North American Hockey League (NAHL)

The North American Hockey League (NAHL; French: Ligue nord-américaine de hockey—LNAH) is a professional ice hockey league in North America, currently comprising 31 teams: 23 in the United States and 8 in Canada. The NAHL is considered to be the premier professional ice hockey league in the world, and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada. The Championship Cup, the oldest professional sports trophy in North America, is awarded annually to the league playoff champion at the end of each season.

Early years
The North American Hockey League was established in 1917 as a means of bridging the gap between Canadian professional ice hockey (which had previously been confined the Canadian Hockey Association [CHA]) and American professional ice hockey (Hockey League of the United States, HLUS). On November 26, 1917, eight teams across North America signed the NAHL constitution, officially forming the North American Hockey League. Hugo Hoffman, a German-born Canadian ice hockey executive and athlete, was chosen as its first president, serving until his death in 1943.

Eight teams played in the 1917–18 NAHL season: the Montreal Mount Royals, Boston Terriers, Toronto Alchemists, Vancouver Lions, Ottawa Traders, Calgary Crushers, Buffalo Bullies, and New York Empires. By 1928, this number had risen to twelve, with the addition of the Detroit Honeybees, Pittsburgh Piranhas, Winnipeg Voyagers, and St. Louis Riverboats.

Entry Draft
The annual NAHL Entry Draft consists of a seven-round off-season draft held in late June. Amateur players from junior, collegiate, or European leagues are eligible to enter the Entry Draft. The selection order is determined by a combination of the standings at the end of the regular season, playoff results, and a draft lottery. The 15 teams that did not qualify for the playoffs are entered in a weighted lottery to determine the initial draft picks in the first round, with the last place team having the best chance of winning the lottery. Once the lottery determines the initial draft picks, the order for the remaining non-playoff teams is determined by the standings at the end of the regular season. For those teams that did qualify for the playoffs, the draft order is then determined by total regular season points for non-division winners that are eliminated in the first two rounds of the playoffs, then any division winners that failed to reach the Conference Finals. Conference finalists receive the 28th and 29th picks depending on total points, with the Championship Cup runner-up given the 30th pick and the Championship Cup champions the 31st pick.

Previous NAHL Drafts

 * 2010
 * 2011
 * 2012
 * 2013
 * 2014
 * 2015
 * 2016
 * 2017
 * 2018
 * 2019
 * 2020