2005 NHL entry draft

The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30.

Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because the previous season had been cancelled due to the lockout. The first overall pick was won in a lottery by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who selected Sidney Crosby.

As of 2023, the remaining active players in the NHL from this draft are Sidney Crosby, Anze Kopitar, T. J. Oshie, Kris Letang, James Neal, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Jack Johnson, Marc Staal, Ryan Reaves, Jonathan Quick, and Alex Stalock.

Venue
The draft was originally scheduled to be held on June 25, hosted by the Ottawa Senators at the Corel Centre (their home rink). However, the 2004–05 NHL lockout was still ongoing, causing the draft to be postponed. The lockout ended on 22 July with the approval of a new NHL collective bargaining agreement (CBA). The CBA set the new date of the draft as 30 July. The Corel Centre was still available but could not be used on such short notice. The draft was instead held at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Ontario. The Senators were compensated by hosting the 2008 draft instead.

As a result of the rearrangement, the draft was not open to the public, for the first time since 1980. Nor was it possible for large numbers of drafted players to attend: only the twenty highest prospects on the NHL Central Scouting rankings were present.

Procedures
The order of draft picks was usually determined by team performance in the previous season, with teams picking in the same order in each round (modified by any trading of draft picks). However, the lockout had led to the complete cancellation of the 2004–05 NHL season, so there were no final positions to base the draft order on. The new CBA modified the draft procedures accordingly.

The order of picks in the first round was determined by a weighted lottery. In the second round this order was reversed, so the team with the 30th pick would also receive the 31st pick, whilst the team with first overall pick would not pick again until the 60th pick (last pick in the second round). The order would continue alternating in each subsequent round, producing a 'snaking' order. Teams were permitted to trade their draft picks as usual, which led to some modifications to the order.

The new CBA reduced the draft length to seven rounds, compared to the nine rounds used previously. As a result, 230 players were selected.

Lottery
The lottery was held on July 22, the same day that the new CBA was approved. The top-rated prospect in this draft was Sidney Crosby, and it was widely assumed that he would be the first overall pick by whichever team won the lottery, so it became known colloquially as the 'Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes'.

Teams were weighted based on playoff appearances in the last three completed seasons (2001-02, 02-03 and 03-04), and first overall picks in the last four drafts (2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004). Three lottery balls each were assigned to teams which had not qualified for any of those playoffs and received no first overall picks in that period. Teams which had one playoff appearance or first overall pick in those years were given two lottery balls. All other teams received one lottery ball.

Three balls
 * Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins

Two balls
 * Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes

One ball
 * Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals

This produced a total of 48 lottery balls. As a result, teams with three balls had a 6.3% chance of winning the lottery, two balls 4.2%, and one ball 2.1%. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the lottery and therefore the first overall pick. Further drawing of team names was used to determine the order of the remaining picks.

Round one

 * 1)  Atlanta's first-round pick went to San Jose as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 12 overall), a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Atlanta in exchange for this pick.
 * 2)  Atlanta's acquired first-round pick went to the Rangers as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 16 overall) and a second-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Atlanta in exchange for this pick.
 * Atlanta previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 8 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to San Jose in exchange for a second-round pick and a seventh-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft along with this pick.
 * 1)  The Rangers' first-round pick went to Atlanta as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 12 overall) to the Rangers in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  Philadelphia's first-round pick went to Florida as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 29 overall) and a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to the Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.
 * 3)  Colorado's first-round pick went to Washington as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent two second-round picks (# 47 & # 52 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
 * 4)  Florida's first-round pick went to Philadelphia as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 20 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to Florida in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft and this pick.

Round two

 * 1)  Tampa Bay's second-round pick went to Anaheim as the result of a trade on August 16, 2004 that sent Václav Prospal to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.
 * 2)  Calgary's second-round pick went to San Jose as the result of a trade on November 14, 2003 that sent Miikka Kiprusoff to Calgary in exchange for this pick.
 * 3)  Toronto's second-round pick went to the Rangers as the result of a trade on March 3, 2004 that sent Brian Leetch and a conditional pick (a fourth-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft) to Toronto in exchange for Maxim Kondratyev, Jarkko Immonen, a first-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft and this pick.  The conditions of the fourth-round pick are unknown.
 * 4)  The Rangers' acquired second-round pick went to Atlanta as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 12 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to the Rangers in exchange for a first-round pick (# 16 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * The Rangers previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 8, 2004 that sent Vladimir Malakhov to Philadelphia in exchange for Rick Kozak and this pick.
 * 1)  Nashville's second-round pick went to Chicago as the result of a trade on February 16, 2004 that sent Steve Sullivan to Nashville in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  Phoenix's second-round pick went to Colorado as the result of a trade on March 8, 2004 that sent Derek Morris and Keith Ballard to Phoenix in exchange for Chris Gratton, Ossi Väänänen and this pick.
 * 3)  The Rangers' second-round pick went to Montreal as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a second-round pick (# 56 overall) and a third-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to the Rangers in exchange for this pick.
 * 4)  Washington's second-round pick went to Colorado as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Washington in exchange for a second-round pick (# 52 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 5)  San Jose's second-round pick as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 8 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to San Jose in exchange for a first-round pick (# 12 overall) and a seventh-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft along with this pick.
 * 6)  Washington's acquired second-round pick went to Colorado as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Washington in exchange for a second-round pick (# 47 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * Washington previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 18, 2004 that sent Peter Bondra to Ottawa in exchange for Brooks Laich and this pick.
 * 1)  Montreal's second-round pick went to the Rangers as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a second-round pick (# 45 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to the Rangers in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  Philadelphia's acquired second-round pick went to Phoenix as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a fourth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick.
 * Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 27, 2005 that sent Todd Fedoruk to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
 * 1)  Los Angeles acquired this pick as compensation after Los Angeles could not sign their first-round pick in the 2001 Entry Draft, David Steckel.

Round three

 * 1)  Montreal's third-round pick went to the Rangers as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a second-round pick (# 45 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to the Rangers in exchange for a second-round pick (# 56 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  Carolina's acquired third-round pick went to Calgary as the result of a trade on July 29, 2005 that sent Mike Commodore to Carolina in exchange for this pick.
 * Carolina previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 26, 2004 that sent a third-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft to Atlanta in exchange for this pick.
 * 1)  Vancouver's third-round pick went to Dallas as the result of a trade on June 26, 2004 that sent a third-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft to Vancouver in exchange for this pick.
 * 2)  San Jose's third-round pick went to Tampa Bay as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a fifth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to San Jose in exchange for this pick.
 * 3)  Buffalo's third-round pick went to Calgary as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a third-round pick (# 87 overall) and a fourth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.
 * 4)  Washington's third-round pick went to Dallas as the result of a trade on June 26, 2004 that sent a third-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft to Washington in exchange for this pick.
 * 5)  Carolina's acquired third-round pick went to Nashville as the result of a trade on July 29, 2005 that sent Andrew Hutchinson to Carolina in exchange for this pick.
 * Carolina previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 26, 2004 that sent a third-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft to Phoenix in exchange for this pick.
 * 1)  Philadelphia's third-round pick went to Edmonton as the result of a trade on December 16, 2003 that sent Mike Comrie to Philadelphia in exchange for Jeff Woywitka, a first-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  Calgary's third-round pick went to Buffalo as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a third-round pick (# 74 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to Calgary in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 3)  Philadelphia's acquired third-round pick went to Tampa Bay as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to Philadelphia in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on on March 8, 2004 that sent Chris Therien to Dallas in exchange for an eighth-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 1)  Tampa Bay's third-round pick went to Philadelphia as the result of a trade on June 27, 2004 that sent a fifth-round pick and two sixth-round picks (# 188 & 191) in the 2004 Entry Draft to Tampa Bay in exchange for this pick.

Round four

 * 1)  Dallas' fourth-round pick went to Carolina as the result of a trade on June 27, 2004 that sent Jaroslav Svoboda to Dallas in exchange for this pick.
 * 2)  Minnesota's acquired fourth-round pick went to Ottawa as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent Todd White to Minnesota in exchange for this pick.
 * Minnesota previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 25, 2004 that sent Darby Hendrickson and an eight-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
 * 1)  Calgary's fourth-round pick went to Buffalo as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a third-round pick (# 74 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to Calgary in exchange for a third-round pick (# 96 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  St. Louis' fourth-round pick went to Ottawa as the result of a trade on June 27, 2004 that sent Patrick Lalime to St. Louis in exchange for this pick.
 * 3)  Carolina's acquired fourth-round pick went to Columbus as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent Derrick Walser and a fourth-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to Carolina in exchange for this pick.
 * Carolina previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on March 9, 2004 that sent Ron Francis to Toronto in exchange for this pick.
 * 1)  Philadelphia's fourth-round pick went to Tampa Bay as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to Philadelphia in exchange for a third-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  Nashville's fourth-round pick went to Florida as the result of a trade on July 27, 2005 that sent Darcy Hordichuk to Nashville in exchange for this pick.
 * 3)  Boston acquired this pick as compensation after Minnesota signed Group III free agent Brian Rolston on July 8, 2004.
 * 4)  The Islanders' fourth-round pick went to Chicago as the result of a trade on March 9, 2004 that sent Alexander Karpovtsev to the Islanders in exchange for this pick.
 * 5)  Buffalo's fourth-round pick went to Minnesota as the result of a trade on March 8, 2004 that sent Brad Brown and a sixth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Buffalo in exchange for this pick.
 * 6)  Calgary acquired this pick as compensation after Los Angeles signed Group III free agent Craig Conroy on July 6, 2004.
 * 7)  Los Angeles' fourth-round pick went to Chicago as the result of a trade on March 2, 2004 that sent Nathan Dempsey to Los Angeles in exchange for future considerations and this pick.
 * 8)  Boston's acquired fourth-round pick went to Washington as the result of a trade on March 4, 2004 that sent Michael Nylander to Boston in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft and future considerations (this pick).
 * Boston previously acquired this pick as compensation after the Rangers signed Group III free agent Michael Nylander on August 10, 2004.
 * 1)  Phoenix's acquired fourth-round pick went to Philadelphia as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a second-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Phoenix in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * Phoenix previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 6, 2004 that sent Radoslav Suchý and a sixth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Columbus in exchange for this pick.
 * 1)  Edmonton acquired this pick as compensation after Phoenix signed Group III free agent Petr Nedvěd on July 6, 2004.
 * 2)  Anaheim's fourth-round pick went to Colorado as the result of a trade on February 21, 2004 that sent Martin Škoula to Anaheim in exchange for Kurt Sauer and this pick.

Round five

 * 1)  Carolina's fifth-round pick went to Calgary as the result of a trade on July 16, 2003 that sent Bob Boughner to Carolina in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 2)  Detroit acquired this pick as compensation after Ottawa signed Group III free agent Dominik Hašek on July 6, 2004.
 * 3)  Tampa Bay acquired this pick as compensation after Chicago signed Group III free agent Jassen Cullimore on July 22, 2004.
 * 4)  Detroit acquired this pick as compensation after Phoenix signed Group III free agent Brett Hull on August 6, 2004.
 * 5)  San Jose acquired this pick as compensation after Colorado signed Group III free agent Vincent Damphousse on August 18, 2004.
 * 6)  San Jose's fifth-round pick went to Anaheim as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a sixth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft and a seventh-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to San Jose in exchange for this pick.
 * 7)  Carolina acquired this pick as compensation after Florida signed Group III free agent Sean Hill on July 15, 2004.
 * 8)  Dallas acquired this pick as compensation after New Jersey signed Group III free agent Richard Matvichuk on July 12, 2004.
 * 9)  San Jose acquired this pick as compensation after Phoenix signed Group III free agent Mike Ricci on July 9, 2004.
 * 10)  Colorado's fifth-round pick went to Carolina as the result of a trade on February 20, 2004 that sent Bob Boughner to Colorado in exchange for Chris Bahen, a third-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft and this pick.
 * 11)  Tampa Bay's fifth-round pick went to San Jose as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a third-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Tampa Bay in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft and this pick.

Round six

 * 1)  Dallas' sixth-round pick went to Tampa Bay as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a fifth-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft to Dallas in exchange for this pick.
 * 2)  Calgary's sixth-round pick went to Chicago as the result of a trade on February 24, 2004 that sent Ville Nieminen to Calgary in exchange for Jason Morgan and conditional draft pick in the 2005 Entry Draft (this pick).  The conditions of this draft pick are unknown.
 * 3)  Edmonton's sixth-round pick went to Colorado as the result of a trade on March 8, 2004 that sent Tom Gilbert to Edmonton in exchange for Tommy Salo and this pick.
 * 4)  St. Louis acquired this pick as compensation after Atlanta signed Group III free agent Scott Mellanby on July 26, 2004.
 * 5)  Phoenix sixth-round pick went to Columbus as the result of a trade on July 6, 2004 that sent a fourth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Columbus in exchange for Radoslav Suchý and this pick.
 * 6)  Calgary acquired this pick as compensation after New Jersey signed Group III free agent Krzysztof Oliwa on July 15, 2004.
 * 7)  Minnesota's sixth-round pick went to Buffalo as the result of a trade on March 8, 2004 that sent a fourth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Minnesota in exchange for Brad Brown and this pick.
 * 8)  Anaheim's sixth-round pick went to San Jose as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a fifth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft to Anaheim in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2006 Entry Draft and this pick.

Round seven

 * 1)  The Islanders acquired this pick as compensation after Florida signed Group III free agent Alexander Karpovtsev on July 14, 2004.
 * 2)  Atlanta's seventh-round pick went to Chicago as the result of a trade on June 27, 2004 that sent Adam Berkhoel to Atlanta in exchange for future considerations (this pick).
 * 3)  San Jose's seventh-round pick as the result of a trade on July 30, 2005 that sent a first-round pick (# 8 overall) in the 2005 Entry Draft to San Jose in exchange for a first-round pick (# 12 overall) and a second-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft along with this pick.
 * 4)  Columbus' seventh-round pick went to Los Angeles as the result of a trade on June 27, 2004 that sent a ninth-round pick in the 2004 Entry Draft to Columbus in exchange for an eighth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft.  The eighth-round pick became a seventh-round pick (this pick) after the NHL eliminated the eighth and ninth rounds of the draft.
 * 5)  San Jose's seventh-round pick went to Buffalo as the result of a trade on March 9, 2004 that sent Curtis Brown and Andy Delmore to San Jose in exchange for Jeff Jillson and a ninth-round pick in the 2005 Entry Draft.  The ninth-round pick became a seventh-round pick (this pick) after the NHL eliminated the eighth and ninth rounds of the draft.
 * 6)  Toronto acquired this pick as compensation after Boston signed Group III free agent Tom Fitzgerald on July 28, 2004.
 * 7)  Montreal acquired this pick as compensation after New Jersey signed Group III free agent Darren Langdon on July 3, 2004.
 * 8)  Nashville acquired this pick as compensation after Vancouver signed Group III free agent Wade Flaherty on July 7, 2004.