BUFFALO, N.Y. – After a few days of wheeling and dealing, the Florida Panthers will enter the 2026 NHL Draft with six picks at their disposal.
Hosted by the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, the first round of the draft will take place on Friday, with Rounds 2-7 following on Saturday.
After shipping the ninth overall pick to the Ottawa Centers as part of a package to acquire star forward Brady Tkachuk on Sunday, the Panthers do not currently have a pick in Round 1.
Of course, that’s nothing new for the two-time Stanley Cup champions.
As one of the NHL’s most-aggressive teams, the Panthers, who took home Lord Stanley in 2024 and 2025, haven’t used a first-round selection since 2021.
Instead, they’ve dealt those picks to acquire proven veterans such as Brad Marchand, Seth Jones and both Tkachuk brothers.
But even with no action early in the draft in recent years, Florida's scouts have been able to flex their muscles.
Starting with the first draft overseen by President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito in 2020, the Panthers have already seen eight players they’ve selected after the first round appear in at least one game in the NHL.
Making their mark this past season, Marek Alscher (3rd round, 2022), Ludvig Jansson (4th round, 2022), Sandis Vilmanis (5th round, 2022), Jack Devine (7th round, 2022) and Mike Benning (4th round, 2020) all made their NHL debuts with Florida.
After not being on the clock until the fourth round least year, the Panthers won't wait that long again on Saturday.
In addition to owning their own second-round pick (40th overall), the Panthers also have Washington’s second-round pick (48th overall) in this year's draft.
Based on both internal and external rankings, it’s possible they could land a first-round talent with both of those picks.
For more information on this year’s draft, continue below.
CURRENT DRAFT PICKS
Round 2: 40th Overall
Round 2: 48th Overall (from WSH)
Round 4: 98th Overall (from CHI)
Round 6: 168th Overall
Round 6: 181st Overall (from PHI)
Round 7: 217th Overall (from MIN)
BROADCAST INFORMATION
Round 1 of the draft will be televised on ESPN, ESPN+, Sportsnet and TVA Sports starting at 7 pm on Friday.
Fans can also listen to the 104.3 WQAM-FM Draft Special from 6-9 pm on radio or live at Baptist Health IcePlex.
Rounds 2-7 will be televised on NHL Network, ESPN+ and Sportsnet starting at 10 am on Saturday.
DRAFT PARTY
Baptist Health IcePlex is the place to be on Friday!
Starting at 5 pm, fans can enjoy inflatables, interactive games, vendors, food and beverages and more.
Once the draft gets underway at 7 pm, fans can watch NHL Draft coverage from either the stands inside the Baptist Rink or on the ice by participating in public skate. To pre-register to skate, click HERE.
Even though the Panthers have no first-round pick, fans can hear from a pair of former first-round selections as Aaron Ekblad (1st overall, 2014) and Sam Reinhart (2nd overall, 2014) join play-by-play announcer Steve Goldstein for a pre-draft panel starting at 6 pm.
With reserved seating for Territory Members, Panthers President of Hockey Operations & General Manager Bill Zito will also join the star-studded panel.
Arrive early and stay late!
SUPPLY DRIVE
In conjunction with the Broward Education Foundation, fans are encouraged to bring school supplies to the draft party.
With drop-off available at Baptist Health IcePlex, preferred items include notebooks, pens, crayons, erasers, folders, markers spiral notebooks, highlighters, scissors, rulers and glue sticks.
Thank you to all that choose to donate.
To stay up to date throughout the draft, keep it locked into FloridaPanthers.com/Draft all weekend long.
