2005 NHL Entry Draft

The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. As a lockout cancelled the 2004-05 NHL season, the draft order was determined by lottery on July 22 2005. Teams were assigned 1 to 3 balls based on their playoff appearances and first overall draft picks from the past three years. According to the draft order, the selection worked its way up to 30 as usual; then instead of repeating the order as in past years, the draft "snaked" back down to the team with the first pick. Therefore the team with the first pick overall would not pick again until the 60th pick. The team with the 30th pick would also get the 31st pick. The draft was only seven rounds in length, compared to nine rounds in years past. The labor dispute caused the shortened draft.

The Pittsburgh Penguins won the draft lottery and, as expected, selected Sidney Crosby. The lottery associated with the draft has colloquially been referred to as the Sidney Crosby Sweepstakes.

The draft was held at The Westin Ottawa in Ottawa, Canada on July 30, 2005 and unlike normal drafts it was not open to the public. The draft was originally supposed to be held at the Corel Centre beginning June 25, 2005, but was cancelled due to the lockout. The Corel Centre was available for the new date, but it would not have been possible to use it on such short notice. Only the top 20 prospects attended the draft.

As a result of the cancellation and scaling-back of this draft, the National Hockey League announced that the Corel Centre (now Scotiabank Place) will host the 2008 draft.

Lottery
Three Balls
 * Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins

Two Balls
 * Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Atlanta Thrashers, Calgary Flames, Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, Phoenix Coyotes

One Ball
 * Boston Bruins, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, St. Louis Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, Washington Capitals

Round 6
* Kirill Starkov became a Danish citizen in the summer of 2006.