The NHL Research, Development and Orientation Camp is an annual two-day event held by the National Hockey League

National Hockey League

The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...

 for the purpose of testing potential changes to the rules

Ice hockey rules

The majority of ice hockey around the world is played under the umbrella of three organizations, Hockey Canada, USA Hockey, and the International Ice Hockey Federation, each with their own set of rules...

 of the game of ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, ranging from the subtle variety to the more drastic kind.

The event allows the NHL to experiment with potential changes to the game, while using top prospects for the NHL Entry Draft

NHL Entry Draft

The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League systematically select the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements...

 as guinea pigs in the on-ice experiments.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman

Gary Bettman

Gary Bruce Bettman is the commissioner of the National Hockey League , a post he has held since February 1, 1993. Previously, Bettman was a senior vice-president and general counsel to the National Basketball Association...

describes the event as “an opportunity to try new things, look at things, even if we never implement them”.