NHL Likely to Return to Centralized Draft in 2026

After a previous vote by the National Hockey League’s general managers, the NHL Entry Draft will be decentralized for the 2025 event.

Since the change, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has let the media and fans know he’s not a fan of the decentralized format.

The NHL general managers were updated by the league on how the 2025 decentralized draft will happen about a week ago. The 2025 Upper Deck NHL Entry Draft will take place in Los Angeles and will invite the top 50 prospects ranked by NHL Central Scouting.

Each team can gather in a central location of its own choosing. Given the new draft dynamics, the NHL will find innovative ways to present this as a major television event while ensuring each team has what it needs.

Bettman himself will announce the first overall pick, while the remaining 31 picks will be announced by special guests.

Per Cam Robinson, the NHL’s general manager group originally voted 26-6 in favour of having a decentralized draft, but many who voted for the change felt a sense of regret when the 2024 draft was held at the Sphere in Las Vegas.

Furthermore, the NHL will not need a unanimous vote to return to a centralized draft.

Having attended the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in Las Vegas, I can’t count on both hands how many times families celebrated with heightened emotion when their son was drafted.

In the long run, the 2025 edition of the draft won’t be as much of a spectacle as other drafts, but I won’t completely put the dagger into this draft yet.

The final and most interesting point about the potential return to the centralized NHL draft is having a handful of cities rotate with every third year or so being a new city. That would mean the NHL chooses one primary location or two that they return to frequently, with another to host as a ‘one-off’ or a change of scenery.

For example, the floated idea is that teams want the draft held in Montreal every year or every second year, so the NHL could have Montreal host in 2026, Vegas in 2027 and a city like Nashville or New Orleans in 2028. Just for thought.

I wonder where the 2026 NHL Draft will be located, especially if it is centralized. The NHL went out with a bang for centralized drafts with Nashville in 2023 and Vegas in 2024, one has to wonder if they’d want to return with a bang.

ITR 38: Quenneville is a Duck – Inside The Rink

Join Chris and Conrad as they discuss Joel Quenneville getting back into the NHL, Gavin McKenna's record-setting game, and updates from the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

1. ITR 38: Quenneville is a Duck 38:19
2. ITR 37: Round Two 45:11
3. ITR 36: Coaching Carousel 48:56
4. ITR 35: Round One 52:27
5. ITR 34: End Of The Road 41:46