1957 NHL Amateur Draft

1957 NHL Amateur Draft was the fifth annual entry draft conducted by the National Hockey League. Held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, the draft consisted of six rounds where the league's six franchises selected amateur players, primarily from the Ontario Hockey Association and other Canadian junior leagues. The event is historically noted for its low profile at the time and for producing several future Hockey Hall of Fame inductees, including Johnny Bucyk and Frank Mahovlich, despite the continued dominance of the sponsorship system over draft-based team building.

Background and Format

The draft was governed by the league's existing regulations, which heavily favored the sponsorship system where teams directly funded and controlled junior clubs. This system, exemplified by the Montreal Canadiens' relationship with the Montreal Junior Canadiens, meant most top talents were already claimed, rendering the draft a secondary mechanism for acquiring leftover prospects. The format allowed the six teams—the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs—to select in reverse order of the previous season's standings, with the last-place Boston Bruins receiving the first overall selection. The proceedings were brief and received minimal media coverage in publications like the Montreal Gazette, reflecting its perceived insignificance compared to the entrenched Canadian Amateur Hockey Association pipeline.

Draft Selections

The Boston Bruins, holding the first pick, selected right winger Barry Cullen from the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association. The Detroit Red Wings, picking second and third, chose left winger Bobby Kromm from the Edmonton Flyers and future legend Johnny Bucyk from the Toronto Marlboros, respectively. Other early selections included Ed Chadwick by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Gilles Rousseau by the Montreal Canadiens. Later rounds saw teams dip into various leagues, such as the Quebec Junior Hockey League, with the New York Rangers selecting Lou Angotti and the Chicago Black Hawks picking John McKenzie. In total, 66 players were chosen, but many, like Pete Conacher who was selected by the Chicago Black Hawks, never played an NHL game for the team that drafted them.

Notable Selections

The most historically significant selection was Detroit Red Wings' third overall pick, Johnny Bucyk, who would be traded to the Boston Bruins and enjoy a legendary career, winning two Stanley Cup championships, the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy twice, and eventual induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The Toronto Maple Leafs made a pivotal choice in the second round, selecting Frank Mahovlich, who would become a cornerstone of their 1960s dynasty, winning four Stanley Cup titles and the Hart Memorial Trophy before also being enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Other notable players included John McKenzie, a key agitator for the Boston Bruins' 1970 and 1972 championship teams, and Lou Angotti, who later served as the first captain of the Philadelphia Flyers. Goaltender Ed Chadwick became a regular starter for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the late 1950s.

Legacy and Impact

While largely overlooked in its era, the draft is retrospectively recognized for identifying elite talent like Frank Mahovlich and Johnny Bucyk outside the traditional sponsorship system. It demonstrated the potential value of a systematic draft process, a lesson that would gradually contribute to the decline of the sponsorship model by the late 1960s. The success of these selections provided a quiet argument for the draft's necessity, foreshadowing its evolution into the primary method of player distribution in the modern NHL. The event also stands as a snapshot of a transitional period in hockey history, bridging the old system of club affiliations and the emerging era of universal amateur scouting that would be solidified with the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft and the league's expansion into cities like Los Angeles and St. Louis.

Category:1957 in ice hockey Category:NHL Amateur Draft by year