How Many Rounds Are There In The NHL Draft?

The NHL draft is a seven-round process where each team selects one player per round.
There are a total of 217 picks in the NHL draft.
The first round of the NHL draft consists of 31 picks, while the remaining rounds have 30 picks each.

Introduction

NHL teams pick prospects in seven rounds at the Entry Draft, with the order of selection determined by reverse order of finish in the NHL standings.

Prior to the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, the NHL held eight rounds of selections. In 2005, the number was reduced to seven rounds, and that is where it stands today.

NHL Central ScoutingRelease its final rankings of North American and European skaters and goaltenders for the upcoming draft on April 9-10.

The first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft will be held on Friday, June 23, at United Center in Chicago. Rounds 2-7 will take place on Saturday, June 24

NHL Entry Draft Format

The NHL Entry Draft is an annual event in which every team in the league selects a certain number of eligible players. These players are usually 18-21 years old and come from all over the world. In recent years, the draft has been held in June. The first round of the draft is usually the most anticipated, as it is where the best players are selected.

Round 1

The first round of the NHL Entry Draft consists of 30 selections by the teams. These are the so-called “franchise players” that a team hopes will someday lead them to the Stanley Cup.

Round 2

Round 2 of the NHL Entry Draft will begin on Friday, June 28th at 8:00am EDT. The round will consist of 31 total picks, with the order of selection rotating between the 15 non-playoff teams from the previous season. The New Jersey Devils will have the first overall pick in Round 2, as they did not qualify for the playoffs.

Round 3

The third round of the NHL Entry Draft consists of picks 81-120, which are determined by the reverse order of finish from the previous season. For example, the team that wins the Stanley Cup will pick last in each round, while the team that finishes last overall will pick first.

scouting and player development staffs have a good idea of which players they want to target in each round, but there are always a few surprises. In recent years, some high-profile prospects have fallen to the third round, including Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (No. 14 overall in 2016), Chicago Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat (No. 39 overall in 2016) and Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (No. 15 overall in 2014).

Round 4

The fourth round of the NHL Entry Draft consists of the final 102 picks of the draft. While most of the attention is given to picks in the first three rounds, some very good players have been drafted in the fourth round or later. In recent years, prospects such as Brayden Point ( Tampa Bay Lightning), David Pastrnak (Boston Bruins) and Brock Boeser (Vancouver Canucks) have been drafted in the later rounds and have gone on to have successful NHL careers.

Round 5

The NHL Entry Draft will consist of seven rounds, with each of the NHL’s 31 teams receiving one pick in each of the first three rounds and two picks in each of rounds four through seven. A total of 217 prospects are expected to be selected in the draft.

Round 6

The sixth round of the NHL Draft usually starts around noon on the final day of the Draft. For example, in the 2019 NHL Draft, Round 6 began at noon ET on Saturday, June 22. It is not televised in the United States, but fans can listen to draft coverage on NHL Network or live streams online.

In recent years, rounds six and seven have been combined into one round with a 30-minute break between picks. In 2019, 217 players were selected in rounds six and seven combined.

Notable sixth-round draft picks include Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (2003), Anaheim Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm (2012) and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Oliver Bjorkstrand (2013).

Round 7

The seventh round of the National Hockey League Entry Draft consists of all NHL teams selecting in reverse order of their regular season points totals, from the team with the fewest points to the team with the most points. This is followed by all non-playoff teams selecting in order of their regular season points totals, from the team with the fewest points to the team with the most points.

Round 7 of the draft generally lasts between two and three hours.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there are seven rounds in the NHL draft. This is the same number of rounds that there have been since the inaugural NHL draft in 1963. There have been some changes to the format of the draft over the years, but the number of rounds has remained constant.