NEW YORK (June 22, 2012) – The New Jersey Devils will host the 2013 NHL Draft at Prudential Center in Newark and the Philadelphia Flyers will host the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, the National Hockey League announced today.

The 2013 NHL Draft, scheduled for June 28-29, will be the first ever held in the New York City metropolitan area.

Philadelphia also will be a first-time host of the NHL Draft.

The NHL Draft has grown significantly since the first such event was held in a hotel ballroom in Montreal in 1963. After 17 years of being conducted in various Montreal hotels and the League office in that city, the Draft sported a new look as the historic Montreal Forum played host to the event in 1980 in front of more than 2,000 spectators.

In 1985, the NHL Draft was held outside Montreal for the first time as a crowd of 7,000 filled the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Montreal again hosted the Draft in 1986, 1988, 1992 and 2009, and Toronto did the honors in 2002. NHL Draft events have been given an enthusiastic welcome in other cities across North America – including Detroit (1987), Bloomington, Minn. (1989), Vancouver (1990, 2006), Buffalo (1991, 1998), Quebec City (1993), Hartford (1994), Edmonton (1995), St. Louis (1996), Pittsburgh (1997, 2012), Boston (1999), Calgary (2000), Sunrise, Fla. (2001), Nashville (2003), Raleigh (2004), Ottawa (2005, 2008), Columbus (2007), Los Angeles (2010) and St. Paul (2011).

NHL club executives, scouts and coaches will be present on the NHL Draft floor while more than 10,000 fans and 500 print, television and radio media are expected to attend.

The Draft offers the opportunity for hockey fans to witness the beginning of the careers of the latest NHL stars. Recent overall No. 1 picks include Alex Ovechkin (Washington, 2004), Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh, 2005), Erik Johnson (St. Louis, 2006), Patrick Kane (Chicago, 2007), Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay, 2008), John Tavares (NY Islanders, 2009), Taylor Hall (Edmonton, 2010) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (Edmonton, 2011).

For more historical information and past draft selections, visit www.nhl.com/draft. Ticket distribution plans and other details pertaining to the 2013 and 2014 Drafts will be announced at a later date.