How to Watch the 2026 NHL Draft

Round 1 of the 2026 NHL Draft starts at 7 p.m. ET on Friday, June 26 — and if that is the only time you write down, you will miss half the draft. Here is the full picture of how to watch the 2026 NHL Draft: Round 1 airs Friday night, Rounds 2 through 7 run Saturday, June 27, and the channel is not the same on both days. That last part trips up more fans than anything else, and we call it the Channel Switch. Get it right and you catch every pick from Gavin McKenna at No. 1 to the seventh-round fliers.

6 min read · ~1,150 words•Updated June 13, 2026•Share: X · Reddit · Facebook · EmailIn this guide

1. When and where: dates, times, location

2. How to watch in the United States

3. How to watch in Canada

4. How to stream it free

5. What to expect: McKenna and the order

The Channel Switch, at a glance

Day	Time + main channel
Round 1 — Fri, June 26	7 p.m. ET · ESPN + ESPN+ (US) · Sportsnet + TVA Sports (Canada)
Rounds 2-7 — Sat, June 27	11 a.m. ET · NHL Network + ESPN+ (US) · Sportsnet (Canada)

The two times are easy. The trap is the channel: Round 1 lives on ESPN proper, then Day 2 moves to NHL Network in the US, so the same dial that worked Friday night shows you nothing Saturday morning.

Key Takeaways

• When: Round 1 is Friday, June 26 at 7 p.m. ET; Rounds 2-7 are Saturday, June 27 at 11 a.m. ET, both at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

• The Channel Switch: US Round 1 is on ESPN, but Rounds 2-7 move to NHL Network — different channel, same draft.

• Canada: Sportsnet carries both days; TVA Sports has the French-language Round 1.

• Stream anywhere: ESPN+ carries all seven rounds across both days in the US.

• The headline pick: Gavin McKenna is the consensus No. 1 to the lottery-winning Toronto Maple Leafs.

When and Where: Dates, Times, Location

The 2026 NHL Draft runs two days at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, the Sabres' home rink. Round 1 goes Friday, June 26, with the first pick at 7 p.m. ET. Rounds 2 through 7 follow Saturday, June 27, starting late morning at 11 a.m. ET.

One wrinkle worth knowing before you sit down: this is the decentralized format, so team management groups run their picks from their home markets rather than crowding a single draft floor. It changes the on-stage feel, not the broadcast — you still watch the same way, and the commissioner still reads Round 1 from the Buffalo stage.

The 2026 NHL Draft will be held June 26-27 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, with Round 1 on Friday night and Rounds 2-7 on Saturday. — NHL.com Draft Central (2026)

How to Watch in the United States

This is where the Channel Switch bites. Round 1 on Friday night airs on ESPN and streams on ESPN+. Then Rounds 2-7 on Saturday move to NHL Network on the cable side, while ESPN+ keeps streaming every round both days. So if you are a US viewer who only has ESPN through a cable package, you are covered Friday but need NHL Network or ESPN+ for Saturday.

US viewing options by day

Round	TV	Stream
Round 1 (Fri)	ESPN	ESPN+, ESPN app
Rounds 2-7 (Sat)	NHL Network	ESPN+

The single cleanest answer for a US cord-cutter is ESPN+. It carries the whole thing across both days, so you never touch the Channel Switch at all. If you live on cable, set one reminder for ESPN on Friday and a second for NHL Network on Saturday, because the Saturday rounds are exactly where late-round steals and trade-ups happen.

How to Watch in Canada

Canada is simpler. Sportsnet carries both days of the draft, Round 1 Friday night and Rounds 2-7 Saturday, with streaming through Sportsnet+ for subscribers. French-language coverage of Round 1 runs on TVA Sports.

For Canadian fans, the Channel Switch barely applies, since Sportsnet stays put across both sessions. The one thing to confirm is your package, because Sportsnet ONE and regional Sportsnet feeds sometimes carry overflow. When McKenna walks to the Toronto table, every Canadian feed will have it.

How to Stream It Free

There is no official free national broadcast, but there are two legitimate ways to watch without a standing subscription. Live-TV streaming services that carry ESPN and NHL Network, such as Fubo, run free trials for new users, which covers both draft days if you time the signup. And cable subscribers can stream ESPN and NHL Network at no extra cost through the ESPN app and NHL Network's authenticated stream using their TV-provider login.

Skip any site promising a free "live stream link" outside those channels. The draft is a marquee broadcast, those pirate feeds are unreliable and unsafe, and a free trial gets you the real thing in HD. For the wider cap and roster stakes every pick feeds into, our Need-Fit Map and War Chest Index set the table.

What to Expect: McKenna and the Order

The headline is settled at the top. Toronto won the lottery and is expected to take Gavin McKenna first overall, the generational winger we broke down in our McKenna scouting profile and tied to the Leafs in the lottery-win analysis and the Matthews Echo mock.

After that, the intrigue starts fast. San Jose holds the No. 2 pick and a defense need, a tension we mapped in the Sharks No. 2 breakdown, and the full board plus the steep drop after the top two is laid out in our 2026 draft order and big board. McKenna's chemistry with Macklin Celebrini also got its own look in our Team Canada piece. The point for your Friday night: the first pick has no suspense, so the show really starts at No. 2.

McKenna is clearly the top available player — the only prospect with the potential to come in and directly affect the fortunes of whatever franchise selects him. — 2026 draft rankings, ESPN (2026)

Track every pick and trade as it lands on our live trade and draft board.

About this guide: written by Mike Johnson, NHL Senior Editor, 15 years covering the draft and the offseason. Dates, start times, and broadcast channels were checked against NHL.com Draft Central and the Buffalo Sabres' host page, and cross-referenced with ESPN's and Yahoo Sports' draft coverage with inline source URLs; broadcast details can shift, so confirm against NHL.com on draft day. The Channel Switch is our shorthand for the Day 1 ESPN / Day 2 NHL Network change that trips up US viewers. Published June 13, 2026. Editorial review: James Wright, Senior Editor. Corrections: editorial@nhltraderumorstalk.com.

Sources and Reporting

• NHL.com Draft Central: official dates, format, and broadcast partners

• Buffalo Sabres: KeyBank Center host details

• ESPN: 2026 prospect rankings, McKenna at No. 1

• Yahoo Sports: ESPN / streaming viewing details

The Verdict: Beat the Channel Switch

If you take one thing from this guide, make it the Channel Switch: Friday Round 1 on ESPN or Sportsnet, Saturday Rounds 2-7 on NHL Network or Sportsnet, and ESPN+ if you want all of it in one place. Set two reminders, not one. McKenna goes first at 7 p.m. ET on June 26, and the picks that actually shape next season land Saturday morning, on the channel half the audience forgets to find.