Understand the Draft, Lottery, Gems, and Busts
This HLM draft guide covers the lottery, draft preparation, selections, and simulation controls. Scout undrafted prospects before draft day, compare the information you unlocked, and mark players you want to follow. When your pick arrives, select a prospect or trade the pick if trades are enabled.
Before the draft
Section titled “Before the draft”Use scouting to unlock information about undrafted prospects. A prospect’s potential label is never shown. The potential-related information available before the draft is motivation, while Povr is the prospect’s projected overall.
The prospect list can show draft rank, scout projection, player type, motivation, Povr, visible ratings, position, and watchlist status when that information is available. Open a prospect’s profile for the full scouting report. Use the position and watchlist filters to shorten the list.
When comparing two prospects, consider:
- The information your scouts have unlocked
- Position and player type
- Motivation and Povr
- Visible ratings
- Expected draft position
- Your roster and depth chart
Understand the draft lottery
Section titled “Understand the draft lottery”When the league uses a lottery, the lottery screen shows the participating teams, their odds, and any visible pick condition. Start Lottery begins the reveal. Use Reveal Pick to show one result at a time or Reveal All to display the complete result.
The result sets the affected part of the draft order. A traded pick belongs to its current owner, while the lottery position is connected to the original team shown on the screen.
Lottery rules depend on the league configuration. The season and league guides cover league settings and customization.
Make a draft selection
Section titled “Make a draft selection”- Review your picks and the league’s pick order.
- Select Start Draft.
- When your team is on the clock, select a prospect from the list.
- Review the prospect preview, then select Draft to confirm the pick.
If it is not your turn, the game offers Sim To User Pick. After the draft starts, the main controls also include:
- Sim Pick, which advances through the current selection
- Sim To User, which advances to your next pick
- Sim Draft, which completes the remaining draft
Trade a draft pick
Section titled “Trade a draft pick”When draft-day trades are enabled, selecting an eligible unmade pick provides Trade and Find Trade options. You can trade one of your picks or try to acquire another team’s pick. Once a selection has been made, that pick is no longer available to trade.
Use the trades guide before accepting an offer. Trading down gives up the current selection for a later package; trading up costs assets to select sooner.
Gems and busts
Section titled “Gems and busts”A gem is a player whose later development makes the selection look better than expected. A bust is a player who falls short of what was expected from the selection. Neither result is confirmed on draft day.
Scouting gives you more information for the decision, but it does not guarantee development. Motivation affects a player’s chance of reaching their potential, and Povr remains a projection. The potential and motivation guide explains those two ideas in more detail.
History mode draft setting
Section titled “History mode draft setting”Ignore draft history generates prospect draft positions without using their original draft positions. Leave it off when you want the original draft history to continue influencing where prospects are expected to be selected.