RUMOR: NHL Draft 2026 in Montreal

Originally posted on Dose.ca | Last updated Sep 9, 2025 10:40 AM ET

In 2022, the city of Montreal hosted the National Hockey League draft, which was supposed to take place a little before that, but the pandemic changed the NHL’s plans. So it took place in 2022, the year in which Juraj Slafkovsky had been chosen first, and, above all, everyone loved it. The other 31 teams had been given a proper welcome. How well did it go? We’ve heard people mention that, in an ideal world, the NHL draft would return to Montreal every year. We know that in summer, Montreal is a superb city that is appreciated by quite a few people. And that’s good for the city’s international reputation.#Accordingto Mark Scheig, who covers the Blue Jackets and is a member of the PHWA (Professional Hockey Writers Association), the 2026 draft could well be held in Montreal.

Rumor has been Montreal. We’ll see if that holds up but we got NHL Draft dates. https://t.co/7wT0StQNmB –

Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) September 8, 2025

[content-ads]At least, that’s what he heard between the branches. We know that the draft will take place on Friday June 26 and Saturday June 27, a few days before July 1. We also know that Gary Bettman wants to determine the city in which the draft will take place over the next few months. Remember that in 2023, the NHL was in Nashville for the draft, another place where people like to go. And in 2024, it was held in the Vegas bubble. We don’t need to remind you of the monster success of that edition, do we?

Celine Dion announces Ivan Demidov as Montreal’s fifth overall pick! #NHLDraft | @CanadiensMTL pic.twitter.com/o9w7T99GVC

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 28, 2024

But keep in mind that, as in Los Angeles in 2025, the 2026 edition will be decentralized. The teams wouldn’t show up in person in Montreal, for example.Ouffff... And since this summer’s draft was a disaster, one has to wonder if Montreal would do things with more dignity if it got the NHL’s flagship event. But the people who would be there (the players’ clan, the broadcasters, etc.) could still enjoy the city.spacer title=’Overtime’]- Nick Suzuki in Vegas: here’s a photo.