Quick Facts
Date: April 27, 1965
Site: The Queen Elizabeth Hotel
Host City: Montreal
Draft History
The third NHL Amateur Draft was the first to require that all drafted players turn at least 18 years old before the completion of the following NHL season. It also marked the only time in history that a non-NHL team participated in the draft. As part of a deal with the American Hockey League, Western Hockey League and Central Professional Hockey League, these teams were allowed to begin drafting after the NHL teams had made all of their selections. The AHL and WHL had the right to draft a total of three players each, while the CPHL could draft two. However, only one of the eligible minor-league teams, the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL, chose to participate in the draft. Only 11 players were selected in this draft, making it the shortest in history.
The Basics
| Eligible For Draft: | All amateur players not on sponsorship lists prior to April 1, 1965, who were born before June 1, 1948. |
| Draft Order: | Order set by league based on previous years with team that picked No. 1 in 1964 dropping to No. 6 and all others moving up one draft position. |
| Irregularities: | Boston was scheduled to draft first, but because of the limited talent pool chose to defer one year. Montreal chose to defer its No. 5 spot and dropped to the end of the first round behind Boston. Toronto passed in all rounds. Montreal passed after first round. Chicago, Detroit and Boston passed after second round. All teams passed after third round. Montreal had option to take the first two French-Canadian players before start of draft in place of its first- and second-round picks but chose not to exercise this option. |
| Rotation: | New York, Chicago, (Toronto), Detroit, Boston, Montreal. |
| Total Rounds: | Three (all teams passed on scheduled fourth round). |
| Cost to Draft: | Amateur teams were paid $2,000 per drafted player. |
| Draft Rights: | Team could offer player contract on his 19th birthday. |
Draft Recap
| No. 1 pick: | Andre Veilleux (by New York) |
| Reached NHL: | Two players (18.2 percent) |
| Won Stanley Cup: | One player (9.1 percent) |
| Most NHL Games: | Pierre Bouchard (595 games) |
| Most Playoff Games: | Pierre Bouchard (76 games) |
| Highest Pick to Miss: | No. 1 (Andre Veilleux) |
| Lowest Pick to Reach: | No. 10 (Michel Parizeau) |
| Players Drafted: | 11 (5 forwards, 2 defense, 1 goalie, 3 unknown) |
| SNAPSHOT '65 | |
| Total Selected: | 11 |
| Forwards: | 5 |
| Defense: | 4 |
| Goaltenders: | 1 |
| Position n/a: | 1 |
| Major Junior: | 0 |
| College Players: | 0 |
| Canadian: | 11 |
| American: | 0 |
| Euro-Canadian: | 1 |
| Reached NHL: | 2 |
| Won Stanley Cup: | 1 |
| Hall of Fame: | 0 |
| All-Star Game: | 0 |
| Year-end All-Star: | 0 |
| Olympians: | 0 |
| Picks Traded: | 0 |