The NHL Draft Lottery is an annual event held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to determine the order of selection for the league's amateur draft. It is a system used to determine the order in which teams pick new players. The purpose of the draft lottery is to ensure the worst teams have the best chance to pick first.
The lottery mainly involves teams that did not reach the playoffs, or those that acquired the first-round picks of non-playoff teams through trades. Each of these teams is assigned a certain number of lottery balls, with the odds of winning the top pick increasing for the teams with the worst records in the regular season.
2024 NHL Draft Lottery
The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery took place on May 7, 2024. While many teams are busy in the playoff series and non-playoff performing teams have the chance to improvise their rosters
The 2024 NHL Entry Draft will mark the 62nd year of the event and is scheduled to take place on June 28–29, 2024, at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Notably, the San Jose Sharks will hold the first overall pick, a first in their franchise history. All draft rights previously held by the deactivated Arizona Coyotes franchise have been transferred to the new Utah NHL team. Fans can enjoy the 2024 NHL Draft lottery on ESPN, NHL Network, SN, and TVA Sports.
Eligibility
The eligibility for selection in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft is, " a player must have been born between January 1, 2004, and September 15, 2006." Additionally, "non-North American players born in 2003 who went undrafted in previous drafts are also eligible."Players who were drafted in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft but not signed by any NHL team and born after June 30, 2004, are eligible to re-enter the draft.
2024 First Round Order
The 2024 NHL Draft Lottery determined the selection order for the first 16 picks in the first round of the draft. Only the top 11 seeds were eligible to receive the first overall selection. There was a limit on how many times a team could win a lottery draw within five years. Each non-playoff team had a chance to win one of the top picks. Teams not selected in the lottery were assigned draft selections based on their regular-season points, with the lowest-ranking teams getting higher picks. Fourteen balls numbered 1 to 14 were used in the lottery, with four randomly expelled to create a four-number series. This series was matched against a chart to determine which team would receive each pick. The lottery was held on May 7 at the NHL Network's studio in Secaucus, New Jersey.
1. San Jose Sharks
2. Chicago Blackhawks
3. Anaheim Ducks
4. Columbus Blue Jackets
5. Montreal Canadiens
6. Utah
7. Ottawa Senators
8. Seattle Kraken
9. Calgary Flames
10. New Jersey Devils
11. Buffalo Sabres
12. Philadelphia Flyers
13. Minnesota Wild
14. San Jose Sharks (from Pittsburgh Penguins)
15. Detroit Red Wings
16. St. Louis Blues
17. Washington Capitals
18. Chicago Blackhawks (from New York Islanders)
19. Vegas Golden Knights
20. New York Islanders (from Tampa Bay Lightning via Chicago Blackhawks)
21. Los Angeles Kings
22. Nashville Predators
23. Toronto Maple Leafs
24. Colorado Avalanche
25. Ottawa Senators (from Boston Bruins via Detroit Red Wings)
26. Montreal Canadiens (from Winnipeg Jets)
27. Carolina Hurricanes
28. Calgary Flames (from Vancouver Canucks)
FAQs
