| ROUND: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | Traded Picks | Quick Facts | |||||
| Round 1 | ||||||
| No. | Team | Player | Pos. | Last team | League | Nationality |
| 1. | Winnipeg | Dale Hawerchuk | C | Cornwall | QMJHL | Canada |
| 2. | Los Angeles | Doug Smith | C | Ottawa | OHL | Canada |
| 3. | Washington | Bobby Carpenter | C | St. John's Prep | Mass. HS | USA |
| 4. | Hartford | Ron Francis | C | Sault Ste. Marie | OHL | Canada |
| 5. | Colorado | Joe Cirella | D | Oshawa | OHL | Canada |
| 6. | Toronto | Jim Benning | D | Portland | WHL | Canada |
| 7. | Montreal | Mark Hunter | RW | Brantford | OHL | Canada |
| 8. | Edmonton | Grant Fuhr | G | Victoria | WHL | Canada |
| 9. | N.Y. Rangers | James Patrick | D | Prince Albert | SJHL | Canada |
| 10. | Vancouver | Garth Butcher | D | Regina | WHL | Canada |
| 11. | Quebec | Randy Moller | D | Lethbridge | WHL | Canada |
| 12. | Chicago | Tony Tanti | RW | Oshawa | OHL | Canada |
| 13. | Minnesota | Ron Meighan | D | Niagara Falls | OHL | Canada |
| 14. | Boston | Normand Leveille | LW | Chicoutimi | QMJHL | Canada |
| 15. | Calgary | Al MacInnis | D | Kitchener | OHL | Canada |
| 16. | Philadelphia | Steve Smith | D | Sault Ste. Marie | OHL | Canada |
| 17. | Buffalo | Jiri Dudacek | RW | Kladno | Czechoslovakia | Czech |
| 18. | Montreal | Gilbert Delorme | D | Chicoutimi | QMJHL | Canada |
| 19. | Montreal | Jan Ingman | LW | Karlstad | Elitserien | Sweden |
| 20. | St. Louis | Marty Ruff | D | Lethbridge | WHL | Canada |
| 21. | N.Y. Islanders | Paul Boutilier | D | Sherbrooke | QMJHL | Canada |
| SNAPSHOT '81 | |
| Total Selected: | 211 |
| Forwards: | 119 |
| Defense: | 67 |
| Goaltenders: | 25 |
| Major Junior: | 122 |
| Tier II and Junior B: | 14 |
| College Players: | 21 |
| High School: | 18 |
| Canadian: | 142 |
| American: | 37 |
| U.S.-Born: | 36 |
| European: | 32 |
| Reached NHL: | 114 |
| Won Stanley Cup: | 17 |
| Hall of Fame: | 5 |
| All-Star Game: | 14 |
| Year-end All-Star: | 7 |
| Olympians: | 30 |
| Picks Traded: | 38 |