The first NHL entry draft took place in the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on June 5, 1963. It wasn’t televised. There were no fans. Players, including No. 1 overall pick Garry Monahan, didn’t even know there was a draft.

Things have changed over the following 60 years. Friday’s first round will be televised on ESPN and most top prospects will be at The Sphere in-person waiting to see where they end up. There will be fans in attendance as well, hoping their team snags a future franchise cornerstone.

All 32 NHL clubs have a table on the draft floor. The important decision makers — general managers, presidents, amateur scouts — sit there while deciding who to select. Team representatives approach the stage and announced the pick once they’ve made a decision.

This year, the 875,000-square-foot Sphere will capture every moment.

Its 160,000-square foot LED video board will highlight each player that gets drafted and make them feel “larger than life,” Bubolz said.

“Visually, what that venue allows you to do is unique and different than what you can do in any other venue in the country,” Bubolz said. “You think about an 18-year-old player, he gets drafted and walks up that stage. You think of highlights of that player, the imagery. I think it’s a really unique and cool opportunity.”

The NHL draft is normally held in the host team’s arena. Timing played a role in the event coming to The Sphere instead.

The NHL’s season won’t end until Monday’s Game 7 between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers. The start of free agency is July 1. The NHL wanted to make sure the draft took place between those two dates. That made going to T-Mobile Arena difficult because UFC 303 is scheduled for Saturday.

Bubolz said UFC was not comfortable moving the date of the event, which was set to feature Conor McGregor’s return to the octagon before he pulled out with an injury.

The NHL was thinking about The Sphere even before it was forced to pivot, however. Mayer went to the first show of the band U2’s residency there and pitched Bettman about holding the draft at the venue. It will give the NHL the first sports-related event inside the building constructed by the Madison Square Garden Company.

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