2026 NHL Draft Changes Expected, No Host City Yet

The 2025 NHL Entry Draft format is a memory of the past.

On Saturday Headlines, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that it is expected there will be big changes to the 2026 NHL Entry Draft after fan, team, and media feedback following the 2025 event.

In the first edition of the decentralized format, the NHL had a virtual interview room where each team had the opportunity to speak with its drafted players. This posed significant time challenges and was removed from the 2026 NHL draft.

Friedman also reported that broadcaster interview access will be impacted. Instead of the usual two to three interviewers, it will be just one reporter interviewing for all of the various outlets.

The next notable change the league is looking at is the changing of the seating configuration, so players have less distance to walk.

It seems like the pattern throughout these changes is shortening the time of the draft as a whole, and the final change does make sense.

In years past, the NHL draft was a two-day spectacle where the first round was hours long on day one, and rounds two through seven were also hours long through day two.

The NHL is having conversations about shrinking the first round enough so the first two rounds can take place on night one, and rounds three through seven would follow on the second day. Friedman notes that there were many complaints about the length of the 2025 draft, and now the NHL is looking to shorten it in 2026.

Finally, the host city for the 2026 NHL Entry Draft has yet to be decided, but Friedman notes that there are still three cities in the mix, and one of them includes Montreal. Per Friedman’s 32 Thoughts podcast today, he noted that Montreal is the only Canadian city still in consideration, but the league wants to go to new places.