The 2012 NHL entry draft was the 50th draft for the National Hockey League. It was held on June 22–23, 2012, at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh.Draftcentre https://www.tsn.ca/draftcentre/ It was the first time that Pittsburgh hosted the draft since the 1997 NHL entry draft. The top three selections were Nail Yakupov by the Edmonton Oilers, Ryan Murray by the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Alex Galchenyuk by the Montreal Canadiens.
As of 2026, there are 50 active NHL players from this draft.
Eligibility Ice hockey players born between January 1, 1992, and September 15, 1994, were eligible for selection in the 2012 NHL entry draft. Additionally, un-drafted, non-North American players over the age of 20 are eligible for the draft; and those players who were drafted in the 2010 NHL entry draft, but not signed by an NHL team and who were born after June 24, 1992, were also eligible to re-enter the draft.
Draft lottery The NHL draft lottery enables a team to move up to four spots ahead in the draft. Thus, only the bottom five teams were eligible to receive the number one draft pick. Beginning with the 2013 NHL entry draft all fourteen teams not qualifying for the Stanley Cup playoffs will have a "weighted" chance at winning the first overall selection. The Edmonton Oilers won the 2012 draft lottery that took place on April 10, 2012, thus moving them up from the second pick to the first pick.
Top prospects
Source: NHL Central Scouting final (April 9, 2012) ranking.
Ranking North American skaters European skaters 1 Nail Yakupov (RW) Filip Forsberg (RW) 2 Ryan Murray (D) Teuvo Teravainen (LW) 3 Mikhail Grigorenko (C) Sebastian Collberg (RW) 4 Alex Galchenyuk (C) Hampus Lindholm (D) 5 Morgan Rielly (D) Tomas Hertl (C) 6 Cody Ceci (D) Pontus Aberg (LW) 7 Radek Faksa (C) Ville Pokka (D) 8 Olli Maatta (D) Ludvig Bystrom (D) 9 Jacob Trouba (D) Nikolai Prokhorkin (LW) 10 Griffin Reinhart (D) Anton Slepyshev (LW) Ranking North American goalies European goalies 1 Malcolm Subban Andrei Vasilevskiy 2 Brandon Whitney Oscar Dansk 3 Jake Paterson Joonas Korpisalo
Selections by round
Round one
# Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 1 Nail Yakupov (RW) Edmonton Oilers Sarnia Sting (OHL) 2 Ryan Murray (D) Columbus Blue Jackets Everett Silvertips (WHL) 3 Alex Galchenyuk (C) Montreal Canadiens Sarnia Sting (OHL) 4 Griffin Reinhart (D) New York Islanders Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) 5 Morgan Rielly (D) Toronto Maple Leafs Moose Jaw Warriors (WHL) 6 Hampus Lindholm (D) Anaheim Ducks Rogle BK (Allsvenskan) 7 Matt Dumba (D) Minnesota Wild Red Deer Rebels (WHL) 8 Derrick Pouliot (D) Pittsburgh Penguins (from Carolina)1 Portland Winterhawks (WHL) 9 Jacob Trouba (D) Winnipeg Jets US NTDP (USHL) 10 Slater Koekkoek (D) Tampa Bay Lightning Peterborough Petes (OHL) 11 Filip Forsberg (RW) Washington Capitals (from Colorado)2 Leksands IF (Allsvenskan) 12 Mikhail Grigorenko (C) Buffalo Sabres Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) 13 Radek Faksa (C) Dallas Stars Kitchener Rangers (OHL) 14 Zemgus Girgensons (C) Buffalo Sabres (from Calgary)3 Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) 15 Cody Ceci (D) Ottawa Senators Ottawa 67's (OHL) 16 Tom Wilson (RW) Washington Capitals Plymouth Whalers (OHL) 17Tomas Hertl (C) San Jose Sharks Slavia Prague (ELH) 18 Teuvo Teravainen (RW) Chicago Blackhawks Jokerit (SM-liiga) 19Andrei Vasilevskiy (G) Tampa Bay Lightning (from Detroit)4 Tolpar Ufa (MHL) 20 Scott Laughton (C) Philadelphia Flyers Oshawa Generals (OHL) 21 Mark Jankowski (C) Calgary Flames (from Nashville via Buffalo)5 Stanstead College (HS–Quebec) 22 Olli Maatta (D) Pittsburgh Penguins London Knights (OHL) 23 Mike Matheson (D) Florida Panthers Dubuque Fighting Saints (USHL) 24 Malcolm Subban (G) Boston Bruins Belleville Bulls (OHL) 25 Jordan Schmaltz (D) St. Louis Blues Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) 26 Brendan Gaunce (C) Vancouver Canucks Belleville Bulls (OHL) 27 Henrik Samuelsson (C) Phoenix Coyotes Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) 28 Brady Skjei (D) New York Rangers US NTDP (USHL) 29 Stefan Matteau (C) New Jersey Devils US NTDP (USHL) 30 Tanner Pearson (LW) Los Angeles Kings Barrie Colts (OHL)
Notes The Carolina Hurricanes' first-round pick went to the Pittsburgh Penguins as the result of a trade on June 22, 2012, that sent Jordan Staal to Carolina in exchange for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin and this pick. The Colorado Avalanche's first-round pick went to the Washington Capitals as the result of a trade on July 1, 2011, that sent Semyon Varlamov to Colorado in exchange for a second-round pick in either 2012 or 2013 and this pick. The Calgary Flames' first-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on June 22, 2012, that sent Nashville's first-round pick in 2012 (21st overall) and Buffalo's second-round pick in 2012 (42nd overall) to Calgary for this pick. The Detroit Red Wings' first-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on February 21, 2012, that sent Kyle Quincey to Detroit in exchange for Sebastien Piche and this pick. The Nashville Predators' first-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on June 22, 2012, that sent Calgary's first-round pick in 2012 (14th overall) to Buffalo in exchange for Buffalo's second-round pick in 2012 (42nd overall) and this pick. Buffalo previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 27, 2012, that sent Paul Gaustad and Buffalo's fourth-round draft pick in 2013 to Nashville in exchange for this pick.
Round two
# Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 31 Oscar Dansk (G) Columbus Blue Jackets Brynas IF (Elitserien) 32 Mitchell Moroz (LW) Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) 33 Sebastian Collberg (RW) Montreal Canadiens Frolunda HC (Elitserien) 34 Ville Pokka (D) New York Islanders Karpat (SM-liiga) 35 Matthew Finn (D) Toronto Maple Leafs Guelph Storm (OHL) 36 Nic Kerdiles (LW) Anaheim Ducks US NTDP (USHL) 37 Pontus Aberg (LW) Nashville Predators (from Minnesota via San Jose and Tampa Bay)1 Djurgardens IF J20 (J20 SuperElit) 38 Phillip Di Giuseppe (LW) Carolina Hurricanes University of Michigan (CCHA) 39 Lukas Sutter (C) Winnipeg Jets Saskatoon Blades (WHL) 40 Dylan Blujus (D) Tampa Bay Lightning Brampton Battalion (OHL) 41 Mitchell Heard (C) Colorado Avalanche Plymouth Whalers (OHL) 42 Patrick Sieloff (D) Calgary Flames (from Buffalo)2 US NTDP (USHL) 43 Ludvig Bystrom (D) Dallas Stars MODO J20 (J20 SuperElit) 44 Jake McCabe (D) Buffalo Sabres (from Calgary)3 University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 45 Anthony Stolarz (G) Philadelphia Flyers (from Ottawa via Phoenix and Columbus)4 Corpus Christi IceRays (NAHL) 46 Raphael Bussieres (LW) Minnesota Wild (from Washington via New Jersey)5 Baie-Comeau Drakkar (QMJHL) 47 Brock McGinn (LW) Carolina Hurricanes (from San Jose)6 Guelph Storm (OHL) 48 Dillon Fournier (D) Chicago Blackhawks Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) 49 Martin Frk (RW) Detroit Red Wings Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL) 50 Colton Sissons (C) Nashville Predators (from Philadelphia via Tampa Bay)7 Kelowna Rockets (WHL) 51 Dalton Thrower (D) Montreal Canadiens (from Nashville)8 Saskatoon Blades (WHL) 52 Teodors Blugers (C) Pittsburgh Penguins Shattuck-Saint Mary's (Midget AAA) 53 Brian Hart (RW) Tampa Bay Lightning (from Florida via Philadelphia)9 Exeter (USHS–NH) 54 Mike Winther (C) Dallas Stars (from Boston via Toronto, Colorado and Washington)10 Prince Albert Raiders (WHL) 55 Chris Tierney (C) San Jose Sharks (compensatory)11 London Knights (OHL) 56 Samuel Kurker (RW) St. Louis Blues St. John's Prep (USHS–MA) 57 Alexandre Mallet (LW) Vancouver Canucks Rimouski Oceanic (QMJHL) 58 Jordan Martinook (LW) Phoenix Coyotes Vancouver Giants (WHL) 59 Cristoval Nieves (C) New York Rangers Kent School (USHS–CT) 60 Damon Severson (D) New Jersey Devils Kelowna Rockets (WHL) 61 Devin Shore (C) Dallas Stars (from Los Angeles via Philadelphia)12 Whitby Fury (OJHL)
Notes The Minnesota Wild's second-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade on June 15, 2012, that sent Anders Lindback, Kyle Wilson and Nashville's seventh-round pick in 2012 to Tampa Bay in exchange for Sebastien Caron, Philadelphia's second-round pick in 2012, Tampa Bay's third-round pick in 2013 and this pick. Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 16, 2012, that sent Dominic Moore and a seventh-round pick in 2012 to San Jose in exchange for this pick. San Jose previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on June 24, 2011, that sent Devin Setoguchi, Charlie Coyle and a first-round pick in 2011 to Minnesota in exchange for Brent Burns and this pick. The Buffalo Sabres' second-round pick went to the Calgary Flames as the result of a trade on June 22, 2012, that sent Calgary's first-round pick in 2012 (14th overall) to Buffalo in exchange for Nashville's first-round pick in 2012 (21st overall) and this pick. The Calgary Flames' second-round pick went to the Buffalo Sabres as the result of a trade on June 25, 2011, that sent Chris Butler and Paul Byron to Calgary in exchange for Robyn Regehr, Ales Kotalik and this pick. The Ottawa Senators' second-round pick went to the Philadelphia Flyers as a result of a trade on June 22, 2012, that sent Sergei Bobrovsky to Columbus in exchange for Vancouver's fourth-round pick in 2012, Phoenix's fourth round pick in 2013, and this pick. Columbus previously acquired this pick as a result of a trade on February 22, 2012, that sent Antoine Vermette to Phoenix in exchange for Curtis McElhinney, a conditional fourth-round pick in 2013 and this pick. Phoenix previously acquired this pick as a result of a trade on December 17, 2011, that sent Kyle Turris to Ottawa in exchange for David Rundblad and this pick. The Washington Capitals' second-round pick went to the Minnesota Wild as the result of a trade on February 24, 2012, that sent Marek Zidlicky to New Jersey in exchange for Kurtis Foster, Nick Palmieri, Stephane Veilleux, a conditional third-round pick in 2013 and this pick. New Jersey previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on February 28, 2011, that sent Jason Arnott to Washington in exchange for Dave Steckel and this pick. The San Jose Sharks' second-round pick went to the Carolina Hurricanes as the result of a trade on February 18, 2011, that sent Ian White to San Jose in exchange for this pick. The Philadelphia Flyers' second-round pick went to the Nashville Predators as the result of a trade that sent Anders Lindback, Kyle Wilson and Nashville's seventh-round pick in 2012 to Tampa Bay in exchange for Sebastien Caron, Minnesota's second-round pick in 2012, Tampa Bay's third-round pick in 2013 and this pick. Tampa Bay previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 1, 2010, that sent Andrej Meszaros to Philadelphia in exchange for this pick. The Nashville Predators' second-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on February 17, 2012, that sent Hal Gill and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2013 to Nashville in exchange for Blake Geoffrion, Robert Slaney and this pick. The Florida Panthers' second-round pick went to the Tampa Bay Lightning as the result of a trade on February 18, 2012, that sent Pavel Kubina to Philadelphia in exchange for Philadelphia's fourth-round pick in 2013, Jon Kalinski and this pick (being conditional at the time of the trade). The condition – Florida will trade a second-round pick in 2012 or 2013 at their choice – was converted on June 23, 2012. Philadelphia previously acquired this pick as the result of a trade on July 1, 2011, that sent Kris Versteeg to Florida in exchange for San Jose's third-round pick in 2012 and this conditional pick. The Boston Bruins' second-round pick went to the Dallas Stars as the result of a trade on June 22, 2012, that sent Mike Ribeiro to Washington in exchange for Cody Eakin and this pick.