1997 NHL entry draft took place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the Boston Bruins selecting Joe Thornton first overall.
First round: | |
| 1. Boston | Joe Thornton, C, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) |
| 2. San Jose | Patrick Marleau, C, Seattle (WHL) |
| 3. Los Angeles | Olli Jokinen, C, IFK Helsinki (Finland) |
| 4. N.Y. Islanders (From TOR) | Robert Luongo, G, Val d'Or (QMJHL) |
| 5. N.Y. Islanders | Eric Brewer, D, Prince George (WHL) |
| 6. Calgary | Daniel Tkaczuk, C, Barrie (OHL) |
| 7. Tamba Bay | Paul Mara, D, Sudbury (OHL) |
| 8. Boston (From CAR) | Sergei Samsonov, LW, Detroit (IHL) |
| 9. Washington | Nicholas Boynton, D, Ottawa (OHL) |
| 10. Vancouver | Brad Ference, D, Spokane (WHL) |
| 11. Montreal | Jason Ward, C, C-RW Erie (OHL) |
| 12. Ottawa | Marion Hossa, F, Dukla Trencin (Slovakia) |
| 13. Chicago | Daniel Cleary, LW, Belleville (OHL) |
| 14. Edmonton | Michel Riessen, F, Biel-Bienne (Switzerland) |
| 15. Los Angeles (From STL) | Matt Zultek, LW, Ottawa (OHL) |
| 16. Chicago (From PHO) | Ty Jones, RW, Spokane (WHL) |
| 17. Pittsburgh | Robert Dome, F, Utah/Long Beach/Las Vegas (IHL) |
| 18. Anaheim | Mikael Holmqvist, F, Djurgarden (Sweden) |
| 19. New York Rangers | Stefan Cherneski, RW, Brandon (WHL) |
| 20. Florida | Mike Brown, C, Red Deer (WHL) |
| 21. Buffalo | Mika Noronen, G, Tappara (Finland) |
| 22. Carolina (From DET) | Nikos Tselios, D, Belleville (OHL) |
| 23. San Jose (From PHI/CAR) | Scott Hannan, D, Kelowna (WHL) |
| 24. New Jersey | Jean-Francois Damphousse, G, Moncton (QMJHL) |
| 25. Dallas | Brendan Morrow, LW, Portland (WHL) |
| 26. Colorado | Kevin Grimes, D, Kingston (OHL) |
