WHA amateur draft

The WHA amateur draft was the entry draft for the World Hockey Association. The professional league operated from 1972 to 1979, but only held its annual draft from 1973 through 1978.^{[citation needed]}

The fledgling WHA had some trouble stocking their teams, with many of the players drafted by WHA teams never reporting, preferring instead to play in the long established National Hockey League. In 1975, only three of the fifteen first-round picks played a game in the new league. Other players would only be lured with extravagant salaries, such as the $1.3 million ($7.8 million today) contract Pat Price signed with the Vancouver Blazers in 1974.^{[citation needed]}

The WHA held a secretive, short draft in February 1978 without releasing the names of the drafted players with the expectation of having their regular amateur draft in June of that year.^[1] The June draft was never held.