The

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

General Player Draft was held over the course of two days, February 12 and February 13, 1972, in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most p ...

. The purpose of the

draft Draft, The Draft, or Draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a vessel ...

was to establish an orderly process through which WHA teams would stock their rosters by the beginning of their inaugural season later that year. As such, players from other professional teams (notably

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

clubs) were eligible to be drafted. The draftees were not under any legal obligation to sign with the drafting WHA club: other WHA clubs were prevented from negotiating with the players who had been drafted. The draft was held in two parts: a "Preliminary" round in which teams made so-called "priority" selections, and the rounds of the "General Draft" which followed. For the preliminary round, each team wrote four names on a piece of paper, which were then submitted and announced prior to the start of the General Draft.1972 WHA Draft Pick Transactions
/ref> The priority selections were the most sought after players, consisting mostly of NHL veterans and highly touted prospects. Twelve teams took part in the draft: the

Calgary Broncos The Calgary Broncos were an original World Hockey Association franchise, founded November 1, 1971. In the first WHA draft, the Broncos chose Barry Gibbs, Jim Harrison, Dale Hoganson and Jack Norris. The team relocated prior to the start of the f ...

Chicago Cougars The Chicago Cougars were a franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's ...

Dayton Aeros The Houston Aeros were a professional ice hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1978. Franchise history The Aeros were originally slated to play in Dayton, Ohio, as a charter member of the WHA. However, Dayton resident ...

Edmonton Oil Kings The Edmonton Oil Kings are a major junior ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, that play in the Western Hockey League. As of July 2008, they are owned by Daryl Katz's Oilers Entertainment Group, which also owns the Edmonton Oilers. ...

Los Angeles Sharks The Los Angeles Sharks were an ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1974. Their primary home arena was the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena but they sometimes played at the Long Beach Sports Arena when ...

Miami Screaming Eagles The Miami Screaming Eagles were a professional ice hockey team that had intended to play in Miami, Florida, US. The Screaming Eagles were charter members of the World Hockey Association, but never played a game in Miami due to the only availabl ...

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...

New England Whalers New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

Winnipeg Jets The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...

, and three then-unnamed franchises based in New York (later the Raiders), Ontario (later the

Ottawa Nationals The Ottawa Nationals were a professional men's ice hockey team out of Ottawa that played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) during the 1972–73 WHA season. The WHA had originally granted a franchise to Doug Michel for "Ontario." Original p ...

) and Quebec City (later the Nordiques). The Broncos folded within months, before the beginning of the season, and the negotiating rights to their picks were transferred to a new club: the

Cleveland Crusaders The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976. T ...

. Similarly the Screaming Eagles never took to the ice, and their picks transferred to the

Philadelphia Blazers The Philadelphia Blazers were an ice hockey franchise in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the 1972–73 WHA season based in Philadelphia. The team's home ice was the Philadelphia Convention Hall and Civic Center. The franchise was origina ...

. The Dayton Aeros moved to Houston before the playing season, and the Oil Kings changed their name to Alberta Oilers with the intent of splitting home games between Edmonton and Calgary.

Preliminary round

Calgary Broncos

Chicago Cougars

Dayton Aeros

Edmonton Oil Kings

Los Angeles Sharks

Miami Screaming Eagles

Minnesota Fighting Saints

New England Whalers

New York

Ontario

Quebec City

Winnipeg Jets

Regular rounds

Calgary Broncos

Rounds 1–10

Rounds 11–20

Rounds 21–50

Rounds 51–70

Rounds 71+