockey League (CHL), which includes the Western Hockey League (WHL), Ontario Hockey League (OHL), and Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), plus the United States Hockey League (USHL)
2. European leagues — Both junior and senior professional leagues across Sweden, Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, and others
3. NCAA college hockey — American university programs

How Does the Draft Order Work?

Rounds 2 Through 7

These rounds are straightforward: teams pick in reverse order of their regular-season record. The team with the worst record picks first, the team with the best record picks last. The same order repeats in each of rounds 2 through 7.

Round 1: The Draft Lottery

Round 1 is more complicated — and more dramatic. Rather than simply handing the first overall pick to the worst team in the league (which would reward losing), the NHL uses a weighted lottery system designed to prevent tanking.

Here’s how the round 1 order is determined:

1. All 16 teams that missed the playoffs enter the lottery
2. Teams with fewer points get more lottery entries — so the worst team has the best odds, but no team is guaranteed anything
3. Three teams are selected through the lottery and can move up a maximum of 10 spots from their standing
4. The remaining 13 non-playoff teams are slotted by their regular-season record, worst to best, filling picks 4 through 16
5. The 16 playoff teams fill out the remaining picks based on playoff performance and regular-season record:
   • Teams eliminated in the first round pick earlier
   • Division winners who didn’t reach the conference finals pick later
   • Conference finals losers pick 29th and 30th
   • The Stanley Cup runner-up picks 31st
   • The Stanley Cup champion picks last — 32nd overall

What Are the Lottery Odds?

The weighted lottery gives every non-playoff team a chance at the top pick, but the odds are heavily skewed toward the worst teams:

This system was specifically designed to prevent tanking — the practice of teams intentionally losing games late in a season to secure the first overall pick. The most famous example of tanking predates the lottery: Pittsburgh lost their final game of the 1983–84 season to guarantee last place and the right to draft Mario Lemieux, who went on to become one of the greatest players in NHL history.

How Does the NHL Draft Work for College Players?

This is one of the most frequently asked questions about the draft — and one of the most misunderstood.

The short answer: College players can be drafted before they ever play a single NCAA game, and being drafted does NOT affect their college eligibility — as long as they follow the rules.

Here’s what college players need to know:

You can be drafted and stay in college. When an NHL team drafts a college player, the player is not required to sign an NHL contract immediately. They can return to their NCAA program and continue playing college hockey with full eligibility intact.

To keep your NCAA eligibility after being drafted, you cannot:

• Sign a professional contract of any kind
• Hire a certified player agent (this alone voids NCAA eligibility)
• Accept any payment related to your hockey career

How long does a team hold your rights? An NHL team holds the rights to a drafted college player until 30 days after the player leaves school — whether that’s after two years, three years, or upon graduation after four years. After those 30 days expire, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team they choose.

Some players have used this strategically. A handful of NCAA players have completed four years of college, waited out the 30-day window after graduation, and signed as unrestricted free agents with the team of their choice rather than the team that drafted them. It’s rare, but it happens.

What if you’re not drafted out of college? Undrafted players between the ages of 20 and 27 can sign a contract with any NHL team as a free agent. The team then holds their rights until age 27, at which point they become unrestricted free agents again.

The junior-to-college path also exists. Some players play junior hockey, get drafted by an NHL team, and then choose to attend college rather than turn pro immediately. They follow the same rules — no agent, no pro contract, rights held until 30 days post-graduation.

Can Teams Trade Their Draft Picks?

Yes — and this happens constantly. Draft picks are valuable assets that teams trade to acquire current NHL roster players.

The most common time for pick trading is around the NHL trade deadline in late February/early March, roughly six weeks before the playoffs. Playoff-contending teams will trade future first or second round picks to acquire established players who can help them win now. Teams out of contention are often happy to receive those picks in return.

A legitimate top-10 first round pick can be the centerpiece of a major trade. Picks in the latter half of the first round are more common trade chips for mid-level player moves.

What Happens After You’re Drafted?

You Don’t Automatically Make Money

Being drafted does not mean you’re an NHL player, or that you receive any payment. You’ve been selected, but you still have to earn a contract.

Most drafted players return to their junior, college, or European league to continue developing. The NHL team will monitor their progress and decide whether to sign them to a contract — or let their rights expire.

Entry-Level Contracts

When a team decides a prospect is ready, they sign them to an entry-level contract (ELC). The standard ELC is a three-year deal with a salary floor set by the collective bargaining agreement, plus performance bonuses for players who exceed expectations.

Players on entry-level contracts can still be assigned to the AHL (the NHL’s primary development league) to continue their development without burning years of their ELC if the team decides they’re not quite NHL-ready.

What If a Team Never Signs You?

• For players in junior leagues or Europe: a team has two years from the draft to sign them to an entry-level contract. If no deal is signed, the player returns to the draft pool (if still age-eligible) or becomes an unrestricted free agent.
• For college players: the team holds rights until 30 days after leaving school, regardless of when they were drafted.
• If rights expire without a signing, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team.

What Are the Chances of Actually Making the NHL?

There’s an honest answer and a comforting one. The honest answer: most drafted players do not become NHL regulars.

Here’s the breakdown by round (based on research tracking players who played at least 100 NHL games):

Even in the first round, one in three picks never sticks in the NHL for 100 games. By round 3, you’re looking at roughly 5-in-6 players who won’t make it as regulars.

That said, late-round gems do exist. Some of the most famous:

• Pavel Datsyuk — 171st overall (6th round), 2001. Went on to win two Stanley Cups and two Lady Byng trophies with Detroit.
• Henrik Zetterberg — 210th overall (7th round), 1999. Conn Smythe winner, Stanley Cup champion, Detroit captain.
• Daniel Alfredsson — 133rd overall (6th round), 1994. Ottawa franchise player, Hockey Hall of Famer.
• Nikita Kucherov — 58th overall (2nd round), 2011. Led the NHL in scoring in 2018–19 and won the Stanley Cup in 2021.

The late-round success stories are the ones everyone remembers — but for every Datsyuk in the 6th round, there are dozens of players who never played a meaningful NHL game.

Who Are the #1 Overall Picks? (2004–2024)

The first overall pick is the most scrutinized decision in the draft. Here’s how the last two decades have played out:

The top picks are typically superstars — Ovechkin, Crosby, McDavid, Matthews, Bedard. There are misses (Yakupov never became the player scouts projected), but first overall picks at least reach the NHL at a much higher rate than later picks.

NHL Draft Strategy: What Teams Are Actually Looking For

NHL scouts evaluate prospects across several dimensions:

Skating is the most fundamental skill — speed, agility, and edge work that’s difficult to teach at the professional level. Shooting and passing round out offensive tools. Defensive ability matters for all positions, not just defensemen.

Beyond skills, scouts weigh hockey IQ heavily — a player’s ability to read the game, make quick decisions, and be in the right position. Modern scouting also incorporates analytics: zone entries, scoring chances generated, and puck possession numbers.

Character factors — work ethic, coachability, and maturity — carry significant weight, especially for players expected to sign and develop over several years.

Position-based strategy patterns:

• Centers first. The prototypical big, two-way center who can play on the first line is the most coveted player type in any draft. GMs consistently prioritize centers because the position is so hard to fill and so important to winning.
• Goalies go later. Despite being crucial to team success, goalies are notoriously difficult to project. They develop slowly — most NHL starters don’t peak until their mid-to-late 20s — and scouting them at 18 is an inexact science. Top goalies like Carey Price and Marc-André Fleury were taken in the first round, but most teams wait until round 2 or 3.
• International players come with variables. European players, particularly Russians, may face league and contract obligations in their home leagues that complicate or delay their arrival in the NHL.

Is the Draft the Only Way to Get Into the NHL?

No. Players can also enter the NHL as undrafted free agents.

An undrafted player between ages 20 and 27 can sign with any NHL team. That team then holds their rights until age 27, at which point they become unrestricted free agents again. Players over 27 can sign wherever they want from day one.

Some notable players who reached the NHL without being drafted: Martin St. Louis, Artemi Panarin, Marc Giordano, Adam Oates, and Curtis Joseph.

Key Takeaways

• The NHL Entry Draft runs seven rounds, with all 32 teams receiving one pick per round (224 total selections)
• Non-playoff teams enter a weighted lottery for round 1 picks; worse records get better odds, specifically designed to prevent tanking
• The Stanley Cup champion picks last — 32nd overall
• College players can be drafted and keep their NCAA eligibility, as long as they don’t sign a pro contract or hire an agent
• A team holds the rights to a drafted college player until 30 days after they leave school
• Entry-level contracts are standard three-year deals signed when a team decides a prospect is ready
• Only about two-thirds of first round picks ever play 100 NHL games — the odds drop sharply in later rounds
• Late-round steals (Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Kucherov) exist, but they’re the exceptions, not the rule

Frequently Asked Questions

How many rounds are in the NHL Draft?

Seven rounds. With 32 teams each receiving one pick per round, there are 224 total selections.

When is the NHL Draft held?

In late June, after the Stanley Cup Finals have concluded.

Can a college player be drafted and still play college hockey?

Yes. Being drafted does not affect NCAA eligibility. The player simply cannot sign a professional contract or hire an agent while in college.

What is an entry-level contract?

A standard three-year contract signed when an NHL team decides a prospect is ready to turn professional. It has a salary floor set by the CBA, plus potential performance bonuses.

What happens if an NHL team never signs their draft pick?

For junior/European players, the team has two years to sign them. For college players, rights expire 30 days after leaving school. After that, the player becomes an unrestricted free agent.

Who picks last in the NHL Draft?

The Stanley Cup champion always picks last — 32nd overall in round 1.

Last Updated: April 2026