With the National Hockey League’s (NHL) Expansion Draft and First Round Draft taking place this week, ESPN has announced their broadcast schedule for both events. Additionally, the network will cover the 2021-2022 NHL regular season schedule reveal.
What’s Happening:
- ESPN has announced their network broadcast schedule for the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft and the NHL Draft First Round.
- The 2021 NHL Expansion Draft presented by Upper Deck airs Wednesday, July 21, at 8 pm ET on ESPN2 in the U.S. live from Seattle.
- The 2021 NHL Draft First Round airs Friday, July 23, at 8 pm ET on ESPN2 live from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
- On Thursday, July 22, the 2021-2022 NHL regular season schedule will be revealed on the 6 pm ET edition of SportsCenter on ESPN. John Buccigross will join the night’s anchors Elle Duncan and Kevin Negandhi to break down the preview of the upcoming NHL season schedule.
- Fans can see the full breakdown of 2021 NHL Draft prospects on the league’s website.
NHL Expansion Draft – Wednesday, July 21, at 8 pm ET
- Hosted by Chris Fowler and Dominic Moore.
- ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will be on site to handle reporting and interviews from various locations in Seattle
- GM Ron Francis unveil the team’s selections joined by Seattle Sports stars – past and present including:
- Sue Bird
- Marshawn Lynch
- Lenny Wilkens
- Jordan Morris
- Gary Payton
- Shawn Kemp
- Bobby Wagner
- Kyle Lewis
- In addition celebrities taking part include:
- Jerry Bruckheimer
- Macklemore
- Cammi Granato
- Chanel Keenan
- Western Washington Female Hockey
- Anchorage Hockey Academy
NHL Draft First Round – Friday, July 23, at 8 pm ET
- Hosted by ESPN’s John Buccigross and joined by Sportsnet analysts Elliotte Friedman and Sam Cosentino.
- ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes, NHL Network’s Jackie Redmond and ESPN hockey writer and reporter Emily Kaplan will also be featured throughout the coverage.
ICYMI:
- Earlier this year, Disney and ESPN secured a seven-year broadcast and streaming rights deal for NHL games starting this year all the way through 2028.