1963 NHL Amateur Draft

The 1963 NHL Amateur Draft was held on June 5 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the first NHL Amateur Draft and consisted of 16-year-old players.

The Amateur Draft was instituted by NHL President Clarence Campbell as a means of phasing out the sponsorship of amateur teams by the league's member clubs. The NHL wanted to create what Campbell called "a uniform opportunity for each team to acquire a star player." Prior to the creation of the draft NHL teams would sponsor amateur teams and players, pre-empting other NHL clubs from acquiring new, young talent, and limiting amateur players' prospects in the NHL to the team which sponsored them.[1]

Eligibility in this draft was limited to all amateur players who would reach 17 years of age between August 1, 1963 and July 31, 1964. Under the league rules, teams were not allowed to talk to the drafted players about turning professional until they turned 18. At that point, the teams had 72 hours to get the players signed or placed on their negotiation list. Players already on sponsorship lists were ineligible.

The draft order was determined by giving the teams choice of their place in the six-team order based on a reverse order of the standings, for example, as the Boston Bruins finished last in the 1962–63 season they were given first choice of pick in the order. The final draft order was chosen to be Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks and Toronto Maple Leafs. The order would rotate in the next draft such that each team moved up one spot in the order, and the first pick Canadiens would move to sixth.

This first draft consisted of four rounds, however few top prospects were available to the draft in the early years as most of hockey's top junior players had already been assigned to NHL clubs through sponsored junior teams. In the 1963 draft only 21 players, out of a possible 24 picks, were chosen. This is because teams were allowed to defer their pick to the next team in the draft order. The Red Wings chose not to exercise their third and fourth round picks, and the Black Hawks elected not to exercise their fourth round pick.[2]

Of the players selected five eventually played in the NHL, and only one won the Stanley Cup (Peter Mahovlich). None of the players selected have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Contents

Selections by round

Below are listed the selections in the 1963 NHL Amateur Draft.

= NHL All-Star [3] = Hall of Famers

Round one

Pick # Player Position Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team
1 Garry Monahan Centre  Canada Montreal Canadiens St. Michael's Buzzers (MetJHL)
2 Peter Mahovlich Right Wing  Canada Detroit Red Wings St. Michael's Buzzers (MetJHL)
3 Orest Romashyna Left Wing  Canada Boston Bruins New Hamburg Firebirds (CJCHL)
4 Al Osborne Right Wing  Canada New York Rangers Weston Dodgers (MetJHL)
5 Art Hampson Defence  Canada Chicago Black Hawks Trenton Midgets (OAAAMHL)
6 Walt McKechnie Centre  Canada Toronto Maple Leafs London Nationals (WJBHL)
Reference: "1966 NHL Amateur Draft hockeydraftcentral.com". http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1966/66main.htm. Retrieved 11 January 2009. 

Round two

Pick # Player Position Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team
7 Rodney Presswood Defence  Canada Montreal Canadiens Georgetown Midgets (OAAAMHL)
8 Bill Cosburn Centre  Canada Detroit Red Wings Bick's Pickles Midgets (OAAAMHL)
9 Terrance Lane Centre  Canada Boston Bruins Georgetown Midgets (OAAAMHL)
10 Terry Jones Centre  Canada New York Rangers Weston Midgets (OAAAMHL)
11 Wayne Davison Defence  Canada Chicago Black Hawks Georgetown Midgets (OAAAMHL)
12 Neil Clairmont Left Wing  Canada Toronto Maple Leafs Parry Sound Midgets (OAAAMHL)
Reference: "1966 NHL Amateur Draft hockeydraftcentral.com". http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1966/66main.htm. Retrieved 11 January 2009. 

Round three

Pick # Player Position Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team
13 Roy Pugh Centre  Canada Montreal Canadiens Aurora Bears (SOJCHL)
14 Roger Bamburak Right Wing  Canada Boston Bruins Isaac Brock Secondary School (HS-Manitoba)
15 Mike Cummings Forward  Canada New York Rangers Georgetown Midgets (OAAAMHL)
16 Bill Carson Defence  Canada Chicago Black Hawks Brampton Midgets (OAAAMHL)
17 Jim McKenny Defence  Canada Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons (MetJHL)
Reference: "1966 NHL Amateur Draft hockeydraftcentral.com". http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1966/66main.htm. Retrieved 11 January 2009. 

Round four

Pick # Player Position Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team
18 Glen Shirton Defence  Canada Montreal Canadiens Port Colborne Midgets (OAAAMHL)
19 Jim Blair Forward  Canada Boston Bruins Georgetown Midgets (OAAAMHL)
20 Cam Allison Defence  Canada New York Rangers Portage la Prairie Terriers (CMJHL)
21 Gerry Meehan Centre  Canada Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons (MetJHL)
Reference: "1966 NHL Amateur Draft hockeydraftcentral.com". http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1966/66main.htm. Retrieved 11 January 2009. 
= NHL All-Star [3] = Hall of Famers

See also

References

  1. ^ Diamond, Dan (2008). Canada on Ice; The World Hockey Championships, 1920 – 2008. Canada On Ice productions. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0-9808936-0-1. 
  2. ^ Diamond, Dan (2008). Canada on Ice; The World Hockey Championships, 1920 – 2008. Canada On Ice productions. pp. 44–45. ISBN 978-0-9808936-0-1. 
  3. ^ a b Players are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career.

External links