KHL Junior Draft


The KHL Junior Draft was an annual meeting in which every franchise of the Kontinental Hockey League systematically selected the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who met draft eligibility requirements. The KHL Junior Draft was held once every year, generally within two to three months after the conclusion of the previous season. During the draft, teams took turns selecting amateur players from junior, collegiate, or European leagues.
The first draft was held on June 1, 2009, prior to the second KHL season, and was held every year until it was ended in 2016. Mikhail Pashnin, drafted by CSKA Moscow, was the first player to be drafted in the KHL Junior Draft. The first KHL Junior Draft held had only 85 drafted players, but with 188 players in the 2010 Draft the number of drafted players that year was more than doubled. However, the amount of drafted players decreased in the 2011 Draft, with 134 drafted players. The peak count came in 2014 when 208 players were drafted. Overall, over the 8 years, 1,241 players were drafted, giving an average of 155 drafted players per year.

Eligible players

All European or North American players who were 17 years old and not older than 21 years old, and did not have any active contracts with a KHL, MHL or VHL team, were eligible for selection for that year's KHL Junior Draft.

Drafting order

The teams with the three worst regular-season records were eligible to take part in a lottery whose aim was to decide the first three picks.

List of KHL Junior Drafts

DraftLocationCityDateTotal drafted#1 pick
2009Gazprom Export HQMoscow, Russia91
2010KHL HQMoscow, Russia188
2011Mytishchi ArenaMytishchi, Russia134
2012Traktor Sport PalaceChelyabinsk, Russia and 166
2013Druzhba ArenaDonetsk, Ukraine and 174
2014Ice PalaceSaint Petersburg, Russia208
2015VTB Ice PalaceMoscow, Russia133
2016Renaissance Moscow Monarch Center HotelMoscow, Russia147