NHL Draft

The NHL Draft an annual event in which the National Hockey League's thirty teams can select players who wish to join the league.

The 2009 NHL Draft will be held on June 26 and June 27 at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada. It will be broadcast on Versus in the United States and on TSN in Canada.

• New York Islanders: John Tavares

• Tampa Bay Lightning: Victor Hedman

• Colorado Avalanche: Matt Duchene

• Atlanta Thrashers: Evander Kane

• Los Angeles Kings: Brayden Schenn

• Phoenix Coyotes: Oliver Ekman-Larsson

• Toronto Maple Leafs: Nazem Kadri

• Dallas Stars: Scott Glennie

• Ottawa Senators: Jared Cowen

• Edmonton Oilers: Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson

• Nashville Predators: Ryan Ellis

• New York Islanders: Calvin De Haan

• Buffalo Sabres: Zack Kassian

• Florida Panthers: Dmitry Kulikov

• Anaheim Ducks: Peter Holland

• Minnesota Wild: Nick Leddy

• St. Louis Blues: David Rundblad

• Montreal Canadiens: Louis Leblanc

• New York Rangers: Chris Kreider

• New Jersey Devils: Jacob Josefson

The draft was first held on June 5, 1963 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where the original six NHL teams each selected four players to join their squads. Originally teams could select players age 17 and older, however this was changed in 1969 to include only players 20 and older.

The draft order is determined first by how teams finish in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Stanley Cup champion is given the last or 30th pick, with the runner up following with the 29th pick and so on. The 14 NHL teams that did not qualify for the playoffs are then involved in a draft lottery, where the draft order is finalized.

Since 1980, players are eligible for the NHL draft if they are aged 18-20 and North American. Additionally any player 18 and over from outside North America is eligible for the draft.

1. Bobby Orr, 1966
2. Denis Potvin, 1973
3. Mario Lemieux, 1984
4. Mike Modano, 1988
5. Eric Lindros, 1991
6. Joe Thornton, 1997
7. Alexander Ovechkin, 2004
8. Sidney Crosby, 2005