1963 NHL Amateur Draft

The 1963 NHL Amateur Draft was held on June 5 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the first NHL Amateur Draft and consisted of 16-year-old players. The Amateur Draft was instituted by NHL President Clarence Campbell as a means of phasing out the sponsorship of amateur teams by the league's member clubs. The NHL wanted to create what Campbell called "a uniform opportunity for each team to acquire a star player." Prior to the creation of the draft NHL teams would sponsor amateur teams and players, pre-empting other NHL clubs from acquiring new, young talent, and limiting amateur players' prospects in the NHL to the team which sponsored them.

1963 NHL Amateur Draft

The 1963 NHL Amateur Draft was held on June 5 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the first NHL Amateur Draft and consisted of 16-year-old players. The Amateur Draft was instituted by NHL President Clarence Campbell as a means of phasing out the sponsorship of amateur teams by the league's member clubs. The NHL wanted to create what Campbell called "a uniform opportunity for each team to acquire a star player." Prior to the creation of the draft NHL teams would sponsor amateur teams and players, pre-empting other NHL clubs from acquiring new, young talent, and limiting amateur players' prospects in the NHL to the team which sponsored them.