2025 NHL Draft Guide | FEATURE

The 2025 NHL Draft will take place this weekend at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater in L.A. Live. The Devils hold seven drafts picks (2 second-round picks, 1 third-round, 2 fourth-round, 2 sixth-round).

But the draft will have a different look and feel than in years past with NHL teams holding it remotely in their home cities while the prospects are centered in Los Angeles. Here’s a quick guide on the new format and how (and why) the changes will affect the teams.

What has changed

In years past, the NHL held its draft in a singular city, such as last year in Las Vegas. In that scenario, every team would send a big staff – from general manager to hockey operations staff to scouting staffs to communications staffs to content staffs. With the centralized location, every media outlet would also attend to cover. And, of course, as many prospects that could make the trip were permitted to be there to take part.

But a majority of NHL GMs voted to de-centralize the draft for this season (next season is still TBD). So, every team will now remain in their home city (or wherever they choose) to conduct the draft. The Devils will be housed in the Prudential Center in a Draft Headquarters. From Newark, the Devils will make their draft selections, and the same will be true for every other team in the NHL.

Each NHL club will have at least two representatives attending the draft in person. A smaller number of prospects will be in attendance (roughly 90) due to the smaller venue.

This will be the first time the NHL has done this sort of de-centralized draft. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a remote draft was held but the entire process was remote. Teams were in their base cities and prospects remained at home. While the teams will remain at home this time around, there is a location for prospects to attend as well as media and select team reps.

Every team will have at least two representatives at the draft – one communications person and one hockey operations person. Clubs are permitted to send more than two, but at least two must be in attendance.

The PR rep will take the selected prospect through the usual gauntlet of post-draft stations (photos, social media, press conference). While the hockey operations rep is in attendance just in case something is needed on site, as well as being an initial touchpoint for the prospect.

Why the change

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the draft would be held on the third week of June. But the pandemic has altered the NHL’s scheduling and now the Stanley Cup Final has pushed back the draft date closer to the end of June. This was creating some travel issues for some teams in terms of the July 1 free agency period.

In 2024, the draft was held in Las Vegas on June 28 and 29. Following the draft, clubs that are based on the East Coast saw their staffs scrambling to get back to their home cities to prepare for free agency. Some experienced flight delays that forced them to arrive late on June 30 and had them quickly regrouping and prepping for free agency in less than 24 hours.

Now, with the de-centralized format, clubs will already have their staffs in place and can pivot immediately from draft to free agency.

Another aspect is that many teams hold their development camps right after the end of the draft (such as the Devils being held June 30 to July 2). So, being de-centralized, many of the clubs’ development staff and scouts will already be in town to attend and assist for the development camp and meet the newly drafted prospects.

How picks are made

Every team will be connected to the NHL via a computer. It is through this computer that clubs will make their selections. Meanwhile, a rep in the home city will be on the phone with an NHL rep.

The teams will enter in the prospects name (Jack Hughes) into the computer and press enter. Once the NHL receives it, the NHL rep on the phone will ask the team rep on the phone to confirm the pick (Jack Hughes?). With the confirmation, the pick becomes official.

The same will be true for trades. A team member at headquarters will enter the trade info into the computer and send it to the NHL. The trade will be confirmed via phone and then the NHL will contact the other team to complete the confirmation process.

And if there are any issues – be technical or otherwise – the hockey operations rep on site will be there to assist.

Pros

One issue when the draft was held in one location is that teams were still separated from each other. A few team members sat a draft table on the floor, other team members were situated in suites inside the arena where the draft was held and other team members were back in the home city. This can make for tricky communication amongst everybody.

Being in one room in the club’s base city allows for everyone to be together, and not just the scouts. It permits more people to be involved – such as analytics staff or other operations and administrative staff. And it allows everyone to communicate and speak freely instead of whispering at the draft table. This openness should make for a more fluid process.

Cons

A big drawback is the loss of the family aspect of the draft in terms of the hockey world. It’s the one time during the year where everyone in the hockey descends upon one city. It allows longtime friends in the industry to reconnect. It allows for more natural and organic trade discussions to take place between teams. It allows for discussions with agents on re-signing players or possible deals to be done in person. It’s an opportunity to for every team to mingle.

And for the prospects, it gives them a chance to meet everyone on their new team’s staff in person. They’ve worked their whole amateur careers for this moment. To hear their name, meet their new team, new GM, new coach, and then enjoy the night with their family. Though they'll still hear their name and enjoy time with the family, they'll just have to wait to meet their new teams full staff in person.