1999 NHL Entry Draft


The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to Sports Illustrated and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in talent in years, headed by Patrik Stefan and the Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik.
As a result of the draft lottery, the first three picks going into draft day were held by the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Atlanta Thrashers expansion team, and the Vancouver Canucks, respectively. The Canucks were determined to select both Sedins and therefore initiated a trading carousel involving multiple teams. After the trading was done, the Thrashers used the first pick to select Stefan, the Canucks used the second and third picks to select the Sedins, and the Lightning traded out of the first round altogether.
The overall impact in the NHL of players selected has not matched that of the neighboring drafts. An example is how many first round picks have played the equivalent of an entire regular season ten seasons after the 1999 draft; only 16 out of 28 first round picks in 1999 have played 82 NHL games, while the same statistic applies to 23 out of 27 players in 1998 and 21 out of 30 players in 2000. In addition, while the Sedin twins have excelled in the NHL, only Barret Jackman and Martin Havlat were still active players of the other 26 first-round picks in the NHL 15 years after the draft.

Selections by round

Club teams are located in North America unless otherwise noted.

Round one

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
1Patrik Stefan Czech RepublicAtlanta Thrashers Long Beach Ice Dogs
2Daniel Sedin SwedenVancouver Canucks MODO
3Henrik Sedin SwedenVancouver CanucksMODO
4Pavel Brendl Czech RepublicNew York Rangers Calgary Hitmen
5Tim Connolly United StatesNew York IslandersErie Otters
6Brian Finley CanadaNashville PredatorsBarrie Colts
7Kris Beech CanadaWashington CapitalsCalgary Hitmen
8Taylor Pyatt CanadaNew York Islanders Sudbury Wolves
9Jamie Lundmark CanadaNew York Rangers Moose Jaw Warriors
10Branislav Mezei SlovakiaNew York Islanders Belleville Bulls
11Oleg Saprykin RussiaCalgary Flames Seattle Thunderbirds
12Denis Shvidki UkraineFlorida PanthersBarrie Colts
13Jani Rita FinlandEdmonton OilersJokerit
14Jeff Jillson United StatesSan Jose SharksUniversity of Michigan
15Scott Kelman CanadaPhoenix Coyotes Seattle Thunderbirds
16David Tanabe United StatesCarolina HurricanesUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
17Barret Jackman CanadaSt. Louis BluesRegina Pats
18Konstantin Koltsov BelarusPittsburgh PenguinsSeverstal Cherepovets
19Kirill Safronov RussiaPhoenix CoyotesSKA St. Petersburg
20Barrett Heisten United StatesBuffalo SabresUniversity of Maine
21Nick Boynton CanadaBoston BruinsOttawa 67's
22Maxime Ouellet CanadaPhiladelphia Flyers Quebec Remparts
23Steve McCarthy CanadaChicago Blackhawks Kootenay Ice
24Luca Cereda SwitzerlandToronto Maple LeafsHC Ambri-Piotta
25Mikhail Kuleshov RussiaColorado AvalancheSeverstal Cherepovets
26Martin Havlat Czech RepublicOttawa SenatorsOcelari Trinec
27Ari Ahonen FinlandNew Jersey DevilsJYP
28Kristian Kudroc SlovakiaNew York Islanders Michalovce

Round two

Round three

Round four

Round five

Round six

Round seven

Round eight

Round nine

Draftees based on nationality

Sedin Trades

Vancouver GM Brian Burke was determined to draft Daniel and Henrik Sedin, after their performance at the 1999 IIHF World Championship in Oslo, Norway. He began by complementing his existing third overall pick by trading defenseman Bryan McCabe and Vancouver's 1st-round pick in the 2000 Draft to the Chicago Blackhawks for the fourth overall pick. Then he obtained the first overall pick from Tampa Bay, flipping Chicago's fourth overall pick — which the Lightning subsequently traded to the Rangers, who used it to draft Pavel Brendl — and two third-round selections. Vancouver and Atlanta then worked out a deal whereby Atlanta, who held the second overall selection, promised to select Patrik Stefan with the first overall pick, leaving both Sedins available to Vancouver at 2nd and 3rd.