Top 10 Draft Facts from the 80s and 90s

With the fall of the World Hockey Association (WHA) in 1979 and multiple expansions throughout the 90s, the Draft takes on a much more prominent role.

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Take a closer look at some of the Draft highlights and Canadiens-related events that took place in that era ahead of the 2022 Draft in Montreal this week.
10.The NHL absorbed four teams from the WHA ahead of the 1979-80 season: the Quebec Nordiques, the Edmonton Oilers, the Hartford Whalers and the Winnipeg Jets.

9.To accommodate the abundance of players now available in the market, the NHL Amateur Draft was renamed to the NHL Entry Draft. The rules were modified to allow players who had already played professionally to be drafted by NHL teams.
8. In 1980, the Draft was held at the Montreal Forum for the first time, and the public was granted access.
7. The Canadiens selected Doug Wickenheiser with the first-overall pick at the 1980 Entry Draft. Despite hindsight criticism of the pick, the oft-maligned Wickenheiser was the consensus No.1 choice at the time.
6. The 1984 Draft, the first to be televised, was particularly fruitful for the Canadiens. Not only did they select defenseman Petr Svoboda and forward Shayne Corson in the first round, but they also put their hands on natural goal-scorer Stephane Richer in the second round.

5.The Canadiens acquired an additional third-round pick in 1984, following a trade that sent Robert Picard to the Winnipeg Jets. They used the pick on a poutine-loving goaltender from the Granby Bisons named Patrick Roy. The rest, as they say, is history.
4. In 1985, the Draft was held in Toronto, marking the first time in NHL history it did not take place in Montreal.
3. With multiple League expansions and a significant lack of talent available, the Draft waters became a little murkier in the 1990s. To compensate, the Draft Combine was first held in 1993.
2. The NHL Draft Lottery was put in place in 1995, but the winning team can only move up a maximum of four spots. Despite winning the Lottery, Los Angeles only moves up to the third-overall selection, giving the Ottawa Senators the first-overall pick, which they used on defenseman Bryan Berard.

1. The 90s proved to be a relatively difficult era for the Canadiens at the Draft, though they did manage to put their hands on several quality players, including Saku Koivu (21st overall, 1993), Jose Theodore (44th overall, 1994), Francois Beauchemin (75th overall, 1998), Andrei Markov (162nd overall, 1998), and Michael Ryder (216th overall, 1998).