Who was the first player selected in the first NHL Entry Draft in 1963?

Garry Monahan was the first player selected in the first NHL Entry Draft, held in 1963.

The Montreal Canadiens chose Monahan with the first overall selection on June 5, 1963. The event was originally called the NHL Amateur Draft and took place at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. Monahan was a center from the St. Michael's Buzzers program in Toronto.

He played parts of 11 NHL seasons with the Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Toronto Maple Leafs. His most productive NHL season came with Detroit in 1970–71, when he recorded 18 goals and 19 assists.

The draft was created as the NHL moved away from its earlier sponsorship and junior-hockey sponsorship systems. Bobby Orr, often associated with the early draft era, was selected fourth overall by Boston in 1966, not first in 1963. The first draft also had only 21 selections, far fewer than modern NHL drafts.