1973 NHL Draft
Eric Vail in the 1973 NHL Draft
Atlanta Flames selected Eric Vail 21st overall in the 1973 NHL Draft, with the 5th pick of round 2.
It was the third of the 12 picks Atlanta Flames made in the draft. Of the 168 players selected in 1973, 70 have played in the NHL regular season. His 591 games put him 14th in the class, but only 7 have scored more points than his 476.
- Overall pick
- 21
- Round and pick
- Round 2, pick 5
- Drafting team
- AFMAtlanta Flames
- Date
- Age at the draft
- 19 years
The picks around it
Picks 18–24 in the 1973 draft
- 18Blake DunlopC550 GP · 404 PMNSMinnesota North Stars
- 19Paulin BordeleauR183 GP · 89 PVANVancouver Canucks
- 20Larry GoodenoughD242 GP · 99 PPHIPhiladelphia Flyers
- 21Eric VailL591 GP · 476 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 22Peter MarrinCMTLMontréal Canadiens
- 23Wayne BianchinR276 GP · 109 PPITPittsburgh Penguins
- 24George PesutD92 GP · 25 PSTLSt. Louis Blues
Games and points are NHL regular season to date.
Place in the draft class
Where he came in the 1973 class
21st
of 168 players selected
15th
of 105 forwards selected
Counted in draft order across the whole draft. The position is the one listed at the draft.
First off the board
- 1Denis PotvinD1060 GP · 1052 PNYINew York Islanders
- 2Tom LysiakC919 GP · 843 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 3Dennis VervergaertR583 GP · 392 PVANVancouver Canucks
- 4Lanny McDonaldR1111 GP · 1006 PTORToronto Maple Leafs
- 5John DavidsonG301 GP · 123 WSTLSt. Louis Blues
- 6Andre SavardC790 GP · 482 PBOSBoston Bruins
- 7Blaine StoughtonL526 GP · 449 PPITPittsburgh Penguins
- 8Bob GaineyL1160 GP · 501 PMTLMontréal Canadiens
- 9Bob DaileyD561 GP · 325 PVANVancouver Canucks
- 10Bob NeelyR283 GP · 98 PTORToronto Maple Leafs
+ 158 more
After the draft
The road to the NHL
Eric Vail made his NHL debut on October 13, 1973, 151 days after the draft.
591
Games
216
Goals
260
Assists
476
Points
NHL regular season to date.
The team's draft
Atlanta Flames picks in the 1973 draft
- 2Tom LysiakC919 GP · 843 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 16Vic MercrediC2 GP · 0 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 21Eric VailL591 GP · 476 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 53Dean TalafousC497 GP · 258 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 69John FleschR124 GP · 41 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 85Ken HoustonR570 GP · 328 PAFMAtlanta Flames
- 101Tom MachowskiDAFMAtlanta Flames
- 117Bob LawRAFMAtlanta Flames
- 133Bob BilodeauDAFMAtlanta Flames
- 148Glen SurbeyDAFMAtlanta Flames
- 149Guy RossDAFMAtlanta Flames
- 162Greg FoxD494 GP · 106 PAFMAtlanta Flames