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The 1978
NHLAmateur Draft was the 16th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted at the
Queen Elizabeth Hotel in
Montreal,
Quebec, on June 15, 1978. It was the last draft to be called the "Amateur Draft" before the process was renamed to the NHL Entry Draft in 1979.
The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was
Viacheslav Fetisov, who retired after the
1997–98 season, although he was re-drafted in
1983.
Selections by round
Below are listed the selections in the 1978 NHL amateur draft. The Washington Capitals chose to take an extra pick in the first round instead of participating in the
Dispersal Draft (Tim Coulis), and were allowed to pick in Cleveland's position in the second round to complete the
Bob Girard/
Walt McKechnie trade.[1] The New York Islanders had traded their fourth round selection to Cleveland, so that pick was forfeited.[2]
The
New York Rangers' first-round pick went to the
Philadelphia Flyers as the result of compensation on June 2, 1978, for the right to hire
Fred Shero as their new head coach. Philadelphia received this pick as compensation for the hire.
The
Los Angeles Kings' first-round pick went to the
Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 12, 1976, that sent
Glenn Goldup and a third-round pick in 1978 to Los Angeles in exchange for a third-round pick in
1977 and this pick.
The
Toronto Maple Leafs' first-round pick went to the
Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on March 13, 1978, that sent
Dan Maloney and a second-round pick in
1980 to Toronto in exchange for
Errol Thompson, a second-round pick in 1978, a first-round pick in
1980 and this pick.
The
Washington Capitals chose to take an extra pick in the first round instead of participating in the
Dispersal Draft. They were awarded pick #18.
The
St. Louis Blues' second-round pick went to the
Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a compensation to Toronto with cash from St. Louis for restricted free agent
Rod Seiling on September 9, 1976.
The Washington Capitals chose to take an extra pick in the first round instead of participating in the
Dispersal Draft and were allowed to pick in Cleveland's position in the second round to complete the trade.
The
Philadelphia Flyers' second-round pick went to the
Colorado Rockies as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent Colorado's second-round pick in
1979 in exchange for this pick.
Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on September 29, 1976, that sent
Dave Schultz to Los Angeles in exchange for a fourth-round pick in
1977 and this pick.
The
Toronto Maple Leafs' second-round pick went to the
Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on March 13, 1978, that sent
Dan Maloney and a second-round pick in
1980 to Toronto in exchange for
Errol Thompson, a first-round pick in 1978, a first-round pick in
1980 and this pick.
The
Los Angeles Kings' third-round pick went to the
New York Rangers as the result of a trade on August 31, 1977, that sent the rights to
Pete Stemkowski to Los Angeles in exchange for future considerations. The future considerations became this pick.
The
Detroit Red Wings' third-round pick went to the
Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on August 17, 1977, that sent the rights to
Ron Low and a third-round pick in
1979 to Detroit in exchange for
Walt McKechnie, a second-round pick in
1979 and this pick.
Los Angeles previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade with Montreal on June 12, 1976, that sent a third-round pick in
1977 and a first-round pick in 1978 in exchange for
Glenn Goldup and this pick.
The
St. Louis Blues' fourth-round pick went to the
Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on June 12, 1978, that sent
Mike Walton to St. Louis in exchange for future considerations and this pick.
Draft pick forfeited by the Islanders due to Barons-North Stars merger on June 14, one day prior to the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft.
The
Vancouver Canucks' fifth-round pick went to the
Colorado Rockies as the result of a trade on September 12, 1976, that sent Colorado's fourth-round pick in
1977 NHL Amateur Draft to Vancouver in exchange for this pick.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins' seventh-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins' ninth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins' tenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
The
Buffalo Sabres' tenth-round pick went to the
Philadelphia Flyers as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.
The
Boston Bruins' tenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Boston in exchange for this pick.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins' eleventh-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
The
Toronto Maple Leafs' eleventh-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Toronto in exchange for this pick.
The
Buffalo Sabres' eleventh-round pick went to the
Philadelphia Flyers as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.
The
Boston Bruins' eleventh-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Boston in exchange for this pick.
Round twelve
Ladislav Svozil was the first Czechoslovakian player drafted in the history of the NHL Draft. The Red Wings selected Svozil in the 12th round.[17] Bernhardt Engelbrecht was the first German player drafted in the history of the NHL Draft. The Flames selected him in the 12th round.[17]
The
Vancouver Canucks' twelfth-round pick went to the
Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Vancouver in exchange for this pick.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins' twelfth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
The
Chicago Black Hawks' twelfth-round pick went to the
Philadelphia Flyers as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Chicago in exchange for this pick.
The
Toronto Maple Leafs' twelfth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Toronto in exchange for this pick.
The
Boston Bruins' twelfth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Boston in exchange for this pick.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins' thirteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
The
Los Angeles Kings' thirteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick.
The
Atlanta Flames' thirteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Atlanta in exchange for this pick.
The
Toronto Maple Leafs' thirteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Toronto in exchange for this pick.
The
Boston Bruins' thirteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Boston in exchange for this pick.
The
Colorado Rockies' fourteenth-round pick went to the
Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
The
Pittsburgh Penguins' fourteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
The
Los Angeles Kings' fourteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Los Angeles in exchange for this pick.
The
Atlanta Flames' fourteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Atlanta in exchange for this pick.
The
Toronto Maple Leafs' fourteenth-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent cash to Toronto in exchange for this pick.