The 2001 NHL Entry Draft, on June 23-24 at Florida's National Car Rental Center, is the 38th anniversary of an event that has grown from a small gathering of hockey executives to a spectacle followed by hundreds of thousands of hockey fans throughout the world.

"I'm trying to work out a system whereby all amateur players who will attain their 17th birthdays before August of each year will be available for drafting by NHL teams in the reverse order of the standing," said NHL President Clarence Campbell during the 1962-63 season. "We're ultimately hopeful it will produce a uniform opportunity for each team to acquire a star player."

The end result was the establishment of the NHL's Amateur Draft.

The first NHL Amateur Draft was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal on June 5, 1963. All amateur players, 17 years of age and older who were not already sponsored by an NHL club, were eligible to be drafted. Garry Monahan, a center from the St. Michael's Juveniles of Toronto, was selected first overall by the Montreal Canadiens.

The 1969 Draft marked the first year that the effects of NHL amateur sponsorship would not be seen, as every junior of qualifying age (20-years) was available for selection. Eighty-four players were selected that year, more than four times the average number of players chosen in each of the first six years of the Draft.

Any player born prior to Sept. 16, 1982 is automatically eligible for selection and is not required to "opt-in".

A player has until the later of May 1, 2001 or up until seven days of his team's last game to "opt-in" to be considered eligible for selection.

Any player 20-years of age or younger that has not signed a contract within two years of being drafted or has not received a bona fide offer from the NHL club that drafted them within one year of being drafted are subject to re-enter the Entry Draft. All contracts or bona fide offers must be completed before June 1, 2001.

European players who have not signed a contract or whose rights have been released by the NHL club that drafted them, without playing in North America as an 18, 19 or 20-year-old, are subject to re-entry.

If a player is drafted twice and remains without a contract, he is not subject to re-entry.

The NHL Entry Draft has become an event where fans can gather to see the unveiling of the stars of tomorrow.

The first Draft held outside Montreal was in 1985, when the Metro Toronto Convention Centre hosted the event attended by 7,000 fans.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) and Radio-Canada provided the first live network television coverage in both English and French in 1984, coverage in the United States was first provided by SportsChannel America in 1989.

This year's Entry Draft will be seen in Canada on CTV SportsNet and in the United States on ESPN2.

French-language television coverage will be provided this year by Reseau des Sports (RDS).

Another Entry Draft tradition in recent years has been the Top Prospects Preview, a special public showcase introducing the top prospects of the current year. Information on the 2001 Top Prospect Preview will be announced at a later date.

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