Montreal Canadiens To Host 2022 NHL Draft
The Montreal Canadiens are gearing up for Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals. It will be their first Stanley Cup Final game since Patrick Roy led the team to a championship 28 years ago in 1993.
Just hours before the game was to begin, the organization received another bit of good news from the National Hockey League.
The Canadiens will host the 2022 NHL Draft.
They were originally supposed to host the draft last year, but it was wiped out due to Covid-19. The draft was eventually held online and Montreal was told it would have to wait to be a host. They won’t have to wait long as the event will be back in Montreal in less than a year as it is normally hosted in late June.
With the NHL schedule inching closer back to normal next season, there is no reason that yet another draft should be delayed. This season, the draft will once again be held online and it will not take place until July 23-24.
The Canadiens hold 11 picks in this year’s draft at the moment and have all seven of their original picks for the 2022 event which will take place in front of their home fans. Their 2021 pick is going to be 30th at the earliest and it would be terrific if they were able to go on another run next year and have the 32nd overall pick in front of the fans of the team.
Montreal used to host the event annually, but it began rotating around the league in 1985. They last hosted in 2009 when Louis Leblanc was taken with the 18th overall selection.
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman made this announcement earlier today at his annual Stanley Cup Final press conference. He also said that the Winter Classic in 2022 will be have the St. Louis Blues playing in Minnesota against the Wild. The All-Star Game will be in Vegas, the Stadium Series outdoor game will be in Nashville and there will be an outdoor game in Canada, but the site is yet to be determined.