The 2023 NHL Entry Draft, the league's 61st, was held on June 28–29, 2023, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, with the top three picks going to Connor Bedard (Chicago Blackhawks), Leo Carlsson (Anaheim Ducks), and Adam Fantilli (Columbus Blue Jackets). The draft lottery on May 8, 2023 saw the Blackhawks and Ducks win the two draws, moving up to claim the first and second overall selections, while a teleprompter error prematurely revealed Columbus's third pick during the ESPN broadcast. Eligibility was restricted to players born between January 1, 2003, and September 15, 2005, with exceptions for un-drafted non-North Americans born in 2002 and certain re-entries. Several first-round picks were traded, including Ottawa's pick going to Arizona in the Jakob Chychrun deal and the Islanders' pick to Detroit in the Filip Hronek trade, both conditional on playoff qualification. The event also highlighted the NHL's modern lottery system, which limits teams to moving up a maximum of ten spots and restricts any team from winning the lottery more than twice in a five-year period.