The National Hockey League is expected to give the decentralized draft model another try next year, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.

Dreger reports that a strong majority of NHL general managers voted in favour of keeping the status quo, with some potential production tweaks to move the first round of the draft along. 

The 2025 draft took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles with commissioner Gary Bettman heading the proceedings. NHL teams remained in their home markets as each team had a representative (celebrity, alumni or current player) announcing their pick live. 

There were 93 prospects in attendance and after each selection, the newly-drafted prospect would get the jersey on stage with Bettman and then speak with their new team's front office staff virtually. 

This was the first year the league went to a decentralized model with exception to the 2020 draft, which was held exclusively via videoconferencing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The last in-person draft was in 2024 at the Sphere in Las Vegas.