The NHL announced its critical dates schedule for the rest of this season Wednesday, Day 3 of the annual NHL general managers meetings in Manalapan, Florida.
The draft lottery will be a 30-minute stand-alone show from 7-7:30 p.m. ET that will be broadcast live on ESPN in the United States, and Sportsnet and TVAS in Canada. It will determine the order of selection for the first 16 picks in the first round of the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The first round is June 28, and rounds 2-7 are June 29.
Participants will be all the teams that do not qualify for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, or teams that have acquired the first-round pick from a nonplayoff team.
The winner will earn the right to select Bedard, the consensus top prospect and projected No. 1 pick. The 17-year-old forward has 129 points (63 goals, 66 assists) in 52 games for Regina in the Western Hockey League this season. He helped Canada to a gold medal at the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship with 23 points (nine goals, 14 assists) in seven games.
Nashville is also the host of the 2023 NHL Awards, which will be at Bridgestone Arena on June 26.
The top prospects for the draft will gather at the 2023 NHL Scouting Combine from June 4-10 at Lecom Harborcenter in Buffalo.
In addition, the NHL announced that the 2023 playoffs will begin April 17 and Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final is tentatively scheduled for June 3. There is a possibility that date is moved up depending on how quickly the previous rounds are played.
