NHL Draft Eligibility: What are the conditions a player must meet to get drafted?

The NHL Draft is the next major milestone for hockey. Now that an epic Stanley Cup Final is over, all teams are looking to rebuild, retool or revamp their chance to lift the trophy. Free agency and trades are one way to do that, but the draft is a big piece of the puzzle.

Several future stars are waiting to be drafted by their prospective teams, as is the case every year. Not all future stars are eligible for the draft, though, as some of them have to wait or pursue alternative entry methods. Here are the eligibility criteria for the NHL Draft.

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How to be eligible for the NHL Draft

The NHL Draft is only for eligible players, meaning not everyone who has hockey dreams can enter. It's not terribly restrictive, but there are rules that must be followed. There are two age ranges, one for North American players and another for European players.

North American players must be between the ages of 18 and 20 to be eligible to be drafted. For Europeans, the age range extends to 21. Many of these players come from junior or collegiate leagues.

The NHL Draft has age range eligibility

While that age range is pretty restrictive, it doesn't remove all options for anyone else. For example, college seniors are usually 22 or older. That means any player that blossomed in their senior year wouldn't be eligible for the draft. This is a unique aspect of hockey.

If anyone is older than the age range for their location, they can enter as an unrestricted free agent. This might be preferable for some players who want to play for specific teams or who don't want to be drafted highly to teams who struggled the year before.

Much like other sports, there is a lottery and an attempt to give bad teams a better chance to improve over the offseason. The fact that there are age range restrictions and that others can become unrestricted free agents is a wrinkle that makes hockey unique and makes the Draft an interesting part of the NHL offseason.