List of first overall NHL draft picks
The NHL Entry Draft, originally known as the NHL Amateur Draft, is a collective meeting in which the franchises of the National Hockey League (NHL) systematically select the exclusive rights to available amateur players who meet the eligibility requirements to play professional hockey in the NHL. First held in 1963, the draft prior to 1969 was a shorter affair. Any amateur player who was 17 years of age and older and was not already sponsored by an NHL club was eligible to be drafted. In 1969 the rules were changed so that any amateur player between the ages of 17 and 20 was eligible to be drafted.[1] The draft has grown, and in 2017, 217 players were selected over seven rounds.[2]
A total of 55 different players have been selected first. Of those, 40 have been Canadian, eight American, three Russian, two Czech, two Swedish and one Swiss. Every first overall pick taken between 1968 and 2016 has played in at least 299 NHL games.[3] Three players retired without having played an NHL game.
The Montreal Canadiens have had the most first overall picks of any other team, selecting five players first between 1963 and 1980. Five players have come from the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League, more than any other team. Eleven players have won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year: Gilbert Perreault, Denis Potvin, Bobby Smith, Dale Hawerchuk, Mario Lemieux, Bryan Berard, Alexander Ovechkin, Patrick Kane, Nathan MacKinnon, Aaron Ekblad and Auston Matthews. Eight have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame: Perreault, Potvin, Guy Lafleur, Eric Lindros, Hawerchuk, Lemieux, Mats Sundin and Mike Modano.
First overall picks[]
Mario Lemieux, drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984.
Mats Sundin, drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1989, as first European player to be picked first overall.
Alexander Ovechkin, drafted by the Washington Capitals in 2004.
Sidney Crosby, drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2005.
John Tavares, drafted by the New York Islanders in 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Connor McDavid, drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 2015.
Alexis Lafrenière, drafted by the New York Rangers in 2020.
- Key
bold | Active in the NHL |
‡ | Expansion team |
^ | Calder Memorial Trophy winner |
* | Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame |
# | Calder Memorial Trophy winner and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame |
¤ | No games played in the NHL[4] |
Draft | Selected by | Player | Nationality | Position | Amateur/junior/former club | League |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1963 | Montreal Canadiens | Garry Monahan | Canada | Forward | St. Michael's Buzzers | CJBHL |
1964 | Detroit Red Wings | Claude Gauthier ¤ | Canada | Forward | Comité des jeunes (Rosemont) | QC Midget |
1965 | New York Rangers | Andre Veilleux ¤ | Canada | Forward | Montreal Rangers Jr. B | QC Jr. B |
1966 | Boston Bruins | Barry Gibbs | Canada | Defenceman | Estevan Bruins | SJHL |
1967 | Los Angeles Kings‡ | Rick Pagnutti ¤ | Canada | Defenceman | Garson Native Sons | NOHA |
1968 | Montreal Canadiens | Michel Plasse | Canada | Goaltender | Drummondville Rangers | QMJHL |
1969 | Montreal Canadiens | Rejean Houle | Canada | Forward | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA |
1970 | Buffalo Sabres‡ | Gilbert Perreault # | Canada | Forward | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA |
1971 | Montreal Canadiens | Guy Lafleur * | Canada | Forward | Quebec Remparts | QMJHL |
1972 | New York Islanders‡ | Billy Harris | Canada | Forward | Peterborough Petes | OHA |
1973 | New York Islanders | Denis Potvin # | Canada | Defenceman | Ottawa 67's | OHA |
1974 | Washington Capitals | Greg Joly | Canada | Defenceman | Regina Pats | WCHL |
1975 | Philadelphia Flyers | Mel Bridgman | Canada | Forward | Victoria Cougars | WCHL |
1976 | Washington Capitals | Rick Green | Canada | Defenceman | London Knights | OHA |
1977 | Detroit Red Wings | Dale McCourt | Canada | Forward | Hamilton Fincups | OHA |
1978 | Minnesota North Stars | Bobby Smith ^ | Canada | Forward | Ottawa 67's | OHA |
1979 | Colorado Rockies | Rob Ramage | Canada | Defenceman | London Knights | OHA |
1980 | Montreal Canadiens | Doug Wickenheiser | Canada | Forward | Regina Pats | WHL |
1981 | Winnipeg Jets | Dale Hawerchuk # | Canada | Forward | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL |
1982 | Boston Bruins | Gord Kluzak | Canada | Defenceman | Billings Bighorns | WHL |
1983 | Minnesota North Stars | Brian Lawton | United States | Forward | Mount Saint Charles Mounties | USHS-RI |
1984 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Mario Lemieux # | Canada | Forward | Laval Voisins | QMJHL |
1985 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Wendel Clark | Canada | Defenceman 1 | Saskatoon Blades | WHL |
1986 | Detroit Red Wings | Joe Murphy | Canada | Forward | Michigan State Spartans | CCHA |
1987 | Buffalo Sabres | Pierre Turgeon | Canada | Forward | Granby Bisons | QMJHL |
1988 | Minnesota North Stars | Mike Modano * | United States | Forward | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL |
1989 | Quebec Nordiques | Mats Sundin * | Sweden | Forward | Nacka HK | Swe-2 |
1990 | Quebec Nordiques | Owen Nolan | Canada | Forward | Cornwall Royals | OHL |
1991 | Quebec Nordiques | Eric Lindros * | Canada | Forward | Oshawa Generals | OHL |
1992 | Tampa Bay Lightning‡ | Roman Hamrlik | Czechoslovakia | Defenceman | HC Zlin | CS-1HL |
1993 | Ottawa Senators | Alexandre Daigle | Canada | Forward | Victoriaville Tigres | QMJHL |
1994 | Florida Panthers | Ed Jovanovski | Canada | Defenceman | Windsor Spitfires | OHL |
1995 | Ottawa Senators | Bryan Berard ^ | United States | Defenceman | Detroit Junior Red Wings | OHL |
1996 | Ottawa Senators | Chris Phillips | Canada | Defenceman | Prince Albert Raiders | WHL |
1997 | Boston Bruins | Joe Thornton | Canada | Forward | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds | OHL |
1998 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Vincent Lecavalier | Canada | Forward | Rimouski Oceanic | QMJHL |
1999 | Atlanta Thrashers‡ | Patrik Stefan | Czech Republic | Forward | Long Beach Ice Dogs | IHL |
2000 | New York Islanders | Rick DiPietro | United States | Goaltender | Boston University Terriers | HEA |
2001 | Atlanta Thrashers | Ilya Kovalchuk | Russia | Forward | Spartak Moscow | RUS-2 |
2002 | Columbus Blue Jackets | Rick Nash | Canada | Forward | London Knights | OHL |
2003 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Marc-Andre Fleury | Canada | Goaltender | Cape Breton Screaming Eagles | QMJHL |
2004 | Washington Capitals | Alexander Ovechkin ^ | Russia | Forward | Dynamo Moscow | RSL |
2005 | Pittsburgh Penguins | Sidney Crosby | Canada | Forward | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL |
2006 | St. Louis Blues | Erik Johnson | United States | Defenceman | U.S. NTDP | NAHL |
2007 | Chicago Blackhawks | Patrick Kane ^ | United States | Forward | London Knights | OHL |
2008 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Steven Stamkos | Canada | Forward | Sarnia Sting | OHL |
2009 | New York Islanders | John Tavares | Canada | Forward | London Knights | OHL |
2010 | Edmonton Oilers | Taylor Hall | Canada | Forward | Windsor Spitfires | OHL |
2011 | Edmonton Oilers | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | Canada | Forward | Red Deer Rebels | WHL |
2012 | Edmonton Oilers | Nail Yakupov | Russia | Forward | Sarnia Sting | OHL |
2013 | Colorado Avalanche | Nathan MacKinnon ^ | Canada | Forward | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL |
2014 | Florida Panthers | Aaron Ekblad ^ | Canada | Defenceman | Barrie Colts | OHL |
2015 | Edmonton Oilers | Connor McDavid | Canada | Forward | Erie Otters | OHL |
2016 | Toronto Maple Leafs | Auston Matthews ^ | United States | Forward | ZSC Lions | NLA |
2017 | New Jersey Devils | Nico Hischier | Switzerland | Forward | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL |
2018 | Buffalo Sabres | Rasmus Dahlin | Sweden | Defenceman | Frolunda HC | SHL |
2019 | New Jersey Devils | Jack Hughes | United States | Forward | U.S. NTDP | USHL |
2020 | New York Rangers | Alexis Lafreniere | Canada | Forward | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL |
2021 | Buffalo Sabres | Owen Power | Canada | Defenceman | University of Michigan | B1G |
- Notes
- Wendel Clark was drafted as a defenceman
See also[]
References[]
- General
- "Entry Draft Historic First selections". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- "NHL Entry Draft–All-time first-overall picks". Slam! Sports. Archived from the original on 2013-01-10. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- "All-time No. 1 draft picks". ESPN. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- "Calder Memorial Trophy". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2006-04-23. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- "List of honored Players". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- "50 Years of the 1st pick". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2012-06-18. Retrieved 2012-06-19.
- Specific
- ^ "NHL Draft History". National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2001-01-28. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
- ^ "NHL Draft History–2017 Stats". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2018-04-07.
- ^ Kreiser, John (2011-06-24). "Inside the Draft numbers". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
- ^ "HHOF Time Capsure–The 1960s–10 High Draft Picks That Failed To Pan Out". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2003-08-23. Retrieved 2008-06-20.
- National Hockey League first overall draft picks
- Lists of National Hockey League players