1997 NHL Entry Draft

This year's NHL Entry Draft will be held in Pittsburgh, June 21.

The Boston Bruins have the first pick in what experts say is the deepest draft in years.

Pending an unexpected trade, the Bruins will pick center Joe Thornton from Sault Ste. Marie (OHL).

Other top prospects are Patrick Marleau from Seattle (WHL), Daniel Tkaczuk from Barrie (OHL) and top European youth Olli Jokinen from Helsinki IFK (Finland).

Detroit Vipers' (IHL) Sergei Samsonov, who was projected early to be No. 1 pick overall, hasn't quite produced the numbers expected of him and he was moved down to No. 5 in the final pre-draft rankings.

The HockeyNut will cover the draft and on the Front Page we will have the ticker updated after each team selection!

First round order:

1. Boston Bruins
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Los Angeles Kings
4. New York Islanders
   (From Toronto)
5. New York Islanders
6. Calgary Flames
7. Tamba Bay Lightning
8. Boston Bruins
   (From Carolina)
9. Washington Capitals
10. Vancouver Canucks
11. Montreal Canadiens
12. Ottawa Senators
13. Chicago Blackhawks
14. Edmonton Oilers
15. Los Angeles Kings
    (From St.Louis)
16. Chicago Blackhawks
    (From Phoenix)
17. Pittsburgh Penguins
18. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
19. New York Rangers
20. Florida Panthers
21. Buffalo Sabres
22. Carolina Hurricanes
    (From Detroit)
23. Carolina Hurricanes
    (From Philadelphia)
24. New Jersey Devils
25. Dallas Stars
26. Colorado Avalanche