The 1982 NHL entry draft was the 20th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981–82 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players selected.
David John Semenko was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, scout, and colour commentator. During his National Hockey League (NHL) career, Semenko played for the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers and Toronto Maple Leafs as an enforcer. During his tenure with Edmonton, he notably protected Wayne Gretzky as an "on-ice bodyguard" during Gretzky's early career. Semenko won two Stanley Cups with the Oilers in 1984 and 1985. He was also the last player to score a goal in the World Hockey Association (WHA) before it folded and merged with the NHL.
The 1983 NHL entry draft was the 21st NHL entry draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 8, 1983. The NHL entry draft is the primary means by which players arrive in the National Hockey League. The St. Louis Blues did not participate in this draft, shortly after the league blocked the franchise's relocation to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. This was the only time in National Hockey League history that a franchise did not participate in an entry draft. This was also the last time a playoff team picked first overall until 2020, when the New York Rangers won the first selection.
The 1993 NHL entry draft was the 31st NHL entry draft. It took place on June 26, 1993, at the Colisée de Québec in Quebec City, Quebec.
The 1984 NHL entry draft was the 22nd NHL entry draft. It took place on June 9, 1984, at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec.
The 1980 NHL entry draft was the 18th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum. This was the first time that an NHL arena hosted the draft. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 210 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1979–80 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players selected. The minimum draft age was lowered from 19 to 18, but prospective draftees had to be of age by September 15 rather than any date in the relevant birth year.
The 1981 NHL entry draft was the 19th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 211 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1980–81 NHL season and playoff standings. This is the list of those players selected.
The 1988 NHL entry draft was the 26th NHL entry draft. It was held at the Forum in Montreal, Quebec.
The 1985 NHL entry draft was the 23rd NHL entry draft. It was the first draft outside Montreal. The event was held at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in Toronto, Ontario, and attended by 7,000 fans. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1984–85 NHL season and playoff standings.
The 2010 NHL entry draft was the 48th NHL entry draft, held on June 25–26, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL entry draft. An unofficial record of eleven American-trained players were selected in the first round, starting with Jack Campbell and ending with Brock Nelson. The record was set in the 2006 and 2007 drafts, where ten U.S.-trained players were selected in the first round.
The 2011 NHL entry draft was the 49th NHL entry draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hosted the 1989 NHL entry draft. The top three picks consisted of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins going to the Edmonton Oilers, Gabriel Landeskog going to the Colorado Avalanche, and Jonathan Huberdeau going to the Florida Panthers.
The 2012 NHL entry draft was the 50th NHL entry draft. The draft was held June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL entry draft. The top three picks were Nail Yakupov going to the Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Murray going to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Alex Galchenyuk going to the Montreal Canadiens.
The 2013 NHL entry draft was the 51st NHL entry draft. All seven rounds of the draft took place on June 30, 2013, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The top three selections were Nathan MacKinnon going to the Colorado Avalanche, Aleksander Barkov going to the Florida Panthers, and Jonathan Drouin going to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The 2014 NHL entry draft was the 52nd NHL entry draft. The draft was held on June 27–28, 2014, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The top three selections were Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart and Leon Draisaitl, going to the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres and Edmonton Oilers, respectively. This draft featured the first selection of a player from Oceania with Australian Nathan Walker, being selected by the Washington Capitals in the third-round.
The 2015 NHL entry draft was the 53rd NHL entry draft. The draft was held on June 26–27, 2015, at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. The first three selections were Connor McDavid going to the Edmonton Oilers, Jack Eichel going to the Buffalo Sabres, and Dylan Strome going to the Arizona Coyotes.
The 2016 NHL entry draft was the 54th NHL entry draft. The draft was held on June 24–25, 2016, at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. The first three selections were Auston Matthews going to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Patrik Laine going to the Winnipeg Jets, and Pierre-Luc Dubois going to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 2018 NHL entry draft was the 56th NHL entry draft. The draft was held on June 22–23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.
The 2019 NHL entry draft was the 57th NHL entry draft. The draft was held on June 21–22, 2019, at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The 2020 NHL entry draft was the 58th NHL entry draft, held from October 6–7, 2020. The draft was originally scheduled for June 26–27, 2020, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, but was postponed on March 25, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event was held in a remote format, with teams convening via videoconferencing, and Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing the selections in the opening round and deputy commissioner Bill Daly in all subsequent rounds from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
The 2021 NHL entry draft was the 59th NHL entry draft. The draft was held on July 23–24, 2021, delayed by one month from its normally scheduled time of June due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the later-than-normal finish of the 2020–21 NHL season. It was thus the first draft held in July since 2005. For the second year in a row, the event was held in a remote format, with teams convening via videoconferencing, and Commissioner Gary Bettman announcing the selections in the opening round and deputy commissioner Bill Daly in all subsequent rounds from the NHL Network studios in Secaucus, New Jersey.
Rob Ramage 
