2011 NHL entry draft


The 2011 NHL entry draft was the 49th entry draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, Minnesota. It was the first time the draft was held in the state of Minnesota since the Minnesota North Stars hosted the 1989 NHL entry draft. The top three selections were Ryan Nugent-Hopkins by the Edmonton Oilers, Gabriel Landeskog by the Colorado Avalanche, and Jonathan Huberdeau by the Florida Panthers.
The draft was also noteworthy as the venue at which the recently relocated Atlanta Thrashers franchise announced that they would be known as the Winnipeg Jets, making the announcement as they drafted Mark Scheifele with their first pick.
As of 2025 there are 42 active NHL players from this draft.

Eligibility

Ice hockey players born between January 1, 1991, and September 15, 1993, were eligible for selection in the 2011 NHL entry draft. Additionally, un-drafted, non-North American players over the age of 20 were eligible for the draft; and those players who were drafted in the 2009 NHL entry draft, but not signed by an NHL team and who were born after June 24, 1991, were also eligible to re-enter the draft.

Draft lottery

The draft lottery was held on April 12, 2011, and was won by the New Jersey Devils, who moved up four spots to the fourth-overall pick. The Edmonton Oilers retained the first-overall pick. This was the first time since the 2007 draft lottery that a team other than the team with the worst regular season record won the draft lottery. New Jersey were also tied with the 1999 Chicago Blackhawks for the lowest ranked team to win the lottery as the eighth seed.

Top prospects

RankingNorth American skatersEuropean skaters
1

Selections by round

Round one

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
1Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Canada

Round two

#PlayerNationalityNHL teamCollege/junior/club team
31David Musil Czech Republic

Round three

;Notes
  1. The Colorado Avalanche's third-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 26, 2010, that sent a fourth-round pick in 2010 to Colorado in exchange for this pick.
  2. The New York Islanders' third-round pick went to the Anaheim Ducks as the result of a trade on July 30, 2010, that sent James Wisniewski to New York in exchange for this pick. The condition – New York had to choose to send either their own pick or the pick previously acquired from Colorado, until June 1, 2011 – was converted at an unknown date.
  3. The Ottawa Senators' third-round pick went to the Columbus Blue Jackets as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Nikita Filatov to Ottawa in exchange for this pick.
  4. The Columbus Blue Jackets' third-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as the result of a trade on June 23, 2011, that sent Jeff Carter to Columbus in exchange for Jakub Voracek, a first-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  5. The New Jersey Devils' third-round pick was forfeited as the result of a penalty sanction due to cap circumvention when signing Ilya Kovalchuk. The penalty includes a fine of $3 million, a forfeiture of one first-round pick between 2011 and 2014 as determined by the Devils, and this pick.
  6. The Toronto Maple Leafs' third-round pick went to the Chicago Blackhawks as the result of a trade on September 5, 2009, that sent Toronto's own second-round pick in 2010 back to Toronto in exchange for Calgary's second-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  7. The Minnesota Wild's third-round pick went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent a second-round pick in 2011 to Minnesota in exchange for a fourth-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  8. The St. Louis Blues' third-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Evgeny Grachyov to St. Louis in exchange for this pick.
  9. The Calgary Flames' third-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on March 3, 2010, that sent Steve Staios to the Flames in exchange for Aaron Johnson and this pick. The condition – Calgary elects to transfer its own third-round pick in 2011 instead of 2010 – was converted on June 26, 2010, when Calgary retained their 2010 pick.
  10. The Dallas Stars' third-round pick went to the New Jersey Devils as the result of a trade on January 7, 2011, that sent Jamie Langenbrunner to Dallas in exchange for a conditional pick in 2012 and this pick. The condition – Dallas does not win a round of the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs and does not re-sign Langenbrunner prior to the 2011 Draft – was converted on June 24, 2011.
  11. The New York Rangers' third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on February 26, 2011, that sent Bryan McCabe to New York in exchange for Tim Kennedy and this pick.
  12. The Montreal Canadiens' third-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Winnipeg's and Montreal's own fourth-round picks in 2011 to Montreal in exchange for this pick.
  13. The Phoenix Coyotes' third-round pick went to the Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on March 3, 2010, that sent Derek Morris to Phoenix in exchange for this pick. The condition – Morris is re-signed by Phoenix for the 2010–11 season – was converted on July 1, 2010.
  14. The Nashville Predators' third-round pick went to the Los Angeles Kings as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Los Angeles' sixth-round pick in 2011 and Toronto's third-round pick in 2012 to Nashville in exchange for this pick.
  15. The Pittsburgh Penguins' third-round pick went to the Phoenix Coyotes as the result of a trade on June 7, 2011, that sent Ilya Bryzgalov to Philadelphia in exchange for Matt Clackson, future considerations and this conditional pick. The condition – Philadelphia signs Bryzgalov before the start of the third round of the draft – was converted on June 23, 2011.
  16. :Philadelphia previously acquired the pick as the result of a trade on June 25, 2010, that sent Dan Hamhuis to Pittsburgh in exchange for this pick.
  17. The Philadelphia Flyers' third-round pick went to the Toronto Maple Leafs as the result of a trade on February 14, 2011, that sent Kris Versteeg to Philadelphia in exchange for a first-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  18. The Washington Capitals' third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on February 28, 2011, that sent Dennis Wideman to Washington in exchange for Jake Hauswirth and this pick.
  19. The Tampa Bay Lightning's third-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as a result of a trade on February 18, 2011, that sent Eric Brewer to Tampa Bay in exchange for Brock Beukeboom and this pick.
  20. The Boston Bruins' third-round pick went to the Florida Panthers as the result of a trade on June 22, 2010, that sent Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell to Boston in exchange for Dennis Wideman, Boston's first-round pick in 2010 and this pick.

    Round four

;Notes
  1. The Florida Panthers' fourth-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on August 5, 2010, that sent Mike Santorelli to Florida in exchange for this pick. The condition which upgraded the original fifth-round pick to this pick is unknown.
  2. The Winnipeg Jets' fourth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Montreal's third-round pick in 2011 to Winnipeg in exchange for Montreal's fourth-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  3. The Minnesota Wild's fourth-round pick went to the Vancouver Canucks as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Vancouver's second-round pick in 2011 to Minnesota in exchange for the Minnesota's third-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  4. The Montreal Canadiens' fourth-round pick was re-acquired from the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Montreal's third-round pick in 2011 to Winnipeg in exchange for Winnipeg's fourth-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  5. :Winnipeg previously acquired the pick as the result of a trade on February 24, 2011, that sent Brent Sopel and Nigel Dawes from the Atlanta Thrashers to Montreal in exchange for Ben Maxwell and this pick.
  6. The Anaheim Ducks' fourth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on December 2, 2009, that sent Kyle Chipchura to Anaheim in exchange for this pick.
  7. The Pittsburgh Penguins' fourth-round pick went to the Edmonton Oilers as the result of a trade on January 17, 2009, that sent Mathieu Garon to Pittsburgh in exchange for Dany Sabourin, Ryan Stone and this pick.
  8. The Tampa Bay Lightning's fourth-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as the result of a trade on July 19, 2010, that sent Simon Gagne to Tampa Bay in exchange for Matt Walker and this pick.
  9. The San Jose Sharks' fourth-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Carolina's fifth-round pick and Calgary's seventh-round pick both in 2011 to San Jose in exchange for this pick.

    Round five

;Notes
  1. The Winnipeg Jets' fifth-round pick went to the New York Islanders as the result of a trade on June 26, 2010, that sent the New York Islanders and New York Rangers' sixth-round picks in 2010 to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for this pick.
  2. The Carolina Hurricanes' fifth-round pick went to the San Jose Sharks as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent San Jose's fourth-round pick in 2011 to Winnipeg in exchange for Calgary's seventh-round pick in 2011 and this pick.
  3. :Winnipeg previously acquired the pick as the result of a trade on February 28, 2011, that sent Niclas Bergfors and Patrick Rissmiller from the Atlanta Thrashers to Florida in exchange for Radek Dvorak and this pick.
  4. :Florida previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 24, 2011, that sent Cory Stillman to Carolina in exchange for Ryan Carter and this pick.
  5. The Calgary Flames' fifth-round pick went to the New York Rangers as the result of a trade on June 1, 2011, that sent Roman Horak and Washington and New York's second-round picks in 2011 to Calgary in exchange for Tim Erixon and this pick.
  6. The Philadelphia Flyers' fifth-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on February 6, 2010, that sent Ville Leino to Philadelphia in exchange for Ole-Kristian Tollefsen and this pick.
  7. The San Jose Sharks' fifth-round pick went to the Winnipeg Jets as the result of a trade on January 18, 2011, that sent Ben Eager from the Atlanta Thrashers to San Jose in exchange for this pick.