NHL Draft Nationality Breakdown

The NHL draft has been held since 1963. During the first ten years, the share of Canadian NHL draft picks remained over 90%, but by the mid-1970s, the number of American and European players being drafted increased, causing the share of Canadian players to sharply decline.

Garry Monahan was the first-ever NHL draft pick. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens and played 748 games in the NHL scoring 116 goals and 169 assists.

The chart below shows the percentage of different nationalities drafted to NHL across the years.