Entry Draft.

It's that time of the season where leagues replenish their talent with entry level players for Junior, NHL and CWHL teams.

Official Hockey Terms definition:
Each team is given an opportunity to "draft" young players into their teams once per year. It was originally called the Amateur Draft, and was first employed in the summer of 1963. Today the NHL Entry Draft is held in a different city each year, but was held in Montreal for the first 22 years.


Examples:

The OHL hold their draft of 16 year old eligible players (mostly Minor Midget AAA) in April.  The NHL hold their draft of 18 year old eligible players in June.  The CWHL hold their draft of eligible players in August.

There is a lot of excitement around the drafts.  Hockey analysts, scouts and writers will come up with a list of their top prospects.  Drafts are fan events.  They will either attend the venue where the draft is being held or watch it on national sports channels or online feeds.

Image:  Aaron Ekblad is the captain of the Barrie Colts OHL team and is ranked as one of the top prospects to be drafted into the NHL this June.

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