Why is the NHL entry draft exactly 7 rounds? A short history of how NHL draft rounds evolved

The NHL Draft has been there for decades now and is one of the most important time of the year when young talents join the league. Originally starting in Montreal on June 5, 1963, as the entry draft, the drafting process has seen teams up their rosters with great young talents once every offseason.

The NHL Entry Draft takes place every year in June. The exact date is determined by the Commissioner. Each draft consists of seven rounds, with the number of selections in each round equal to the number of teams in the league. This means if there are 32 teams in the NHL, each round will have 32 picks.

However, the NHL Amateur Draft pre-1979 was nowhere close to what we have in the league today. While the NHL Draft event is now a big occasion held in seven rounds, it wasn’t always this way.

Up until 2005, the number of rounds in the entry draft was not specified by a designated number. They usually ranged above four to 12 rounds every year and even went up to 25 rounds on a couple of occasions.

In 2005, the NHL made certain changes to the Entry Draft that included setting the number of rounds to a fixed seven.

“The Entry Draft shall consist of seven (7) rounds, with each round consisting of the same number of selection choices as there will be Clubs in the NHL the following League Year,” states article 8, section 8.2 of the Collective bargaining agreement between National Hockey League and National Hockey League Players' Association.

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Compensatory draft selections and draft lottery in the NHL entry draft

Other than the seven standard rounds in the NHL Entry Draft, there are compensatory draft selections. These additional picks are granted under specific situations only.

If a team loses its rights to a first-round draft pick who remains unsigned and either re-enters the draft or becomes an unrestricted free agent, the team receives a compensatory pick. This pick is in the same position in the second round as the original first-round pick.

Earlier in 1995, the NHL introduced the Draft Lottery to create a fairer system for deciding draft order. This helped clubs with the lowest standings get new talents while also preventing "tanking," where teams might deliberately lose games to get a higher draft pick.

Until 2012, the lottery rules were designed so that the winner could move up no more than four spots in the draft order. Later in 2013, it was decided that the lottery winner would be automatically given the first overall draft pick. This rule was in place until 2015. Then, from 2016 to 2020, the lottery was expanded to decide the top three draft picks, which became top two-picks in 2021.

Since 2022, the rules now limit teams to moving up a maximum of ten spots in the draft order. Also, a team can only win the lottery and move up twice within a five-year period.

This year the San Jose Sharks hold the first overall pick. Boston University center Macklin Celebrini is expected to be chosen No. 1 in the coming draft. Meanwhile, as no team moved up in the lottery this year, the Chicago Blackhawks will get the second pick by default.