2018 NHL entry draft


The 2018 NHL entry draft was the 56th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The 2018 NHL entry draft was the second of two professional sports drafts to be held in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex during the calendar year, as the Dallas Cowboys hosted the 2018 NFL draft in April.
The first three selections were Rasmus Dahlin by the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov by the Carolina Hurricanes, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi by the Montreal Canadiens.
The 2018 draft featured both the first player trained in the United Kingdom to be drafted in Liam Kirk and the first Jamaican-born player drafted in Jermaine Loewen.
As of 2025 there are 65 active NHL players from this draft.

Eligibility

Ice hockey players that were born between January 1, 1998, and September 15, 2000, are eligible for selection in the 2018 NHL entry draft. Additionally, undrafted, non-North American players born in 1997 are eligible for the draft; and those players who were drafted in the 2016 NHL entry draft, but not signed by an NHL team and who were born after June 30, 1998, are also eligible to re-enter the draft.

Draft lottery

Since the 2012–13 NHL season all teams not qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs have a "weighted" chance at winning the first overall selection. Beginning with the 2014–15 NHL season the NHL changed the weighting system that was used in previous years. Under the new system the odds of winning the draft lottery for the four lowest finishing teams in the league decreased, while the odds for the other non-playoff teams increased. The Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens won the lotteries that took place on April 28, 2018, giving them the first, second and third picks overall. The Buffalo Sabres retained the top pick, while Carolina moved up nine spots and Montreal moved up one spot. In the process, the Ottawa Senators and Arizona Coyotes moved down two spots from second and third overall, respectively, while the Detroit Red Wings, Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Rangers, Edmonton Oilers and New York Islanders each dropped one spot.
Indicates team won first overall
Indicates team won second overall
Indicates team won third overall
Indicates teams that did not win a lottery

Top prospects

RankingNorth American skatersEuropean skaters
1

Selections by round

The order of the 2018 entry draft is listed below.

Round one

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
1Rasmus Dahlin

Round two

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
32Mattias Samuelsson

Round three

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
63Jack McBain

Round four

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
94Matej Pekar

Round five

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
125Miska Kukkonen

Round six

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
156Pontus Holmberg

Round seven

;Notes
  1. The Montreal Canadiens' seventh-round pick was re-acquired as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2019 to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.
  2. :Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 24, 2017, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2017 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
  3. The New York Rangers' seventh-round pick went to the Ottawa Senators as the result of a trade July 18, 2016, that sent Mika Zibanejad and a second-round pick in 2018 to New York in exchange for Derick Brassard and this pick.
  4. The Los Angeles Kings' seventh-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on May 31, 2017, that sent Bokondji Imama to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick. The condition – Tampa Bay will receive a seventh-round pick in 2018 if Los Angeles signs Imama prior to the June 1 deadline for drafted CHL players to sign by – was converted.
  5. The San Jose Sharks' seventh-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on June 19, 2018, that sent Vegas' fourth-round pick in 2018, a fifth-round pick in 2018 and a second-round pick in 2019 to San Jose in exchange for Mike Hoffman and this pick.
  6. The Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick went to the Vegas Golden Knights as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent a seventh-round pick in 2019 to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
  7. The Anaheim Ducks' seventh-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a trade January 10, 2017, that sent Jhonas Enroth to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
  8. The Vegas Golden Knights' seventh-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 23, 2018, that sent Boston's seventh-round pick in 2019 to Carolina in exchange for this pick.
  9. :Carolina previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 22, 2017, that sent Pittsburgh's second-round pick in 2017 to Vegas in exchange for Trevor van Riemsdyk and this pick.

    Draftees based on nationality

North American draftees by state/province