WHAT
IS HOCKEY DRAFT CENTRAL?
Hockey Draft Central is an Internet site primarily dedicated to both the
history and future of the
National Hockey League Entry Draft (known as the Amateur Draft until 1979).
It is place for fans
and researchers to learn about prospects for upcoming drafts and well as the draft's past.
For drafts from 1963 to 1984, you can trace the performance of each team's
choices, and learn the personal stories of men whose names were called.
HOW LONG HAS HOCKEY DRAFT CENTRAL EXISTED?
Hockey Draft Central made its first appearance on the Internet during the
summer of 1996, providing draft lists for every year since 1976. The site
disappeared in 1998 but was reborn in January 2000 with comprehensive
coverage of the 1996-1999 drafts. The third incarnation of the site was
launched in June 2001 with the complete results of the 1963-1968 drafts.
Full coverage of drafts up to the first round of 1985 were created over the
four-plus years between June 2001 and November 2005. Over the next
eight-plus years, no updates were made to the site even though it remained
available for online viewing.
In January 2014, work resumed -- this time with the goal of catching up
to the present day, even if it takes several years. The site re-launched in
late March 2014, and remains a work in progress with new draft years and profiles added over
time. Fans can follow the
new blog or
Twitter feed for daily updates about players added to the site.
WHY CAN'T I FIND A PARTICULAR YEAR'S DRAFT
RESULTS?
Eventually, the goal is for fans to be able to find the results of all NHL,
WHA, and major-junior drafts here, but the plan for the site is to build
player profiles forward from the earliest NHL drafts. Hockey Draft Central is committed to
having a page for every amateur player who was ever drafted by an NHL team.
Please be patient and check back on a regular basis for new information.
HOW CAN I HELP CORRECT ERRORS AND FILL IN GAPS
ON THIS SITE?
I encourage interested fans to assist me in my research by correcting any
errors or omissions. Researching the draft's earliest years is particularly
difficult, and without the proper source material it is impossible to locate
photos or answer certain questions. Fans who have access to this sort of
information and want to actively participate in the growth of the site
should
e-mail me.
WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF THOSE PHOTOS?
Hockey Draft Central has taken great care to avoid copyright infringement in
the use of images on the main site. Virtually all photos come from
team-issued media guides, programs and other publications. These were
distributed at one time or another to multiple media outlets. No game-action
photos requiring photo credentials or photos from wire services are used. In
addition, Hockey Draft Central publishes all of its images for editorial
value only and stresses that they not be copied or distributed for any
commercial purpose. If you have a question about the source of a particular
photo, please contact me through the link above.
WHO IS RUNNING THIS SITE?
Hockey Draft Central is a labor of love for Dan David, who has overseen
hockey sections of major commercial sites and worked for an NHL team. This
is a lifelong research project to be shared with draft fans, and I am eager
to hear any feedback.
