2025 NHL Draft to have revamped look

MANALAPAN, Fla. -- The NHL general managers were given a report on the details for how the League plans to put on the 2025 Upper Deck NHL Draft in Los Angeles during their meetings this week here at Eau Palm Beach.

The look and feel of the 2025 event will be different from previous drafts as it moves from a centralized format to a decentralized format for the first time.

The top prospects will have the ability to be present at the draft, which will be held at the Peacock Theater on June 27 and 28, but team executives, coaches and scouts will not be present for the most part.

Each team will instead gather in a central location in their home market or a place of their choosing.

With the fundamental change in the draft dynamics, the League had to find innovative ways, mainly through technology, for the draft to remain a major event for television purposes while making sure each team has what it needs.

The NHL will invite the top 50 prospects, according to the final rankings from NHL Central Scouting, to attend, NHL Content and Events President Steve Mayer said. Other prospects may choose to attend, but they will not be formally invited, according to Mayer.

Commissioner Gary Bettman will announce the first selection, but the remaining 31 picks in the first round will be announced by special guests, such as a celebrity with a tie to a particular team or a current or former player from the team making the pick.

Last year, Celine Dion went on stage at Sphere Las Vegas to announce the selection of Ivan Demidov with the No. 5 pick by the Montreal Canadiens.

Justin Bieber, Jon Hamm, Will Ferrell, Michael Buble, Vince Vaughn, Tate McRae, Steve Carrell and Will Arnett are other celebrities who were involved in previous NHL events.

Mayer said the League will also invite the 25 players from the NHL Quarter-Century Team to attend the draft and is hoping most, if not all, accept the invitation.

"We want there to be some anticipation when you're watching of who is going to come out and make the next selection," Mayer said.

Mayer said when a player is selected, after going on stage to get his jersey and hat and take pictures, he will walk into a virtual reality room that will have a 360-degree camera where the pick will be able to virtually meet and talk back to the representatives from the team that selected him.

There could be a reporter in that room and the conversation between the player and his new team will likely be a part of the television broadcast.

The first round of the draft will be live on ESPN and ESPN+ in the United States, and Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada on June 27. Rounds 2-7 will be live on NHL Network, ESPN+, Sportsnet and SN1 the next day.

"All the prospects will be with us in L.A. and we're going to coordinate very closely how the information flow in both direction works, including the availability of a prospect who has been drafted to the team that drafted him," Commissioner Bettman said. "There's a lot of logistics to work out, but I have no doubt that (the NHL) Events (Department) will be on top of it."

Commissioner Bettman said the NHL is asking each team to have at least one representative at the draft to help coordinate the flow of information between the theater and the home market.

Teams are welcome to be in Los Angeles for the draft, but they will not have a reserved space at the Peacock Theater.

"We've told them it's important that there's somebody who is there who can convey information that is necessary in either direction, if there is a technology problem or who is being picked when or the logistics of what needs to be done," Commissioner Bettman said. "We've said somebody who is competent at a high enough level and can be trusted needs to be in place."