Explaining how the NHL Draft works: Number of rounds, order of picks and everything to know | Sporting News

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.

MORE: Why the NHL's iconic trophy is called the Stanley Cup 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 MORE: Who is Conn Smythe? Meet the man who the NHL playoff MVP is named after 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 MORE: Looking back at the longest games in NHL history 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..

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