June 23-24, 2003 - Columbus, Ohio
The 2003 NHL Entry Draft was held on Saturday, June 21, 2003 (1st round) and Sunday, June 22, 2002 (2nd to 7th rounds) at the United Center, home of the Chicago Blackhawks. The New Jersey Devils won the draft lottery with Philadelphia and Dallas winning the second and third picks, respectively. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights won the lottery's sixth slot and chose sixth overall in the first round and third in each subsequent round. New Jersey selected center Nico Hischier from Halifax (QMJHL) with the first overall pick.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who won their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship in 2016-17, would draft 31st overall out of 31 teams in each round. On draft night, Pittsburgh traded Oscar Sundqvist and its first round choice in the 2017 Entry Draft to St. Louis in exchange for Ryan Reaves and the Blues' second round choice in the 2017 Entry Draft (51st overall).
Pittsburgh's original second round choice (62nd overall) was traded on February 23, 2017 along with Danny Kristo to Carolina in exchange for Ron Hainsey. On June 22, 2017, Carolina traded the pick to Vegas in exchange for Trevor van Riemsdyk and Vegas' seventh round choice in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins' original fourth round choice (124th overall) was traded on March 1, 2017 along with Eric Fehr and Steve Oleksy to Toronto in exchange for Frank Corrado. On November 2, 2016, Pittsburgh traded goaltender Mike Condon to Ottawa in exchange for the Senators' fifth round choice (152nd overall) in the 2018 Entry Draft.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who won their second consecutive Stanley Cup championship in 2016-17, would draft 31st overall out of 31 teams in each round. On draft night, Pittsburgh traded Oscar Sundqvist and its first round choice in the 2017 Entry Draft to St. Louis in exchange for Ryan Reaves and the Blues' second round choice in the 2017 Entry Draft (51st overall).
Pittsburgh's original second round choice (62nd overall) was traded on February 23, 2017 along with Danny Kristo to Carolina in exchange for Ron Hainsey. On June 22, 2017, Carolina traded the pick to Vegas in exchange for Trevor van Riemsdyk and Vegas' seventh round choice in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. The Penguins' original fourth round choice (124th overall) was traded on March 1, 2017 along with Eric Fehr and Steve Oleksy to Toronto in exchange for Frank Corrado. On November 2, 2016, Pittsburgh traded goaltender Mike Condon to Ottawa in exchange for the Senators' fifth round choice (152nd overall) in the 2018 Entry Draft.
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Pittsburgh selected defenseman Zachary Lauzon from Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL) in the second round with the pick acquired from St. Louis in the Ryan Reaves trade. Battline a recurring neck injury, Lauzon had four assists in 25 games during the 2017-18 QMJHL regular season and had no points and was a minus-2 in five playoff games. He won the Kevin Lowe Award, the same award won by Kris Letang in 2007, as the QMJHL's best defenseman after the 2016-17 season.
Defensenman Clayton Phillips began the 2017-18 season with the Fargo Force of the USHL before being traded to the Muskegon Lumberjacks on October 24, 2017. Phillips had 12 points (5g, 7a) in 16 games before joining the University of Minnesota for the second semester and the remainder of the 2017-18 NCAA season. He appeared in 11 games with the Golden Gophers and was a minus-3 with 11 shots on goal. |
2003 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL Entry Draft Selections
| Choice | Round | Pick | Overall | Player | Position | 2016-17 Amateur Club |
| 1 | 2 | 20 | 51 | Zachary Lauzon | D | Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 3 | 31 | 93 | Clayton Phillips | D | Fargo Force (USHL) |
| 3 | 5 | 28 | 152 | Jan Drozg | LW | Leksand U18 (J18 Elit) |
| 4 | 5 | 31 | 155 | Linus Olund | C | Brynas IF (SHL) |
| 5 | 6 | 31 | 186 | Antti Palojarvi | D | Lukko U20 (Jr. A SM-liiga) |
| 6 | 7 | 31 | 217 | William Reilly | D | RPI Engineers (ECAC) |