1964 NHL Amateur Draft

Location:	Queen Elizabeth Hotel (Montreal, QC)	Dates:	June 11, 1964
First Overall Pick:	Claude Gauthier (Detroit Red Wings)	Players with NHL Experience:	9

The 1964 NHL amateur draft was the second NHL entry draft. It was a draft to assign unaffiliated amateur junior-age players to NHL teams. It was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.

As was the case in the 1963 draft, amateur players turning 17 years of age between August 1, 1964, and July 31, 1965, were eligible, if they were not already sponsored by an NHL club.

The order of the draft followed the agreement reached in 1963, where the order was fixed as Red Wings, Bruins, Rangers, Black Hawks, Maple Leafs and Canadiens. Once again, each team received four picks, each team having the right to forfeit their selection and pass it to the next team in the order. All picks were exercised this year.

Of the 24 players selected, only nine played in the NHL. Syl Apps Jr., Jim Dorey, Tim Ecclestone and Mike Pelyk went on to have fruitful NHL careers, each playing well over 200 games apiece. However, the steal of this draft was the Bruins’ third pick, 14th overall: Ken Dryden. Dryden made it known to the Bruins that he would elect to play at Cornell University, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, instead of turning professional. The Bruins traded his negotiation rights to the Canadiens, where he would play seven full seasons and part of an eighth, earning a Conn Smythe Trophy, Calder Memorial Trophy, five Vezina Trophies, five All-Star Game appearances, five First All-Star awards and six Stanley Cups.

1964 NHL Draft Selections by Round

Round 1

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
1			Claude Gauthier	Rosemount (QMJHL)
2		RW	Alec Campbell	Strathroy (WOJBHL)
3		D	Robert Graham	Toronto Marlboros (MetJAHL)
4		C	Richard Bayes	Dixie (MetJBHL)
5		RW	Tom Martin	Toronto Marlboros (MetJAHL)
6			Claude Chagnon	Rosemount (QMJHL)

Round 2

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
7		LW	Brian Watts	Toronto Marlboros (MetJAHL)
8		LW	Jim Booth	Sault Ste. Marie (Midget)
9		LW	Tim Ecclestone	Etobicoke (MetJBHL)
10		LW	Jan Popiel	Georgetown (CJHL)
11			Dave Cotey	Aurora (OJHL)
12		D	Guy Allen	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA-Jr.)

Round 3

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
13		D	Ralph Buchanan	Montreal East ()
14		G	Ken Dryden	Etobicoke (MetJBHL)
15		D	Gordon Lowe	Toronto Marlboros (MetJAHL)
16		RW	Carl Hadfield	Dixie (MetJBHL)
17		D	Mike Pelyk	Toronto Marlboros (MetJAHL)
18		F	Paul Reid	Kingston Midgets (RKMHA)

Round 4

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
19		RW	Rene Leclerc	Hamilton Red Wings (OHA-Jr.)
20			Blair Allister	Ingersoll Rockets (OHA-Jr.)
21		C	Syl Apps	Kingston Midgets (RKMHA)
22		RW	Moe L’Abbe	Rosemount (QMJHL)
23		D	Jim Dorey	Niagara Falls Flyers (OHA-Jr.)
24		LW	Michel Jacques	Lac Megantic Jr. B ()