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DRAFT HISTORY

NHL Draft History

Every NHL draft since 1963 — 64 drafts, every pick, with players linked to their career stats where they reached the NHL.

YearPicksRoundsFirst OverallDrafted By
2026 NHL Draft 224 7 Gavin McKenna TOR
2025 NHL Draft 224 7 Matthew Schaefer NYI
2024 NHL Draft 225 7 Macklin Celebrini SJS
2023 NHL Draft 223 7 Connor Bedard CHI
2022 NHL Draft 225 7 Juraj Slafkovsky MTL
2021 NHL Draft 224 7 Owen Power BUF
2020 NHL Draft 217 7 Alexis Lafrenière NYR
2019 NHL Draft 217 7 Jack Hughes NJD
2018 NHL Draft 217 7 Rasmus Dahlin BUF
2017 NHL Draft 217 7 Nico Hischier NJD
2016 NHL Draft 210 7 Auston Matthews TOR
2015 NHL Draft 211 7 Connor McDavid EDM
2014 NHL Draft 209 7 Aaron Ekblad FLA
2013 NHL Draft 211 7 Nathan MacKinnon COL
2012 NHL Draft 210 7 Nail Yakupov EDM
2011 NHL Draft 209 7 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins EDM
2010 NHL Draft 209 7 Taylor Hall EDM
2009 NHL Draft 211 7 John Tavares NYI
2008 NHL Draft 210 7 Steven Stamkos TBL
2007 NHL Draft 211 7 Patrick Kane CHI
2006 NHL Draft 212 7 Erik Johnson STL
2005 NHL Draft 230 7 Sidney Crosby PIT
2004 NHL Draft 289 9 Alex Ovechkin WSH
2003 NHL Draft 288 9 Marc-Andre Fleury PIT
2002 NHL Draft 288 9 Rick Nash CBJ
2001 NHL Draft 285 9 Ilya Kovalchuk ATL
2000 NHL Draft 287 9 Rick DiPietro NYI
1999 NHL Draft 262 9 Patrik Stefan ATL
1998 NHL Draft 251 9 Vincent Lecavalier TBL
1997 NHL Draft 239 9 Joe Thornton BOS
1996 NHL Draft 232 9 Chris Phillips OTT
1995 NHL Draft 230 9 Bryan Berard OTT
1994 NHL Draft 283 11 Ed Jovanovski FLA
1993 NHL Draft 282 11 Alexandre Daigle OTT
1992 NHL Draft 261 11 Roman Hamrlik TBL
1991 NHL Draft 263 12 Eric Lindros QUE
1990 NHL Draft 251 12 Owen Nolan QUE
1989 NHL Draft 251 12 Mats Sundin QUE
1988 NHL Draft 251 12 Mike Modano MNS
1987 NHL Draft 252 12 Pierre Turgeon BUF
1986 NHL Draft 252 12 Joe Murphy DET
1985 NHL Draft 251 12 Wendel Clark TOR
1984 NHL Draft 252 12 Mario Lemieux PIT
1983 NHL Draft 239 12 Brian Lawton MNS
1982 NHL Draft 251 12 Gord Kluzak BOS
1981 NHL Draft 209 11 Dale Hawerchuk WIN
1980 NHL Draft 210 10 Doug Wickenheiser MTL
1979 NHL Draft 126 6 Rob Ramage CLR
1978 NHL Draft 232 22 Bobby Smith MNS
1977 NHL Draft 180 17 Dale McCourt DET
1976 NHL Draft 135 15 Rick Green WSH
1975 NHL Draft 215 18 Mel Bridgman PHI
1974 NHL Draft 246 25 Greg Joly WSH
1973 NHL Draft 168 12 Denis Potvin NYI
1972 NHL Draft 152 11 Billy Harris NYI
1971 NHL Draft 117 15 Guy Lafleur MTL
1970 NHL Draft 116 14 Gilbert Perreault BUF
1969 NHL Draft 84 10 Rejean Houle MTL
1968 NHL Draft 24 3 Michel Plasse MTL
1967 NHL Draft 18 3 Rick Pagnutti LAK
1966 NHL Draft 24 4 Barry Gibbs BOS
1965 NHL Draft 10 2 Andre Veilleux NYR
1964 NHL Draft 24 4 Claude Gauthier DET
1963 NHL Draft 21 4 Garry Monahan MTL

NHL draft — frequently asked

Who went first overall in the 2026 NHL draft?
Gavin McKenna was selected first overall by TOR in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft.
When was the first NHL draft?
The first NHL Amateur Draft was held in 1963. Garry Monahan was the first player ever selected, first overall by the Montreal Canadiens.
How many rounds are in the NHL draft?
The modern NHL Entry Draft runs seven rounds (~224 picks). Earlier eras varied widely — drafts in the 1970s–1990s ran anywhere from 6 to 25 rounds.