2020 NHL Draft will be held on October 6-7

The 2020 NHL Draft will be held virtually October 6-7 with the first round taking place Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. ET and Rounds 2 held the next day, starting off at 11:30 a.m. ET.

After winning the Second Phase of the Draft Lottery, the New York Rangers have the No. 1 selection. Forward Alexis Lafreniere, who helped the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 112 points in 52 games for Rimouski this season, is expected to be the first player selected.

Other top North American prospects include Cole Perfetti of Saginaw (OHL), Quinton Byfield of Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League, Marco Rossi of Ottawa (OHL), Jamie Drysdale of Erie (OHL), and Jake Sanderson of the US Hockey National Team Development Program U18 team.

 

The top International prospects include Alexander Holtz of Djurgarden in the Swedish Hockey League, Tim Stuetzle of Mannheim of Deutsche Eishockey Liga, Anton Lundell of HIFK in Liiga, Lucas Raymond of Frolunda (SHL), and Iaroslav Askarov of Neva St. Petersburg.

A placeholder team won the First Phase of the Draft Lottery on June 26, which set the order for picks 2-8. The Los Angeles Kings and the Ottawa Senators have the No. 2 and No. 3 pick, respectively. The No. 5 pick belongs to the Senators. It is the first time a team to have had two top-five selections since the 2000 NHL Draft.

Starting with theirs at No. 7, the New Jersey Devils also have three first-round picks. The New Jersey has the Vancouver Canucks’ top selection from a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Feb. 16. The Devils acquired the Arizona Coyotes’ first pick from the trade for forward Taylor Hall on Dec. 16. The Rangers and Anaheim Ducks also have multiple first-round selections.

The full order of pick will be finalized after the Stanley Cup Playoffs.