County Hockey Team Might Draft High : Expansion: NHL’s preliminary plans give Orange County and South Florida with fourth and fifth picks in June draft--if they play next season.

Orange County’s new hockey team could draft as high as fourth in the NHL’s June draft, according to preliminary plans drawn up by the league’s expansion committee.

However, the league left open whether the Orange County-based team and the new South Florida team will enter the league for the 1993-94 season or in 1994-95.

Earlier this month, the NHL awarded contingent franchises to the Walt Disney Co. to be based in Orange County and Blockbuster Entertainment chief Wayne Huizenga to be based in South Florida and gave the new teams the option of beginning play either of the next two seasons. Both teams must sign arena lease agreements before they can officially join the league.

Disney plans to base its team in the Anaheim Arena, which is expected to be finished by June. According to Brad Mayne, the general manager of the City of Anahiem owned arena, negotiations are ongoing between Disney officials and officials from Ogden Inc., the firm that has been hired to operate the arena.

“We haven’t run into any roadblocks at this point,” Mayne said, “but nothing is settled.”

Apparently, the NHL is making plans in case Orange County and/or South Florida get a home and are ready to go next fall.

Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall, who serves as the chairman of the NHL board of governors, said Wednesday the league has come up with tentative draft plans taking the expansion teams into consideration.

McNall said the league’s general managers received an informational fax from league headquarters about draft procedure with scenarios for 1993-94 and 1994-95, including and excluding the new teams. He added that although neither team has yet signed a stadium lease, he expects no problems for the Orange County franchise.

Hartford Whalers General Manager Brian Burke outlined what he said was the NHL’s plan on a Hartford, Conn., radio station Wednesday. Burke said that if the expansion teams enter the league next fall, the draft plan would be as follows: If recent expansion teams Tampa Bay, Ottawa and San Jose finish in the bottom three in the league, they will draft in the top three spots, followed by Miami and Orange County.

An NHL executive said several teams have objected to the formula devised for the draft.

The Times’ Brad Falduto, Helene Elliott and Lisa Dillman contributed to this story.