2011 NHL Entry Draft
| 2011 NHL Draft | |||||
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| General information | |||||
| Date(s) | June 24–25, 2011 | ||||
| Location | St. Paul, Minnesota | ||||
| First selection |
 Ryan Nugent-HopkinsSelected by: Edmonton Oilers |
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The 2011 NHL Entry Draft was the 49th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 24–25, 2011, at the Xcel Energy Center in St. 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 picks consisted of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Gabriel Landeskog and Jonathan Huberdeau.
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.
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.
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.
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