In what year was the first NHL Entry Draft held?

The first NHL Entry Draft was held in 1963. It took place in Montreal on June 5, when the league conducted what was officially called the NHL Amateur Draft.

The draft was created to give teams a more organized way to acquire young players instead of relying primarily on sponsorship, junior-hockey affiliations and territorial claims. The Montreal Canadiens selected Garry Monahan first overall, making him the inaugural top pick. Monahan was only 16 years old at the time.

The original system was much smaller and less elaborate than today’s draft. The 1963 event included 21 selections, and only a limited number of players were chosen compared with the modern seven-round format. The league gradually expanded and refined eligibility rules as junior hockey and scouting became more sophisticated.

A frequent source of confusion is the name. The 1963 event was officially the NHL Amateur Draft; the league renamed it the NHL Entry Draft in 1979. For trivia purposes, however, 1963 is the accepted year for the first draft in the lineage of today’s Entry Draft.