2003 NHL Entry Draft

The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was held at the Gaylord Entertainment Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

Marc-Andre Fleury was selected 1st overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins, only the third goalie in NHL history selected as the 1st overall draft choice. Eric Staal was 2nd, picked by the Carolina Hurricanes, and Nathan Horton was selected 3rd by the Florida Panthers.

Many analysts have pegged this draft as one of the most talented groups ever selected in a single draft. Fleury, Staal, Horton, and Nikolai Zherdev all played significant time in the NHL immediately after they were drafted. Milan Michalek also made the San Jose Sharks out of training camp that year, but suffered a serious knee injury that cost him the season. Also, second-round draftee Patrice Bergeron also saw significant playing time with the Boston Bruins. Each one of the top 10 selections played at least 10 games in the NHL in the 2005–06 season (Braydon Coburn is the only one to play less, at nine games). Additionally, only one player from the draft's first round (Hugh Jessiman, New York Rangers) has yet to play at least one game in the NHL. Mike Richards (Flyers), Zach Parise (Devils), Ryan Getzlaf (Ducks), and Eric Staal (Hurricanes) all led their teams in scoring in the 2007–08 regular season.

Draft day trades

* The Florida Panthers trade the 1st pick (Marc-Andre Fleury) and 73rd pick (Daniel Carcillo) to the Pittsburgh Penguins for the 3rd pick (Nathan Horton), the 55th pick (Stefan Meyer) and Mikael Samuelsson.
* The Edmonton Oilers trade the 17th pick (Zach Parise) to the New Jersey Devils for the 22nd pick (Marc-Antoine Pouliot) and the 68th pick (Jean-Francois Jacques).
* The St. Louis Blues trade Cory Stillman to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the 62nd pick (David Backes).
* The New Jersey Devils trade Mike Danton and the 101st pick (Konstantin Zakharov) to the St. Louis Blues for the 93rd pick (Ivan Khomutov).

Draft order

Round 3

Round 6

Round 9

See also

* 2003–04 NHL season
* List of NHL first overall draft choices
* List of NHL players

NHL Drafts
preceded=2002 NHL Entry Draft
succeeded=2004 NHL Entry Draft