NHL entry draft

The NHL Entry Draft is an event in which the teams of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the rights to available amateur players who meet the requirements to play professional hockey in the NHL.

Draft order

Draft order in the Entry Draft is determined by a combination of lottery, regular season standing, and playoff results. In all cases, the team considered is the original holder of the draft pick, not a team which may have acquired the pick via a trade or other means.

List of Drafts

Draft oddities

In the 1974 entry draft, Buffalo Sabres General Manager Punch Imlach deliberately selected an imaginary Japanese center, Taro Tsujimoto, supposedly of the Tokyo Katanas of the Japanese Ice Hockey League, in the 11th round (183rd overall). Only after weeks had passed did the league discover that Tsujimoto did not in fact exist. Imlach later revealed that he had played the prank because of his frustration with the excessive tedium and length of that year's draft proceedings. Today, the league officially records the 183rd selection of the 1974 entry draft as an "invalid claim".

Likewise, the Florida Panthers attempted to draft Russian hockey phenomenon Alexander Ovechkin in 2003, even though his birthday was two days after the cut-off. The Panther's GM claimed that, with the addition of extra days falling on Leap Year, Ovechkin was actually eligible to be drafted.

Player numbers by league summary

Below is a chart showing where players have been drafted from by year. The leagues represented are the Ontario Hockey League, Western Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, United States Colleges, United States High Schools, International players. Those player listed under Other do not fit any of the other listed categories. International players who were playing for teams in North American leagues are listed in the chart as being drafted from their respective league rather than being listed as international. [permanent dead link]

Year OHL WHL QMJHL NCAA USHS Int'l Other
2007 35 27 25 8 15 35 56
2006 29 24 25 22 18 63 35
2005 43 43 23 13 18 50 40
2004 42 44 27 28 18 88 44
2003 44 41 38 23 10 93 43
2002 35 43 23 41 6 110 32
2001 41 45 26 24 8 119 26
2000 39 41 21 35 7 123 27
1999 52 40 20 36 9 94 21
1998 50 44 41 27 7 75 14
1997 52 63 19 26 4 63 19
1996 51 54 31 25 6 58 16
1995 54 55 35 5 2 69 14
1994 45 66 28 6 28 80 33
1993 60 44 23 17 33 78 31
1992 57 45 22 9 25 84 22
1991 43 40 25 43 37 55 21
1990 39 33 14 38 57 53 16
1989 39 44 16 48 47 38 20
1988 32 30 22 48 56 39 25
1987 32 36 17 40 69 38 20
1986 66 32 22 22 40 28 42
1985 59 47 15 20 48 31 31
1984 55 37 16 22 44 40 36
1983 57 41 24 14 35 34 37
1982 60 55 17 20 47 35 18
1981 59 37 28 21 17 32 17
1980 73 41 24 42 7 13 10
1979 48 37 19 15 - 6 1
1978 59 48 22 73 - 16 16
1977 42 44 40 49 - 5 5
1976 47 33 18 26 - 8 3
1975 55 57 28 59 - 6 12
1974 69 66 40 41 - 6 25
1973 56 49 24 25 - - 14
1972 46 44 30 21 - - 11
1971 41 28 13 22 - - 13
1970 51 22 13 16 - - 13
1969 36 20 11 7 - 1 9
Total 1893 1641 925 1077 718 1766 888
Total Players Drafted (1969–2007): 8,908

Player numbers by team

This is a ranking of the minor teams who have provided the most players to the NHL as of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.

Rank - Team, League - Players

  1. Peterborough Petes, OHL - 162
  2. Oshawa Generals, OHL - 146
  3. Kitchener Rangers, OHL - 140
  4. London Knights, OHL - 140
  5. Ottawa 67's, OHL - 132
  6. Saskatoon Blades, WHL - 108
  7. Regina Pats, WHL - 107
  8. Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds, OHL - 107
  9. Sudbury Wolves, OHL - 107
  10. Kamloops Blazers, WHL - 105
  11. Portland Winter Hawks, WHL - 105
  12. Medicine Hat Tigers, WHL - 101
  13. Brandon Wheat Kings, WHL - 97
  14. Toronto Marlboros, OHL - 97 (defunct)
  15. Kingston Frontenacs, OHL - 94
  16. Seattle Thunderbirds, WHL - 91
  17. Lethbridge Hurricanes, WHL - 87
  18. Prince Albert Raiders, WHL - 80
  19. Windsor Spitfires, OHL - 76
  20. Shawinigan Cataractes, QMJHL - 74
  21. Hull/Gatineau Olympiques, QMJHL - 72
  22. Niagara Falls Thunder, OHL - 72 (defunct)
  23. Victoria Cougars, WHL - 70 (defunct)
  24. Minnesota, NCAA's WCHA - 68
  25. Guelph Storm, OHL - 67
  26. Michigan, NCAA's CCHA - 66
  27. Calgary Wranglers, WHL - 66 (defunct)
  28. Sherbrooke Castors, QMJHL - 63 (defunct)
  29. Hamilton Steelhawks, OHL - 62 (defunct)
  30. New Westminster Bruins, WHL - 62 (defunct)
  31. CSKA Moscow, Russia - 60
  32. Spokane Chiefs, WHL - 60
  33. Belleville Bulls, OHL - 59
  34. Moose Jaw Warriors, WHL - 58
  35. Swift Current Broncos, WHL - 58
  36. North Bay Centennials, OHL - 56 (defunct)
  37. Plymouth Whalers, OHL - 54
  38. Laval Titan, QMJHL - 54 (defunct)
  39. Drummondville Voltigeurs, QMJHL - 53
  40. Hamilton Fincups, OHA - 52 (defunct)
  41. Chicoutimi Saguenéens, QMJHL - 51
  42. Tri-City Americans, WHL - 51
  43. Boston University, NCAA's Hockey East - 50
  44. Quebec Remparts, QMJHL - 49
  45. Michigan State, NCAA's CCHA - 47
  46. Trois-Rivières Draveurs, QMJHL - 47 (defunct)
  47. Dynamo Moscow, Russia - 46
  48. Michigan Tech, NCAA's WCHA - 46
  49. Cornwall Royals, QMJHL - 45 (defunct)
  50. Denver, NCAA's WCHA - 43
  51. Yale, NCAA's ECAC - 43
  52. Wisconsin, NCAA's WCHA - 41
  53. Red Deer Rebels, WHL - 40
  54. Frölunda Indians, Sweden - 39
  55. North Dakota, NCAA's WCHA - 39
  56. Flin Flon Bombers, WCHL - 39 (defunct)
  57. Edmonton Oil Kings, WCHL - 38 (defunct)
  58. Djurgårdens IF, Sweden - 37
  59. Cornwall Royals, OHL - 37 (defunct)
  60. Boston College, NCAA's Hockey East - 36
  61. HIFK Helsinki, Finland - 35
  62. MODO Hockey Örnsköldsvik, Sweden - 35
  63. Cornell, NCAA's ECAC - 34
  64. Harvard, NCAA's ECAC - 34
  65. Jokerit Helsinki, Finland - 34
  66. Providence, NCAA's Hockey East - 34
  67. TPS Turku, Finland - 34
  68. Winnipeg Warriors, WHL - 34 (defunct)
  69. Colorado College, NCAA's WCHA - 33
  70. HC Chemopetrol Litvínov, Czech Republic - 33
  71. Clarkson, NCAA's ECAC - 32
  72. Färjestads BK Karlstad, Sweden - 32
  73. Notre Dame, NCAA's CCHA - 32
  74. Montreal Junior Canadiens, QMJHL - 32 (defunct)
  75. Ilves Tampere, Finland - 31
  76. Krylya Sovetov Moskva, Russia - 31
  77. New Hampshire, NCAA's Hockey East - 31
  78. Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL - 31
  79. Granby Prédateurs, QMJHL - 30 (defunct)

Note: Totals for Canadian Hockey League teams include all teams from that city, regardless of franchise moves except for Toronto, Quebec City, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver.