The 1974 NHL amateur draft was the 12th draft for the National Hockey League. It was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal. In an effort to prevent the World Hockey Association (WHA) from poaching players, the draft was conducted early and in secret. This failed to prevent tampering as information leaked out via agents and other sources over the three days of the draft. As a statement of frustration at the slow, secretive conference call format, Buffalo general manager Punch Imlach claimed "Taro Tsujimoto" of the "Tokyo Katanas" of Japan using the 183rd overall pick. NHL officials immediately validated the selection, but weeks later Imlach admitted that Tsujimoto was a fabrication. The selection was ruled invalid by the NHL and removed from their records.Taro Tsujimoto invalid selection
This also marked the first year the NHL allowed underage players to be signed, a move made in response to the WHA's similar practice the previous year.
The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Mark Howe, who retired after the 1994–95 season.
Selections by round Below are listed the selections in the 1974 NHL amateur draft.
Round one # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 1 Greg Joly (D) Washington Capitals Regina Pats (WCHL) 2 Wilf Paiement (RW) Kansas City Scouts St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL) 3 Rick Hampton (D) California Golden Seals St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL) 4 Clark Gillies (F) New York Islanders Regina Pats (WCHL) 5 Cam Connor (F) Montreal Canadiens (from Vancouver)1 Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) 6 Doug Hicks (D) Minnesota North Stars Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) 7 Doug Risebrough (F) Montreal Canadiens (from St. Louis)2 Kitchener Rangers (OHA) 8 Pierre Larouche (F) Pittsburgh Penguins Sorel Éperviers (QMJHL) 9 Bill Lochead (F) Detroit Red Wings Oshawa Generals (OMJHL) 10 Rick Chartraw (D) Montreal Canadiens (from Atlanta)3 Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) 11 Lee Fogolin (D) / Buffalo Sabres Oshawa Generals (OHA) 12 Mario Tremblay (F) Montreal Canadiens (from Los Angeles)4 Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) 13 Jack Valiquette (F) Toronto Maple Leafs Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) 14 Dave Maloney (D) New York Rangers Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) 15 Gord McTavish (F) Montreal Canadiens Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) 16 Grant Mulvey (F) Chicago Black Hawks Calgary Centennials (WCHL) 17 Ron Chipperfield (C) California Golden Seals (from Philadelphia)5 Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL) 18 Don Larway (RW) Boston Bruins Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) The Vancouver Canucks' first-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on May 15, 1973 that sent Montreal's first-round pick (Bob Dailey) in 1973 NHL amateur draft to Vancouver in exchange for this pick. The St. Louis Blues' first-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on March 9, 1974 that sent Dave Gardner to St. Louis in exchange for this pick. The Atlanta Flames' first-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on May 29, 1973 that sent Chuck Arnason to Atlanta in exchange for this pick. The Los Angeles Kings' first-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on May 29, 1973 that sent Bob Murdoch and Randy Rota to Los Angeles in exchange for cash and this pick. The Philadelphia Flyers' first-round pick went to the California Golden Seals as the result of a trade on May 24, 1974 that sent Reggie Leach to Philadelphia in exchange for Al MacAdam, Larry Wright and this pick.
Round two # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 19 Mike Marson (LW) Washington Capitals Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) 20 Glen Burdon (C) Kansas City Scouts Regina Pats (WCHL) 21 Bruce Affleck (D) California Golden Seals University of Denver (WCHA) 22 Bryan Trottier (C) New York Islanders Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) 23 Ron Sedlbauer (LW) Vancouver Canucks Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) 24 Rich Nantais (LW) Minnesota North Stars Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) 25 Mark Howe (LW) Boston Bruins (from St.Louis)1 Houston Aeros (WHA) 26 Bob Hess (D) St. Louis Blues (from Pittsburgh)2 New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) 27 Jacques Cossette (RW) Pittsburgh Penguins Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) 28 Guy Chouinard (C) Atlanta Flames Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) 29 Danny Gare (RW) Buffalo Sabres Calgary Centennials (WCHL) 30 Gary MacGregor (C) Montreal Canadiens (from Los Angeles)3 Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) 31 Tiger Williams (LW) Toronto Maple Leafs Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) 32 Ron Greschner (D) New York Rangers New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) 33 Gilles Lupien (D) Montreal Canadiens Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) 34 Alain Daigle (RW) Chicago Black Hawks Trois-Rivières Draveurs (QMJHL) 35 Don McLean (D) Philadelphia Flyers Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) 36 Peter Sturgeon (LW) Boston Bruins Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) The St. Louis Blues' second-round pick went to the Boston Bruins as the result of a trade on October 5, 1973 that sent Don Awrey to St. Louis in exchange for Jake Rathwell, cash and this pick. The Pittsburgh Penguins' second-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on January 17, 1974 that sent Ab DeMarco Jr., Steve Durbano and Bob Kelly to St. Louis in exchange for Greg Polis, Bryan Watson and this pick. The Los Angeles Kings' second-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on August 22, 1972 that sent Terry Harper to Los Angeles in exchange for Los Angeles' third-round pick in the 1975 NHL amateur draft, a first-round pick in the 1976 NHL amateur draft and this pick.
Round three # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 37 John Paddock (RW) Washington Capitals Brandon Wheat Kings (WCHL) 38 Bob Bourne (C) Kansas City Scouts Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) 39 Charlie Simmer (C) California Golden Seals Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) 40 Brad Anderson (C) New York Islanders Victoria Cougars (WCHL) 41 John Hughes (D) Vancouver Canucks Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) 42 Pete LoPresti (G) Minnesota North Stars University of Denver (WCHA) 43 Gordon Buynak (D) St. Louis Blues Kingston Canadians (OMJHL) 44 Dan Mandryk (LW) Detroit Red Wings (from Pittsburgh)1 Calgary Centennials (WCHL) 45 Bill Evo (RW) Detroit Red Wings Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) 46 Dick Spannbauer (D) Atlanta Flames University of Minnesota (WCHA) 47 Michel Deziel (LW) Buffalo Sabres Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) 48 Gary Sargent (D) Los Angeles Kings Fargo Sugar Kings (MWJHL) 49 Per-Arne Alexandersson (C) Toronto Maple Leafs Leksands IF (Sweden) 50 Jerry Holland (LW) New York Rangers Calgary Centennials (WCHL) 51 Marty Howe (D) Montreal Canadiens Houston Aeros (WHA) 52 Bob Murray (D) Chicago Black Hawks Cornwall Royals (QMJHL) 53 Bob Sirois (RW) Philadelphia Flyers Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) 54 Tom Edur (D) Boston Bruins Cleveland Crusaders (WHA) The Pittsburgh Penguins' third-round pick went to the Detroit Red Wings as the result of a trade on May 27, 1974 that sent Nelson Debenedet to Pittsburgh in exchange for Hank Nowak and this pick.
Round four # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 55 Paul Nicholson (LW) Washington Capitals London Knights (OMJHL) 56 Roger Lemelin (D) Kansas City Scouts London Knights (OMJHL) 57 Tom Price (D) California Golden Seals Ottawa 67's (OMJHL) 58 Pat Ribble (D) Atlanta Flames Oshawa Generals (OMJHL) 59 Harold Snepsts (D) Vancouver Canucks Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) 60 Kim MacDougall (D) Minnesota North Stars Regina Pats (WCHL) 61 Barry Legge (D) Montreal Canadiens (from St. Louis)1 Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL) 62 Mario Faubert (D) Pittsburgh Penguins Saint Louis University (CCHA) 63 Michel Bergeron (RW) Detroit Red Wings Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) 64 Cam Botting (RW) Atlanta Flames Niagara Falls Flyers (SOJHL) 65 Paul McIntosh (D) Buffalo Sabres Peterborough Petes (OMJHL) 66 Brad Winton (C) Los Angeles Kings Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) 67 Peter Driscoll (LW) Toronto Maple Leafs Kingston Canadians (OMJHL) 68 Boyd Anderson (LW) New York Rangers Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) 69 Mike McKegney (RW) Montreal Canadiens Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) 70 Terry Ruskowski (C) Chicago Black Hawks Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) 71 Randy Andreachuk (RW) Philadelphia Flyers Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL) 72 Bill Reed (D) Boston Bruins Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) The St. Louis Blues' fourth-round pick went to the Montreal Canadiens as the result of a trade on May 27, 1974 that sent Rick Wilson and Montreal's fifth-round pick in 1974 NHL Amateur Draft to St. Louis in exchange for future considerations (Glen Sather) and this pick.
Round five # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 73 Jack Patterson (C) Washington Capitals Kamloops Chiefs (WCHL) 74 Mark Lomenda (RW) Kansas City Scouts Victoria Cougars (WCHL) 75 Jim Warden (G) California Golden Seals Michigan Technological University (WCHA) 76 Carlo Torresan (D) New York Islanders Sorel Eperviers (QMJHL) 77 Mike Rogers (C) Vancouver Canucks Calgary Centennials (WCHL) 78 Ron Ashton (D) Minnesota North Stars Saskatoon Blades (WCHL) 79 Mike Zuke (C) St. Louis Blues Michigan Technological University (WCHA) 80 Bruce Aberhart (G) Pittsburgh Penguins London Knights (OMJHL) 81 John Taft (D) Detroit Red Wings University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 82 Jerry Badiuk (D) Atlanta Flames Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) 83 Garry Lariviere (D) Buffalo Sabres St. Catharines Black Hawks (OMJHL) 84 Paul Evans (C) Los Angeles Kings Kitchener Rangers (OMJHL) 85 Mike Palmateer (G) Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Marlboros (OMJHL) 86 Dennis Olmstead (C) New York Rangers University of Wisconsin (WCHA) 87 Don Wheldon (D) St. Louis Blues (from Montreal)1 London Knights (OMJHL) 88 Dave Logan (D) Chicago Black Hawks Laval National (QMJHL) 89 Dennis Sobchuk (C) Philadelphia Flyers Regina Pats (WCHL) 90 Jamie Bateman (LW) Boston Bruins Quebec Remparts (QMJHL) The Montreal Canadiens' fifth-round pick went to the St. Louis Blues as the result of a trade on May 27, 1974 that sent St. Louis' fourth-round picks in 1974 NHL Amateur Draft and future considerations (Glen Sather) to Montreal in exchange for Rick Wilson and this pick.
Round six # Player Nationality NHL team College/junior/club team 91 Brian Kinsella (C) Washington Capitals Oshawa Generals (OMJHL) 92 John Shewchuk (C) Kansas City Scouts St. Paul Vulcans (MWJHL) 93 Tom Sundberg (C) California Golden Seals St. Paul Vulcans (MWJHL) 94 Sid Prysunka (LW) New York Islanders New Westminster Bruins (WCHL) 95 Andy Spruce (LW) Vancouver Canucks London Knights (OMJHL) 96 John Sheridan (C) Minnesota North Stars University of Minnesota (WCHA) 97 Mike Thompson (D) St. Louis Blues Victoria Cougars (WCHL) 98 Buzz Schneider (LW) Pittsburgh Penguins University of Minnesota (WCHA) 99 Don Dufek (LW) Detroit Red Wings University of Michigan (WCHA) 100 Bill Moen (G) Atlanta Flames University of Minnesota (WCHA) 101 Dave Given (RW) Buffalo Sabres Brown University (ECAC) 102 Marty Matthews (LW) Los Angeles Kings Flin Flon Bombers (WCHL) 103 Bill Hassard (C) Toronto Maple Leafs Wexford Warriors (MetJHL) 104 Ed Johnstone (RW) New York Rangers Medicine Hat Tigers (WCHL) 105 John Stewart (C) Montreal Canadiens Bowling Green University (CCHA) 106 Bob Volpe (G) Chicago Black Hawks Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL) 107 Willie Friesen (LW) Philadelphia Flyers Swift Current Broncos (WCHL) 108 Bill Best (LW) Boston Bruins Sudbury Wolves (OMJHL)
Round seven