Did you know that the NHL draft is happening tomorrow and Saturday? You might have seen some indication of that on Twitter, Reddit, or the only Actually Good Leafs Blog(TM) here. If you're getting into this year, here's some quick information you may want to know as a preview, and how and when you can watch it all.

When and Where Is the Draft Happening?

This year's draft is being held in the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. There are two days for the NHL entry draft. Day one is in the evening on Friday June 26th, starting at 7:00 pm EST, and will only involve the first round. Day two will start at 11:00 am EST on Saturday June 27th which is the following day – it will complete rounds two through seven. If you want an idea for the time it will end, or how long day two will take... my sweet summer child, it will end when all the picks are done.

Things are supposed to move much quicker between picks on day two, though that hasn't always been the case. The pandemic years saw things move a lot slower, to the point that day two took something like 12 hours to finish. Last year, the first year of the "de-centralized" draft, seemed to take just as long for no god damned reason. Hopefully this year things move faster, especially in the later rounds.

How Can I Watch the Draft?

Day one will be broadcast on ESPN and ESPN+ in the USA, and on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. It will likely have everyone's A-list commentators and analysts on the whole first day to talk about the biggest prospects and interview everyone involved. The first day always has a lot more pomp and theatre to it and it's made to be a show. Day two will be broadcast on the ESPN+, NHL Network, and Sportsnet.

Looking at Sportsnet's information, I am assuming that the broadcasts start at 7 pm but the actual draft picks won't begin until later – this matches my memory of the past years and how long they took to actually get going.

Here's a quick summary of all that information:

EventDate & TimeUSA BroadcastCanada Broadcast
Round 1Friday, June 26 @ 7:00 PM ETESPN, ESPN+Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Rounds 2–7Saturday, June 27 @ 11:00 AM ETNHL Network, ESPN+Sportsnet

Streaming options:

  • Sportsnet+: If you don't have cable, you can stream both days live via Sportsnet+. The draft is included without regional blackouts, though access to the full weekend typically requires their standard or premium tier depending on your subscription package.Shop
  • TVA Sports App: French-language streaming for Day 1 is available by authenticating through your TV provider or via a direct digital subscription.

Watch-Along Streams

For people who like seeing more commentary and discussion than the actual draft floor broadcasts from Sportsnet or ESPN, there has been a recent rise in public scouts who stream their reactions to the draft and provide more frequent discussions and commentary as things happen.

Will Scouch has done this the past few years on his YouTube channel:

Scouching
Welcome to Scouching! Scouching is a platform for NHL fans and scouts alike to get all the information you could ever want about the NHL, it’s draft and it’s prospects. With monthly NHL update videos, NHL Draft Prospect player profiles, livestreams and more, there’s something for everyone! Whether you’re just dropping by to watch a video, or would like to support us through Patreon or Teespring, we hope you enjoy what we’re creating.
YouTube

I just saw that Scott Wheeler announced he'll be on a similar kind of stream on The Athletic's Hockey Show podcast Youtube channel with a few other scouts:

There's another from HockeyProspect.com. They're the folks that were the only ones to have Cowan ranked in the first round when the Leafs took him as the big surprise. They're a weird mix of having traditional mindsets with seemingly wild takes because they stand on their principles. Their rankings can be insane but I have a lot of respect for them as a result. So if you want to check in on them at any point while following the draft...

How Does the NHL Draft Work?

If you want a primer on how the draft works, from the draft order, age of eligibility, and so on, Cathy wrote this helpful guide a few years ago that is still applicable today:

How does the NHL Entry Draft really work?
Not an expose on how the fix is in, just the boring facts about a thing we think we understand because it’s ubiquitous.
Cathy SquiresPPP Leafs

Who Should I Be Interested in for Toronto?

I spent about 2-3 months writing several draft profiles for prospects I liked for Toronto's various picks this year (1st through 6th rounds). You can find the full library of them here:

NHL Draft - PPP Leafs
Coverage of the NHL Entry Draft and draft prospects.
PPP LeafsBrian S

Who Should I Follow on Twitter?

For our own commentary and articles related to the draft, you can follow us at @PPPLeafs. Here's a bigger list of people I follow for the draft and prospect related things:

For the Leafs, specifically:


For potential draft related news, like trades:


For the main public scouting folks:


For specific/regional scouting info:

Where Can I Talk About the Draft Here at PPP?

We will be putting out a Draft Day Thread (DDT). It's just like our Game Day Threads (GDTs), but for the draft. Not sure if we'll have one for each day, or just one for both combined. If we get a lot of comments on the first one I assume we'll split it just for ease of keeping up with everything.

How Can I Subscribe and Support All This Great Draft-Related Content That the Handsomest and Humblest Writer Here Made?

I'm so glad you asked!

You can click on the button in the blue banner below to subscribe to the site. You can join as a free member to subscribe which allows you to comment with everyone else here, or you can pick one of the paid membership plans to help keep the lights on here and a bit extra for all the work we do.

I put a lot of work into my prospect articles here, both for the draft and to follow Toronto's prospects through the season. I do it as a fun hobby for me, and I'd probably do it in some capacity even if PPP completely ceased to exist. But if you like reading my work, some support would go a long way! I pay for a few streaming services (mainly FloHockey.tv for the AHL, OHL, QMJHL, USHL, some USHL and some European games) to be able to reliably watch these prospects in good quality streams. I also pay for some prospect-specific resources, such as tracking data and scouting reports from outlets like Elite Prospects, Will Scouch, McKeen's Hockey, The Athletic, and more.

Being able to get paid for this helps me dedicate more time and resources to it, rather than to second/third jobs. And whatever money I make here, I invest all of it back into all of those streaming and scouting sites and the difference is made up by my own personal money. This past year, times were tough financially and I wound up running a short GoFundMe here to help pay for it all. This year things are looking a bit better so I will hopefully not have to.

Like I said, I'd be doing whatever I can afford for this anyway, so any financial help I get through this is greatly appreciated!

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