1979 NHL Entry Draft

Location:	Queen Elizabeth Hotel (Montreal, QC)	Dates:	Aug. 9, 1979
First Overall Pick:	Rob Ramage (Colorado Rockies)	Players with NHL Experience:	103

The 1979 NHL entry draft was the 17th NHL entry draft. It took place on August 9, 1979, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 126 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1978–79 NHL season and playoff standings. The draft was the first to be conducted after the NHL-WHA merger, which had included its own 1979 NHL expansion draft, held on June 13, 1979. As part of the terms of the merger, the four former WHA teams had joined the NHL on the condition that they be placed at the bottom of the entry draft order, as opposed to the top of the order as is usually the case for expansion teams.

In addition, the minimum draft age was lowered from 20 to 19 with the addition of any underage players who had already played in the WHA. The NHL had been considering lowering the draft age for some time, and timed the decision to lower the draft age at least in part to coincide with the merger. The lowering of the draft age caused two years’ worth of draft picks to go in the same draft, contributing to what is generally considered one of the best draft classes in NHL entry draft history, which included seven future Hall of Famers: Ray Bourque, Mike Gartner, Michel Goulet and Kevin Lowe were selected in the first round alone, while Mark Messier, Glenn Anderson, and Guy Carbonneau would be drafted in later rounds. 12 of the 21 players selected in the first round would play in at least one All-Star game, 19 of the 21 would play at least 450 career NHL games, and all 21 had NHL careers of at least 235 games. Under the old rules, Wayne Gretzky and Messier would not have been eligible to enter the NHL until the 1981 draft.

On the other hand, the NHL shortened the draft to only six rounds, whereas some previous drafts ran for more than twenty rounds. As a result, in spite of the larger number of teams participating the 1979 draft had 108 fewer selections than the previous draft and was the shortest draft since 1971. It is the last entry draft to have fewer than 200 selections. Due to the strength of the class and fewer selections, there are many undrafted players who were eligible to be drafted who went on to have notable NHL careers, including Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli, five-time Stanley Cup champion Charlie Huddy and four-time 50-goal scorer Tim Kerr. Gretzky, protected by the Oilers in the 1979 NHL expansion draft, also entered the Hall of Fame.

As consolation for lowering the minimum age for the draft, the NHL provided junior teams with CA$40,000 (equivalent to $157,000 in 2023) in compensation for each underage player selected and signed. Underage players were also offered back to junior clubs before being able to play in the minor leagues.

The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Mark Messier, who played his last NHL game in the 2003–04 season.

Biggest Steals of the 1979 NHL Draft

• Mike Krushelnyski (Boston Bruins – 120th Overall)
  • 569 points in 897 career games
  • 3-time Stanley Cup winner
  • 1-time 40-goal scorer
• Doug Crossman (Chicago Blackhawks- 112th Overall)
  • 464 points in 914 career games
• Thomas Steen (Winnipeg Jets – 103rd Overall)
  • 817 points in 950 career games

1979 NHL Draft Selections by Round

Round 1

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
1		D	Rob Ramage	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
2		C	Perry Turnbull	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
3		RW	Mike Foligno	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
4		RW	Mike Gartner	Cincinnati Stingers (WHA)
5		RW	Rick Vaive	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
6		D	Craig Hartsburg	Soo Greyhounds (OMJHL)
7		D	Keith Brown	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
8		D	Raymond Bourque	Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL)
9		C	Laurie Boschman	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
10		LW	Tom McCarthy	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
11		D	Mike Ramsey	Minnesota (WCHA)
12		D	Paul Reinhart	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
13		RW	Doug Sulliman	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
14		LW	Brian Propp	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
15		D	Brad McCrimmon	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
16		D	Jay Wells	Kingston Canadians (OMJHL)
17		RW	Duane Sutter	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
18		RW	Ray Allison	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
19		RW	Jimmy Mann	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
20		LW	Michel Goulet	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
21		D	Kevin Lowe	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

Round 2

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
22		D	Blake Wesley	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
23		D	Mike Perovich	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
24		LW	Errol Rausse	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
25		D	Tomas Jonsson	Modo AIK (Sweden)
26		LW	Brent Ashton	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
27		D	Gaston Gingras	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
28		LW	Tim Trimper	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
29		RW	Dean Hopkins	London Knights (OMJHL)
30		D	Mark Hardy	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
31		LW	Paul Marshall	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
32		D/LW	Lindy Ruff	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
33		G	Pat Riggin	Birmingham Bulls (WHA)
34		D	Ed Hospodar	Ottawa 67’s (OMJHL)
35		G	Pelle Lindbergh	Hammarby IF (Sweden-2)
36		RW	Doug Morrison	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
37		LW	Mats Naslund	Brynas IF (Sweden)
38		C	Billy Carroll	London Knights (OMJHL)
39		D	Stu Smith	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
40		RW	Dave Christian	North Dakota (WCHA)
41		C	Dale Hunter	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
42		C	Neal Broten	Minnesota (WCHA)

Round 3

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
43		D	Craig Levie	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
44		C	Guy Carbonneau	Chicoutimi Sagueneens (QMJHL)
45		RW	Jody Gage	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
46		D	Boris Fistric	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
47		G	Ken Ellacott	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
48		LW/C	Mark Messier	Cincinnati Stingers (WHA)
49		C	Bill Gardner	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
50		LW	John Paul Kelly	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
51		C	Norm Aubin	Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL)
52		D	Bennett Wolf	Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL)
53		D	Mark Robinson	Victoria Cougars (WHL)
54		RW	Tim Hunter	Seattle Breakers (WHL)
55		G	Jacques Cloutier	Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)
56		C	Lindsay Carson	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
57		RW	Keith Crowder	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
58		G	Rick Wamsley	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
59		G	Roland Melanson	Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)
60		C	Don Nachbaur	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
61		D	Bill Whelton	Boston University (ECAC)
62		D	Lee Norwood	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
63		C	Kevin Maxwell	North Dakota (WCHA)

Round 4

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
64		C	Steve Peters	Oshawa Generals (OMJHL)
65		RW	Bob Crawford	Cornwall Royals (QMJHL)
66		LW	John Ogrodnick	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
67		LW	Harvie Pocza	Billings Bighorns (WHL)
68		C	Art Rutland	Soo Greyhounds (OMJHL)
69		RW	Glenn Anderson	Denver (WCHA)
70		LW	Lou Begin	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
71		D	John Gibson	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
72		G	Vincent Tremblay	Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)
73		D	Brian Cross	Brantford Alexanders (OMJHL)
74		LW	Gilles Hamel	Laval National (QMJHL)
75		RW	Jim Peplinski	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
76		LW	Pat Conacher	Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
77		RW	Don Gillen	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
78		D	Larry Melnyk	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
79		LW	Dave Orleski	New Westminster Bruins (WHL)
80		D	Tim Lockridge	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
81		RW	Ray Neufeld	Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL)
82		LW	Pat Daley	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
83		LW	Anton Stastny	HC Slovan Bratislava (Czechoslovakia)
84		LW	Maxwell Kostovich	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)

Round 5

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
85		C	Gary Dillon	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
86		RW	Mark Reeds	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
87		LW	Joe Paterson	London Knights (OMJHL)
88		C	Tim Tookey	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
89		W	Dirk Graham	Regina Pats (WHL)
90		RW	Jim Dobson	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)
91		D	Lowell Loveday	Kingston Canadians (OMJHL)
92		D	Jim Brown	Notre Dame (WCHA)
93		C	Frank Nigro	London Knights (OMJHL)
94		G	Nick Ricci	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
95		C	Alan Haworth	Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL)
96		C/RW	Brad Kempthorne	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
97		RW	Dan Makuch	Clarkson (ECAC)
98		D	Thomas Eriksson	Djurgardens IF (Sweden)
99		G	Marco Baron	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
100		RW	Yvan Joly	Ottawa 67’s (OMJHL)
101		LW	Glenn Duncan	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
102		D	Mark Renaud	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
103		C	Thomas Steen	Leksands IF (Sweden)
104		D	Pierre Lacroix	Trois-Rivieres Draveurs (QMJHL)
105		C	Mike Toal	Portland Winter Hawks (WHL)

Round 6

Pick	Team	Pos.	Player	Junior Team
106		RW	Bob Attwell	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
107		LW	Gilles Leduc	Verdun Eperviers (QMJHL)
108		LW	Carmine Cirella	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
109		D	Greg Theberge	Peterborough Petes (OMJHL)
110		D	Shane Swan	Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
111		D	Brian Gualazzi	Soo Greyhounds (OMJHL)
112		D	Doug Crossman	Ottawa 67’s (OMJHL)
113		D	Jay MacFarlane	Wisconsin (WCHA)
114		RW	Bill McCreary	Colgate (ECAC)
115		D	Marc Chorney	North Dakota (WCHA)
116		G	Rick Knickle	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
117		C	Glenn Johnson	Denver (WCHA)
118		C	Stan Adams	Niagara Falls Flyers (OMJHL)
119		RW	Gord Williams	Lethbridge Broncos (WHL)
120		LW/C	Mike Krushelnyski	Montreal Juniors (QMJHL)
121		LW	Greg Moffett	New Hampshire (ECAC)
122		D	John Gibb	Bowling Green (CCHA)
123		LW	Dave McDonald	Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
124		D	Tim Watters	Michigan Tech (WCHA)
125		D	Scott McGeown	Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL)
126		RW	Blair Barnes	Windsor Spitfires (OMJHL)