The Montreal Canadiens will host the 2020 NHL Draft at the Bell Centre, the 27th time the city of Montreal will hold the annual draft and the first time since 2009. 

The draft will be held over two days: Friday, June 26 (Round 1) and Saturday, June 27 (Rounds 2-7). 

“To think that the NHL Draft started in 1963 as a small gathering at a hotel ballroom in Montreal, makes it all the more exciting to announce that the 2020 edition of the Draft is coming back to its original city, Montreal, in a far grander fashion,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “The NHL Draft has grown into a spectacle befitting our next generation of stars who will walk across the big stage to the next phase of their hockey careers. Montreal is the city where the Draft has been held more times than anywhere else. What a wonderful place for a great celebration of hockey and the players who will shine in our League for years to come.”

Montreal last hosted the draft in 2009, when they took hometown player Louis LeBlanc in the first round 18th overall. 

From 1963-84, the NHL Draft was conducted exclusively in Montreal at various hotels, the league office, and the historic Montreal Forum. In 1985, the event was held outside Montreal for the first time at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. In addition to 2009, Montreal also hosted the draft in 1986, 1988 and 1992

Rimouski Oceanic star winger Alexis Lafreniere is currently the front-runner to be taken first overall in 2020.