1979 NHL entry draft explained

1979 NHL Entry Draft
Logosize:	180px
Date:	August 9, 1979
Location:	Queen Elizabeth Hotel Montreal, Quebec, Canada
First:	Rob Ramage (Colorado Rockies)
Prev:	1978
Next:	1980

The 1979 NHL Entry Draft was the 17th NHL Entry Draft. It took place on August 9, 1979, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 126 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1978–79 NHL season and playoff standings. The draft was the first to be conducted after the NHL-WHA merger, which had included its own 1979 NHL expansion draft, held on June 13, 1979. As part of the terms of the merger, the four former WHA teams had joined the NHL on the condition that they be placed at the bottom of the entry draft order, as opposed to the top of the order as is usually the case for expansion teams.

In addition, the minimum draft age was lowered from 20 to 19 with the addition of any underage players who had already played in the WHA.^[1] ^[2] The NHL had been considering lowering the draft age for some time, and timed the decision to lower the draft age at least in part to coincide with the merger. The lowering of the draft age caused two years' worth of draft picks to go in the same draft, contributing to what is generally considered one of the best draft classes in NHL Entry Draft history, which included seven future Hall of Famers: Ray Bourque, Mike Gartner, Michel Goulet and Kevin Lowe were selected in the first round alone, while Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, and Guy Carbonneau would be drafted in later rounds. 12 of the 21 players selected in the first round would play in at least one All-Star game, 19 of the 21 would play at least 450 career NHL games, and all 21 had NHL careers of at least 235 games. Under the old rules, Wayne Gretzky and Messier would not have been eligible to enter the NHL until the 1981 draft.

On the other hand, the NHL shortened the draft to only six rounds, whereas some previous drafts ran for more than twenty rounds.^[1] As a result, in spite of the larger number of teams participating the 1979 Draft had 108 fewer selections than the previous draft and was the shortest draft since 1971. It is the last Entry Draft to have fewer than 200 selections. Due to the strength of the class and fewer selections, there are many undrafted players who were eligible to be drafted who went on to have notable NHL careers, including Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli, five-time Stanley Cup champion Charlie Huddy and four-time 50-goal scorer Tim Kerr. Gretzky, protected by the Oilers in the 1979 NHL expansion draft, also entered the Hall of Fame.

As consolidation for lowering the minimum age for the draft, the NHL provided junior teams with in compensation for each under-age player selected and signed.^[1] Under-aged players were also offered back to junior clubs before being able to play in the minor leagues.^[1]

The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Mark Messier, who played his last NHL game in the 2003–04 season.

Absence of Wayne Gretzky

Rising superstar Wayne Gretzky had played for the Edmonton Oilers in the WHA's final season. As per the terms of the NHL-WHA merger, Gretzky was to have become eligible for the 1979 draft due to having already played professionally in the WHA. However, Gretzky had a personal services contract with Oilers owner Peter Pocklington.

The NHL had originally expected the contract would be voided. But Gretzky, faced with the likelihood of having to play for the struggling Colorado Rockies if he were to enter the draft, refused to void his contract with Pocklington. It was determined that the Oilers were allowed to keep Gretzky in exchange for being placed at the bottom of the draft order in the Entry Draft.

Selections by round

Below are listed the selections in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.

Round one

Pick #	Player	Position	NHL team	College/junior/club team
1				Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
2				Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
3				Sudbury Wolves (OHL)
4		Right wing		Cincinnati Stingers (WHA)
5		Right wing		Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
6		Defence		Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
7		Defence		Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8		Defence	Boston Bruins (from Los Angeles)	Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL)
9				Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
10		Left wing	Minnesota North Stars (from Pittsburgh via Washington)	Oshawa Generals (OHL)
11		Defence		University of Minnesota (WCHA)
12		Defence		Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
13		Left wing		Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
14		Left wing		Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
15		Defence	Boston Bruins	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
16		Defence	Los Angeles Kings (from Montreal)	Kingston Canadians (OHL)
17		Right wing		Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
18		Right wing		Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
19		Right wing		Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
20		Left wing		Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
21		Defence		Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
align=center colspan="6" bgcolor="#efefef"	^{Reference: Web site: 1979 NHL Entry Draft hockeydraftcentral.com. 10 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090122105504/http://hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79main.htm. 22 January 2009 . live.}

Notes

The Los Angeles Kings' first round pick went to the Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on October 9, 1978 that sent Ron Grahame to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for this pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins' first round pick went to the Minnesota North Stars as the result of a trade on October 18, 1978, that sent Dennis Maruk to Washington in exchange for this pick.

Washington previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on October 17, 1977 that sent Hartland Monahan to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for this pick.

The Montreal Canadiens' first round pick went to the Los Angeles Kings as the result of a trade on October 5, 1978, that sent the first round pick in 1981 to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Murray Wilson and this pick.

Round two

Pick #	Player	Position	Nationality	NHL team	College/junior/club team
22		Defence		Philadelphia Flyers (from Colorado)	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
23	Mike Perovich	Defence		Atlanta Flames (from St. Louis)	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
24		Left wing		Washington Capitals (from Detroit)	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
25		Defence		New York Islanders (from Washington)	Modo Hockey (Sweden)
26		Left wing		Vancouver Canucks	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
27		Defence		Montreal Canadiens (from Minnesota)	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
28		Left wing		Chicago Blackhawks	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
29		Right wing		Los Angeles Kings	London Knights (OMJHL)
30		Defence		Los Angeles Kings (from Toronto)	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
31		Left wing		Pittsburgh Penguins	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
32		Defence		Buffalo Sabres	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
33				Atlanta Flames	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
34		Defence	/	New York Rangers	Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
35		Goaltender		Philadelphia Flyers	AIK IF (Sweden)
36		Right wing		Boston Bruins	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
37		Left wing		Montreal Canadiens	Brynas IF (Sweden)
38		Centre		New York Islanders	London Knights (OMJHL)
39		Defence		Hartford Whalers	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
40		Centre		Winnipeg Jets	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
41		Centre		Quebec Nordiques	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
42		Centre		Minnesota North Stars (from Edmonton)	University of Minnesota (WCHA)
align=center colspan="6" bgcolor="#efefef"	^{Reference: Web site: 1979 NHL Entry Draft hockeydraftcentral.com. 10 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090220033402/http://hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79rnd2.htm. 20 February 2009 . live.}

Notes

The Colorado Rockies' second round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as the result of a trade on June 15, 1978, that sent the second round pick in 1978 to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for this pick.
The St. Louis Blues' second round pick went to the Atlanta Flames as the result of a trade on December 12, 1977, that sent Curt Bennett, Phil Myre, and Barry Gibbs to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Yves Belanger, Dick Redmond, Bob MacMillan and this pick.
The Detroit Red Wings' second round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on August 17, 1977, that sent the rights to Ron Low, the 46th overall pick to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Walt McKechnie, the third round pick in 1978 and this pick.
The Washington Capitals' second round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on October 19, 1978, that sent Michel Bergeron to the Washington Capitals in exchange for this pick.
The Minnesota North Stars' second round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on August 9, 1979 that sent Bill Nyrop to the Minnesota North Stars in exchange for the second round pick in 1980 (changed to the second round pick in 1982 on June 11, 1980) and this pick.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' second round pick went to the Los Angeles Kings as the result of a trade on June 14, 1978, that sent Dave Hutchison and Lorne Stamler to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Brian Glennie, Kurt Walker, Scott Garland and this pick.
The Edmonton Oilers' second round pick went to the Minnesota North Stars as the result of a trade on August 9, 1979, that sent Dave Semenko and the 48th overall pick to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for the 63rd overall pick and this pick.

Round three

Pick #	Player	Position	NHL team	College/junior/club team
43		Defence	Montreal Canadiens (from Colorado)	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
44		Centre	Montreal Canadiens (from St. Louis)	Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
45		Right wing	Detroit Red Wings	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
46	Boris Fistric	Defence	Detroit Red Wings (from Washington)	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
47		Goaltender	Vancouver Canucks	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
48		Left wing	Edmonton Oilers (from Minnesota)	Cincinnati Stingers (WHA)
49		Centre	Chicago Blackhawks	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
50		Left wing	Los Angeles Kings	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
51		Centre	Toronto Maple Leafs	Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL)
52		Defence	Pittsburgh Penguins	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
53	Mark Robinson	Defence	Buffalo Sabres	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
54		Defence	Atlanta Flames	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
55		Goaltender	Buffalo Sabres (from New York Rangers)	Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)
56		Left wing	Philadelphia Flyers	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
57		Right wing	Boston Bruins	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
58		Goaltender	Montreal Canadiens	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
59		Goaltender	New York Islanders	Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
60		Centre	Hartford Whalers	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
61		Defence	Winnipeg Jets	Boston University (ECAC)
62		Defence	Quebec Nordiques	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
63		Centre	Minnesota North Stars (from Edmonton)	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
align=center colspan="6" bgcolor="#efefef"	^{Reference: Web site: 1979 NHL Entry Draft hockeydraftcentral.com. 10 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090220044916/http://hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79rnd3.htm. 20 February 2009 . live.}

Notes

The Colorado Rockies' third round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on November 24, 1976, that sent John Van Boxmeer to the Colorado Rockies in exchange for this pick.
The St. Louis Blues' third round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on August 18, 1977, that sent Jim Roberts to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for this pick.
The Washington Capitals' third round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on August 17, 1977, that sent Walt McKechnie, the third round pick in 1978 and the 24th overall pick to the Washington Capitals in exchange for the rights to Ron Low and this pick.
The Minnesota North Stars' third round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on August 9, 1979, that sent the 42nd overall pick and the 63rd overall pick to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Dave Semenko and this pick.
The New York Rangers' third round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on March 12, 1979, that sent Jocelyn Guevremont to the New York Rangers in exchange for the third round pick in 1980 and this pick.
The Edmonton Oilers' third round pick went to the Minnesota North Stars as the result of a trade on August 9, 1979, that sent Dave Semenko and the 48th overall pick to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for the 42nd overall pick and this pick.

Round four

Pick #	Player	Position	NHL team	College/junior/club team
64		Centre	Colorado Rockies	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
65		Right wing	St. Louis Blues	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
66		Right wing	Detroit Red Wings	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
67		Left wing	Washington Capitals	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
68	Arthur Rutland	Centre	Vancouver Canucks	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
69		Right wing	Edmonton Oilers (from Minnesota)	University of Denver (WCHA)
70	Louis Begin	Left wing	Chicago Blackhawks	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
71		Defence	Los Angeles Kings	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
72		Goaltender	Toronto Maple Leafs	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
73	Brian Cross	Defence	Pittsburgh Penguins	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
74		Left wing	Buffalo Sabres	Laval National (QMJHL)
75		Right wing	Atlanta Flames	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
76		Centre	New York Rangers	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
77		Right wing	Philadelphia Flyers	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
78		Defence	Boston Bruins	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
79		Left wing	Montreal Canadiens	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
80	Tim Lockridge	Defence	New York Islanders	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
81		Right wing	Hartford Whalers	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
82		Left wing	Winnipeg Jets	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
83		Left wing	Quebec Nordiques	Slovan Bratislava (Czechoslovakia)
84	Maxwell Kostovich	Left wing	Edmonton Oilers	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
align=center colspan="6" bgcolor="#efefef"	^{Reference: Web site: 1979 NHL Entry Draft hockeydraftcentral.com. 10 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090220044921/http://hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79rnd4.htm. 20 February 2009 . live.}

Notes

The Minnesota North Stars' fourth round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on June 9, 1979, that the Edmonton Oilers promised to not make Paul Shmyr one of its priority selections in the 1979 NHL Expansion Draft in exchange for this pick.

Round five

Pick #	Player	Position	NHL team	College/junior/club team
85		Centre	Colorado Rockies	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
86		Right wing	St. Louis Blues	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
87		Left wing	Detroit Red Wings	London Knights (OMJHL)
88		Centre	Washington Capitals	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
89		Right wing	Vancouver Canucks	Regina Pats (WHL)
90		Right wing	Minnesota North Stars	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
91	Lowell Loveday	Defence	Chicago Blackhawks	Kingston Canadians (OMJHL)
92		Defence	Los Angeles Kings	University of Notre Dame (WCHA)
93		Centre	Toronto Maple Leafs	London Knights (OMJHL)
94		Goaltender	Pittsburgh Penguins	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
95		Centre	Buffalo Sabres	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
96	Brad Kempthorne	Centre	Atlanta Flames	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
97	Dan Makuch	Right wing	New York Rangers	Clarkson University (ECAC)
98		Defence	Philadelphia Flyers	Djurgardens IF (Sweden)
99		Goaltender	Boston Bruins	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
100		Right wing	Montreal Canadiens	Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
101	Glen Duncan	Left wing	New York Islanders	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
102		Defence	Hartford Whalers	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
103		Centre	Winnipeg Jets	Leksands IF (Sweden)
104		Defence	Quebec Nordiques	Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)
105		Centre	Edmonton Oilers	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
align=center colspan="6" bgcolor="#efefef"	^{Reference: Web site: 1979 NHL Entry Draft hockeydraftcentral.com. 10 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090220045515/http://hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79rnd5.htm. 20 February 2009 . live.}

Round six

Pick #	Player	Position	NHL team	College/junior/club team
106		Right wing	Colorado Rockies	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
107	Gilles Leduc	Left wing	St. Louis Blues	Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL)
108		Left wing	Detroit Red Wings	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
109		Defence	Washington Capitals	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
110	Shane Swan	Defence	Vancouver Canucks	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
111	Brian Gualazzi	Right wing	Minnesota North Stars	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL)
112		Defence	Chicago Blackhawks	Ottawa 67's (OMJHL)
113	Jay McFarlane	Defence	Los Angeles Kings	University of Wisconsin (WCHA)
114		Right wing	Toronto Maple Leafs	Colgate University (ECAC)
115		Defence	Pittsburgh Penguins	University of North Dakota (WCHA)
116		Goaltender	Buffalo Sabres	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
117	Glenn Johnson	Centre	Atlanta Flames	University of Denver (WCHA)
118	Stan Adams	Centre	New York Rangers	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
119		Right wing	Philadelphia Flyers	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
120		Centre	Boston Bruins	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
121	Greg Moffett	Goaltender	Montreal Canadiens	University of New Hampshire (ECAC)
122	John Gibb	Defence	New York Islanders	Bowling Green University (CCHA)
123		Left wing	Hartford Whalers	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
124		Defence	Winnipeg Jets	Michigan Technological University (WCHA)
125	Scott McGeown	Defence	Quebec Nordiques	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
126		Right wing	Edmonton Oilers	Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
align=center colspan="6" bgcolor="#efefef"	^{Reference: Web site: 1979 NHL Entry Draft hockeydraftcentral.com. 10 January 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090220045025/http://hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79rnd6.htm. 20 February 2009 . live.}

Draftees based on nationality

Rank	Country	Amount
	North America	120
1		111
2		9
	Europe	6
3		5
4		1

References

News: Ramsay . Donald . Junior hockey boss raps NHL draft plan . . June 27, 1979 . P35 . .
http://www.hockeydraftcentral.com/1979/79facts.html 1979 NHL Entry Draft quick facts.