Las Vegas Sphere To Host 2024 NHL Draft
The Las Vegas Sphere will now officially be venturing into the sports world. The 2024 NHL Draft will be held in the brand-new entertainment venue this upcoming June, Darren Dreger of TSN broke the news of the league’s board decision earlier Tuesday:
The NHL Draft will be held June 28/29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. NHL Board just made it official. This will be the final draft before decentralizing.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) December 5, 2023
It’s fitting that the home of the 2023 Stanley Cup Champs (who could definitely repeat) will also be the home of the final draft before decentralization. While I have been previously critical of Gary Bettman and the current leadership, this is a good move. Especially since they were able to pounce on this before bigger leagues like the NFL and NBA could.
While decentralizing the draft has the chance of being an ugly process, that’s a problem for 2025 and beyond. If the league is able to create a cool presentation and atmosphere there, then it’s one step toward credibility and possible success. They must take this opportunity and do everything they can to use it as a springboard for popularity.
A New Mack Attack?
The current consensus No. 1 pick for next year’s draft is Macklin Celebrini. While he has not currently generated nearly as much buzz as Connor Bedard, the Vancouver native has been a standout at the USHL as well as Boston University. A funny thought I had was to imagine if the Sphere was ready a year early. Being able to present Bedard’s entry into the league in there would have been unreal. It is nothing more than a what-if, but the Sphere is awesome and I am cautiously optimistic for how the NHL could handle the draft in there.
The 2024 NHL Draft will be in easily the coolest location it’s ever been. The Las Vegas Sphere has the chance to test it out and then who knows, maybe even have some live games soon?
