1997 NHL Draft
Ville Nieminen in the 1997 NHL Draft
Colorado Avalanche selected Ville Nieminen 78th overall in the 1997 NHL Draft, with the 25th pick of round 3.
He was the sixth of the 12 Finns selected that year. It was the fourth of the 10 picks Colorado Avalanche made in the draft. Of the 246 players selected in 1997, 101 have played in the NHL regular season. His 385 games put him 30th in the class.
- Overall pick
- 78
- Round and pick
- Round 3, pick 25
- Drafting team
- COLColorado Avalanche
- Date
- Age at the draft
- 20 years
The picks around it
Picks 75–81 in the 1997 draft
- 75Jeff MartinCBUFBuffalo Sabres
- 76Petr SykoraC12 GP · 4 PDETDetroit Red Wings
- 77Steve GaineyL33 GP · 2 PDALDallas Stars
- 78Ville NieminenL385 GP · 117 PCOLColorado Avalanche
- 79Robert SchnabelD22 GP · 3 PNYINew York Islanders
- 80Francis LessardR115 GP · 4 PCARCarolina Hurricanes
- 81Karol BartanusRBOSBoston Bruins
Games and points are NHL regular season to date.
Place in the draft class
Where he came in the 1997 class
6th
of 12 Finns selected
49th
of 136 forwards selected
Counted in draft order across the whole draft. The position is the one listed at the draft.
First Finns selected
- 3Olli JokinenC1231 GP · 750 PLAKLos Angeles Kings
- 21Mika NoronenG71 GP · 23 WBUFBuffalo Sabres
- 43Juha GustafssonDPHXPhoenix Coyotes
- 58Jani HurmeG76 GP · 29 WOTTOttawa Senators
- 65Ilkka MikkolaDMTLMontréal Canadiens
- 78Ville NieminenL385 GP · 117 PCOLColorado Avalanche
- 93Tomi KallarssonDNYRNew York Rangers
- 132Teemo ElomoLDALDallas Stars
- 170Eero SomervuoriRTBLTampa Bay Lightning
- 191Antti LaaksonenL483 GP · 168 PBOSBoston Bruins
+ 2 more
After the draft
The road to the NHL
Ville Nieminen made his NHL debut on January 29, 2000, 2 years and 222 days after the draft.
385
Games
48
Goals
69
Assists
117
Points
NHL regular season to date.
The team's draft
Colorado Avalanche picks in the 1997 draft
- 26Kevin GrimesDCOLColorado Avalanche
- 53Graham BelakLCOLColorado Avalanche
- 55Rick BerryD197 GP · 15 PCOLColorado Avalanche
- 78Ville NieminenL385 GP · 117 PCOLColorado Avalanche
- 87Brad LarsenL294 GP · 48 PCOLColorado Avalanche
- 133Aaron MiskovichCCOLColorado Avalanche
- 161David AebischerG214 GP · 106 WCOLColorado Avalanche
- 217Doug SchmidtDCOLColorado Avalanche
- 243Kyle KidneyLCOLColorado Avalanche
- 245Stephen LafleurDCOLColorado Avalanche