For the first time ever, the NHL Draft Lottery will feature a live in-studio lottery ball drawing.
The 2025 NHL Draft Lottery is set to take place on Monday night at 7 p.m. ET and things will look a bit different than hockey fans remember. This time, the lottery balls will be drawn live on television for everyone to see. At least for this year, we won’t see ESPN accidentally leak the draft order, which was previously drawn a few hours ahead of the broadcast before being shown off in dramatic fashion to fans.
NHL DRAFT LOTTERY ODDS: Which team has the best shot at the No. 1 pick in 2025?
Yep, that’s right, no more cards showcasing the draft order either. Just a bunch of NHL general managers and a lottery ball machine to decide the No. 1 overall pick for this summer’s draft. But, how is this all going to work, you ask? Well, it’s pretty similar to how the draft lottery usually works. The 16 teams that didn’t make the Stanley Cup Playoffs are entered into a lottery with odds based on the reverse order of their standings.
However, much like in previous years, teams can only jump up to 10 spots, so only 11 teams have a chance at the No. 1 overall pick. According to the NHL, 14 lottery balls — numbered 1 through 14 — will be added to the machine and four balls will be drawn. There are 1,000 possible combinations and NHL teams have been randomly assigned their numbers based on their lottery odds, which you can look at in this handy PDF chart!
From there, it’s pretty simple. Two drawings will occur, one for the No. 1 overall pick and then one for the No. 2 overall pick. After each lottery ball is drawn, teams will be eliminated based on their combinations until one team remains after the final draw. Then, the drawing for the No. 2 overall pick will occur and if the same team that won the first pick is drawn, another drawing will take place until a second team is pulled.
Overall, it’s a fascinating process! Hopefully it adds more drama to the mix, especially because the drawing is happening live.