2017 Expansion Draft Selections

Lore & Background

After Las Vegas' expansion bid was approved in June 2016, the Golden Knights began formal operations in March 2017. Vegas selected one player from each of the league's 30 franchises, with 19 going on to play for Vegas in their inaugural season. A further three inaugural-season players were acquired in trades relating to the Golden Knights' draft selections. As of the start of the 2025–26 season, four of those 22 players remain with the franchise, with three having continuous tenures.

Reader's Guide

The initial proposal of the rules for the draft was decided upon by the NHL in March 2016. They allowed each team to either protect seven forwards, three defencemen, and one goaltender or one goaltender and eight skaters regardless of position. Because the NHL wanted to ensure the competitive viability of the new team, the number of protected players allowed was lower than in the 2000 NHL expansion draft which populated the Minnesota Wild and Columbus Blue Jackets, when each team could protect nine forwards, five defencemen, and one goalie, or two goalies, three defencemen, and seven forwards. Under these rules, each of the 30 teams would lose one top-four defenceman or third-line forward per number of new teams. Only players with more than two years of professional experience — NHL or AHL as defined in the collective bargaining agreement—were included in the draft.

Did You Know?

• Center Jonathan Marchessault would go on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy with Vegas in 2023.
• Defenseman Brayden McNabb is the Golden Knights' all-time leader in games played as of 2026.
• Center William Karlsson scored 43 goals and won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in Vegas' inaugural season.