1990 NHL Entry Draft

The 1990 National Hockey League Entry Draft was the 28th NHL Entry Draft. It was hosted by the Vancouver Canucks at BC Place Stadium in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on June 16, 1990. It is remembered as one of the deeper drafts in NHL history, with 14 of the 21 first round picks going on to careers of at least 500 games.

Nine of the 21 players drafted in the first round played 1000 games in their career.

Venue

The 1990 NHL Entry Draft was originally scheduled to be held at the Pacific Coliseum, the home arena of the host Vancouver Canucks located on the site of the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE). However, the Canadian Union of Public Employees union representing the PNE employees—CUPE Local 1004—threatened to strike June 15, one day before the draft. Consequently, the NHL and the Canucks decided to move the draft to BC Place Stadium in order to avoid the potential strike and issues of public access to the venue. In addition to BC Place Stadium, the University of British Columbia, the Vancouver Convention Centre, and the Hyatt Regency Vancouver were also considered as replacement venues.

The Canucks had estimated that 10,000 spectators would attend the draft, which had free admission. However, holding the...
Read More