The 2007 NHL Entry Draft was the 45th
NHLEntry Draft. It was hosted at
Nationwide Arena in the city of
Columbus, Ohio, on June 22, 2007. The draft consisted of seven rounds with rounds two through seven taking place on June 23, 2007.[1] The draft was televised on
TSN and
RDS, with the first round simulcasted in the United States on
Versus and in Europe on
NASN.
Columbus Blue Jackets' President and General Manager
Doug MacLean and the NHL announced the event on March 21, 2006. On March 13, 2007, it was reported that NHL owners had voted in favor of changes to the team ranking system which would begin at the 2007 draft. This draft marked the first time in NHL history in which American players were selected with the top two picks, with
Patrick Kane and
James van Riemsdyk being selected by the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers, respectively, and also tied the record of the most Americans being selected in the first round with ten players.[2]
Lottery system
Starting with the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, the
Stanley Cup champion and
runner-up will receive the 30th and 29th picks, respectively. The conference finalists will get the 28th and 27th picks, and all other playoff teams will get picks based on their regular season point totals, but with the division winners getting the latest picks even if they had fewer points during the regular season than a non-division winner.
The draft order of the first 14 picks was determined by a lottery involving the non-playoff teams on April 10.[3]
Under the weighted lottery system, the club with the fewest regular-season points had the greatest chance (25%) of winning the Draft Drawing and could pick no lower than second at the 2007 Entry Draft. The winner of the drawing would move up a maximum of four places, with all other clubs' draft order being adjusted accordingly (no team moving down more than one spot).
The
Chicago Blackhawks, originally slated to draft in fifth place, won the lottery and as a result had the first overall pick in the draft.[4]
The
St. Louis Blues' first-round pick went to the
San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent Toronto's first and second-round picks in 2007 (13th and 44th overall) and a third-round pick in
2008 to St. Louis in exchange for this pick.
The
Toronto Maple Leafs' first-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent a first-round pick in 2007 (9th overall) to San Jose in exchange for Toronto's second-round pick in 2007 (44th overall), a third-round pick in
2008 and this pick.
San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent
Vesa Toskala and
Mark Bell to Toronto in exchange for a second-round pick in 2007 (44th overall), a fourth-round pick in
2009 and this pick.
The
Tampa Bay Lightning's first-round pick went to the
Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent a first and compensatory second-round pick both in 2007 (19th and 42nd overall) to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
Anaheim previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 24, 2007 that sent
Shane O'Brien and Colorado's third-round pick in 2007 to Tampa Bay in exchange for
Gerald Coleman and this pick.
The
Calgary Flames' first-round pick went to the
St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent Atlanta's first-round pick and a third-round pick both in 2007 (24th and 70th overall) to Calgary in exchange for this pick.
The
Minnesota Wild's first-round pick went to the
Anaheim Ducks as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent Tampa Bay's first-round pick in 2007 (16th overall) to Minnesota in exchange for a compensatory second-round pick in 2007 (42nd overall) and this pick.
The
Dallas Stars' first-round pick went to the
Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent Anaheim's first-round pick and a second-round pick both in 2007 (30th and 36th overall) to Phoenix in exchange for this pick.
Phoenix previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 12, 2007 that sent
Ladislav Nagy to Dallas in exchange for
Mathias Tjarnqvist and this pick.
The
Nashville Predators' first-round pick was re-acquired as the result of a trade on June 18, 2007 that sent
Kimmo Timonen and
Scott Hartnell to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.
Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 15, 2007 that sent
Peter Forsberg to Nashville in exchange for
Ryan Parent,
Scottie Upshall, a third-round pick in 2007 and this pick.
The
Atlanta Thrashers' first-round pick went to the
Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent a first-round pick in 2007 (18th overall) to St. Louis in exchange for a third-round pick in 2007 (70th overall) and this pick.
St. Louis previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 25, 2007 that sent
Keith Tkachuk to Atlanta in exchange for
Glen Metropolit, a third-round pick in 2007, a conditional first-round pick in
2008, a second-round pick in 2008 and this pick.
San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on October 1, 2006 that sent
Alexander Korolyuk and
Jim Fahey to New Jersey in exchange for
Vladimir Malakhov and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – San Jose will receive a first-round pick in 2007 if Malakhov does not resume his NHL career – was converted as Malakhov never played another game professionally after this trade.
The
Buffalo Sabres' first-round pick went to the
San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent Carolina's second-round pick in 2007 and a second-round pick in
2008 to Washington in exchange for this pick.
Washington previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 27, 2007 that sent
Dainius Zubrus and
Timo Helbling to Buffalo in exchange for
Jiri Novotny and this pick.
The
Anaheim Ducks' first-round pick went to the
Phoenix Coyotes as the result of a trade on June 22, 2007 that sent Dallas' first-round pick in 2007 (21st overall) to Edmonton in exchange for a second-round pick in 2007 (36th overall) and this pick.
Edmonton previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 3, 2006 that sent
Chris Pronger to Anaheim in exchange for
Joffrey Lupul,
Ladislav Smid, a conditional first-round pick in
2008, a second-round pick in 2008 and this pick.
Phoenix's fourth-round pick went to Anaheim as the result of a trade on August 23, 2005 that sent
Mike Leclerc to Phoenix in exchange for a conditional fourth-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft (this pick). The conditions of this pick are unknown.
The Rangers' fourth-round pick went to Washington as the result of a trade on June 24, 2006 that sent a fifth-round pick in the
2006 Entry Draft to the Rangers in exchange for this pick.
The Rangers re-acquired this pick as the result of a trade on January 8, 2009 that sent
Maxim Kondratiev to Anaheim in exchange for
Petr Sýkora and this pick.
Anaheim previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 23, 2005 that sent
Steve Rucchin to the Rangers in exchange for
Trevor Gillies and a conditional pick in the 2007 Entry Draft (this pick). The conditions of this pick are unknown.
Calgary's acquired sixth-round pick went to Colorado as the result of a trade on June 23, 2007 that sent a fifth-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft to Calgary in exchange for a sixth-round pick (# 169 overall) in the 2007 Entry Draft and this pick.
Calgary previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on August 4, 2005 that sent
Chris Clark and a seventh-round pick in the
2007 Entry Draft to Washington in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the
2006 Entry Draft and this pick.
Colorado's sixth-round pick went to San Jose as the result of a trade on June 1, 2006 that sent the rights to
Michael Vernace to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
Calgary's seventh-round pick went to Washington as the result of a trade on August 4, 2005 that sent a seventh-round pick in the
2006 Entry Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2007 Entry Draft to Calgary in exchange for
Chris Clark and this pick.
^Acquired from the Washington Capitals for a 3rd round pick in 2007 and a 2nd round pick in
2008 on June 23, 2007. Washington acquired along with a 2nd round pick in the
2008 from the San Jose Sharks for a 1st round pick in 2007 on June 22, 2007 (see also pick 28). San Jose acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins for
Nils Ekman and
Patrick Ehelechner on July 20, 2006. Pittsburgh acquired with
Niklas Nordgren and
Krys Kolanos from the Carolina Hurricanes for
Mark Recchi on March 3, 2006
^See pick 16. Previously awarded to Minnesota as compensation for losing rights to 2004 first-round pick (12th overall)
A. J. Thelen, June 2, 2007.
^Acquired with 3rd and 4th round picks in
2006 from the San Jose Sharks for a 2nd round pick in 2006 on June 24, 2006
^Acquired from Anaheim for
George Parros and a 3rd round pick in 2007 for Atlanta's 2nd round and Anaheim's 3rd round in 2007 on November 13, 2006. Anaheim acquired previously with
Karl Stewart and a conditional round pick from the Atlanta Thrashers for
Vitaly Vishnevskiy on August 17, 2006
^Acquired with a 1st round pick in
2008 and a conditional draft pick for
Tomas Vokoun on June 22, 2007. Florida acquired previously with
Shawn Matthias and a 2nd round pick in
2008 from the Detroit Red Wings for
Todd Bertuzzi on February 27, 2007
^Acquired with a 4th round pick in
2008 for
Brent Sopel on February 25, 2007. Vancouver acquired previously from the Anaheim Ducks as compensation for hiring coach
Randy Carlyle on August 1, 2005
^(Anaheim had the option of using this pick or Phoenix's 3rd round pick in
2008, choosing this one.) Acquired from Boston along with the option to switch 4th round picks in
2008 at Anaheim's option for
Stanislav Chistov on November 13, 2006. Boston acquired along with
Paul Mara for
Nick Boynton and a 4th round pick in 2007 on June 26, 2006.
^Acquired from Minnesota for
Petteri Nummelin on June 14, 2006. Minnesota acquired along with a 1st round pick in
2006 for
Dwayne Roloson on March 8, 2006.
^Acquired along with a 2nd round pick in 2007 for a 2nd round pick in 2007 on June 23, 2007.
^Acquired along with a 1st round pick in 2007 for a 1st round pick in 2007.
^See picks 16 (Anaheim to Tampa Bay) and 55 (Colorado to Anaheim).