The National Hockey League announced Friday that the Montreal Canadiens will host the 2022 NHL Draft at the Bell Centre on Thursday, July 7 and Friday, July 8.

It will mark the 27th time that the city has hosted the NHL Draft and the first time since 2009. The city was scheduled to host the 2020 NHL Draft, which was moved to a virtual event for health and safety precautions due to COVID-19.

The league added that NHL club executives, scouts and coaches will be present on the draft floor, while fans and media will also be expected to attend.

“We are proud to announce that, once again, we are conducting our Draft in front of the great fans of the Montreal Canadiens,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement. “Montreal, the site of the first NHL Draft in 1963, is a wonderful place to bring the NHL family together and to focus on the future of our game as our Clubs call the names of top prospects from around the world.

"We also thank Geoff Molson and the entire Canadiens organization for their cooperation and support while we needed to conduct the Draft remotely the past two years.”

The draft will go seven rounds, with Kingston Frontenacs forward Shane Wright considered the early favourite to go first overall.