Editing 2003 NHL entry draft (section)

{{short description|41st annual meeting of National Hockey League franchises to select newly eligible players}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox sports draft
| name        = 2003 NHL entry draft
| image       = 
| alt         = 
| caption     = 
| logo        = NHL-draft-logo-nashville-2003.jpg
| logosize    = 180px
| date        = June 21–22, 2003
| time        = 
| location    = [[Gaylord Entertainment Center]]<br>[[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]], U.S.
| network     = 
| league      = 
| teams       = 
| first       = {{flagicon|CAN}} [[Marc-André Fleury|Marc-Andre Fleury]]<br>([[Pittsburgh Penguins]])
| most        = 
| fewest      = 
| first_round = 
| overall     = 292
| rounds      = 9
| hofnum      = {{Collapsible list
| title = 1
| 1 = D [[Shea Weber]]}}
| prev        = [[2002 NHL entry draft|2002]]
| next        = [[2004 NHL entry draft|2004]]
}}

The '''2003 NHL entry draft''' was the 41st [[NHL entry draft|entry draft]] for the [[National Hockey League]]. It was held at the [[Gaylord Entertainment Center]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]], on June 21 and 22, 2003.

Goaltender [[Marc-André Fleury|Marc-Andre Fleury]] was selected first overall by the [[Pittsburgh Penguins]]. This was only the third time a goaltender was selected first overall in the draft, after [[Michel Plasse]] in [[1968 NHL amateur draft|1968]] and [[Rick DiPietro]] in [[2000 NHL entry draft|2000]]. [[Eric Staal]] was selected second by the [[Carolina Hurricanes]], and [[Nathan Horton]] was the third selection by the [[Florida Panthers]].

Many analysts rate this draft as having one of the most talented groups of players, some say even better than the [[1979 NHL entry draft|1979 NHL draft]].<ref>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Traikos|title=Further proof that the 2003 NHL Entry Draft was the best of all time|url=https://nationalpost.com/sports/nhl/further-proof-that-the-2003-nhl-entry-draft-was-the-best-of-all-time|website=National Post|date=July 9, 2010|access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=10 years later: Redrafting great 2003 NHL class|url=https://www.sportsnet.ca/2010/20-years-of-hindisight-the-great-2003-nhl-re-draft/|website=Sportsnet|date=June 23, 2013|access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Eric|last=Duhatschek|title=The 2003 NHL draft changed the fortunes of a number of teams|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/hockey/the-2003-nhl-draft-changed-the-fortunes-of-a-number-of-teams/article12882068/|website=The Globe and Mail|date=June 28, 2013|access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Doug|last=Harrison|title=NHL Draft: Can this year's class rival 2003?|url=https://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/nhl-draft-can-this-year-s-class-rival-2003-1.3126035|website=CBC Sports|date=June 24, 2015|access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first=Sean|last=O'Leary|title=2003 redrafted: Staal, Getzlaf sit atop deepest class ever|url=https://www.thescore.com/nhl/news/1551809|website=theScore|date=June 22, 2018|access-date=May 23, 2021}}</ref> Every first-round pick went on to play in a regular season NHL game. Among those, two played only a handful of games: [[Hugh Jessiman]] (2 games) and [[Shawn Belle]] (20). All other first round picks had much more substantial NHL careers: the third-fewest games was [[Marc-Antoine Pouliot]] with 192. Fleury, Staal, Horton, [[Nikolay Zherdev]], and [[Patrice Bergeron]] all became NHL regulars immediately after they were drafted. [[Milan Michálek|Milan Michalek]] was expected to do the same, and was selected for the San Jose Sharks' NHL roster after training camp, but suffered a serious knee injury that ruled him out for the season. All of the top ten selections played at least nine games in the NHL in the 2005–06 season. Calgary Flames' first round selection [[Dion Phaneuf]] scored 20 goals in his rookie campaign, becoming the third [[defenceman]] to do so, after [[Brian Leetch]] and [[Barry Beck]]. [[Mike Richards (ice hockey)|Mike Richards]] and [[Jeff Carter]] (Flyers), [[Zach Parise]] (Devils), [[Ryan Getzlaf]] (Ducks), and Eric Staal (Hurricanes) all led their teams in scoring in the 2007–08 regular season, and Dustin Brown (Kings) went on to break the record for most Stanley Cups won by an American team captain (two, in 2012 and 2014).

Later rounds of the draft also featured more players than usual that went on to have substantial NHL careers. These included [[Shea Weber]] (49th overall pick), [[Corey Crawford]] (52nd), [[David Backes]] (62nd), [[Jimmy Howard]] (64th), [[Clarke MacArthur]] (74th), [[Jan Hejda]] (106th), [[Paul Bissonnette]] (121st), [[Kyle Quincey]] (132nd), [[Lee Stempniak]] (148th), [[Nigel Dawes]] (149th), [[Marc Methot]] (168th), [[Nate Thompson]] (183rd), [[Drew Miller]] (186th), [[Joe Pavelski]] (205th), [[Kyle Brodziak]] (214th), [[Tobias Enström|Tobias Enstrom]] (239th), [[Dustin Byfuglien]] (245th), [[Shane O'Brien (ice hockey)|Shane O'Brien]] (250th), [[Matt Moulson]] (263rd), [[Jaroslav Halák|Jaroslav Halak]] (271st), [[David Jones (ice hockey)|David Jones]] (288th), and [[Brian Elliott]] (291st).

The [[Florida Panthers]] attempted to draft [[Alexander Ovechkin]] (the first overall pick in the [[2004 NHL entry draft]]), who was born September 17, 1985 - two days later than the cutoff for the 2003 draft - four times during the draft (including a formal submission in writing in the ninth round), arguing that if not due to [[leap years]], he  would have been born four days earlier, but were denied.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/4628689/2023/06/22/alex-ovechkin-panthers-2003-nhl-draft/|title=Alex Ovechkin a Panther? The story behind the legendary 2003 NHL Draft plot to pick Ovi a year early|work=[[The Athletic]]|first=Michael|last=Russo|date=June 22, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://novacapsfans.com/2020/04/13/how-the-florida-panthers-schemed-to-draft-alex-ovechkin-in-2003/|title=How The Florida Panthers Schemed To Draft Alex Ovechkin in 2003|date=April 13, 2020|first=Jon|last=Sorensen|work=Nova Caps Fans}}</ref>

As of 2025, the remaining active players in the NHL from this draft are [[Brent Burns]], [[Corey Perry]], and [[Ryan Suter]].