How many rounds are there in the NHL draft? How many players are selected?
The 2022 NHL Draft is an opportunity for bottom-dwelling teams to improve their roster. Here are a few more details regarding how this process works.
It’s that time of year again, when the worst-performing teams in the National Hockey League are given a chance to improve their lineup by getting first dibs at selecting from a field of promising young NHL prospects aged 18 to 21.
These bottom dwellers gets the top picks, and this year the Montreal Canadiens are first up, while the New Jersey Devils go second at the 2022 NHL Draft.
32 teams, 7 rounds
The entry draft is composed of seven rounds, with 32 teams to have their pick in each round. This means more than 200 athletes are selected in the process.
The first round is held on day one of the draft, and will first have the 16 teams that did not make the playoffs, whose order of selection has been determined by the NHL Lottery. They will be followed by teams that made the playoffs, whose order is dictated by a combination of their postseason performance and how they did in the regular season.
Rounds two to seven will be held on the second day, and the teams will get their picks in the reverse order of their record in the NHL for the past season.
The team with the worst record will get first pick in the second round, and the best would get the last. The same procedure will be followed for rounds three through seven.
Round 1 of the 2022 NHL Draft will take place on Thursday, July 7, while rounds two to seven will be held on Friday, July 8.
Here are the details you need to know so you don’t miss the event, which takes place in Montreal in Quebec, Canada.