1998 NHL Draft
Lance Ward in the 1998 NHL Draft
Florida Panthers selected Lance Ward 63rd overall in the 1998 NHL Draft, with the 5th pick of round 3.
It was the third of the 9 picks Florida Panthers made in the draft. Of the 258 players selected in 1998, 132 have played in the NHL regular season. His 209 games put him 59th in the class.
- Overall pick
- 63
- Round and pick
- Round 3, pick 5
- Drafting team
- FLAFlorida Panthers
- Date
- Age at the draft
- 20 years
New Jersey Devils had already picked him in 1996, 10th overall, but he went unsigned and re-entered the draft.
The picks around it
Picks 60–66 in the 1998 draft
- 60Denis ArkhipovC352 GP · 138 PNSHNashville Predators
- 61Joe DipentaD174 GP · 23 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 62Paul ManningD8 GP · 0 PCGYCalgary Flames
- 63Lance WardR209 GP · 16 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 64Brad RichardsC1126 GP · 932 PTBLTampa Bay Lightning
- 65Eric LaplanteLSJSSan Jose Sharks
- 66Jason LaBarberaG187 GP · 62 WNYRNew York Rangers
Games and points are NHL regular season to date.
Place in the draft class
Where he came in the 1998 class
Counted in draft order across the whole draft. The position is the one listed at the draft.
First off the board
- 1Vincent LecavalierC1212 GP · 949 PTBLTampa Bay Lightning
- 2David LegwandC1136 GP · 618 PNSHNashville Predators
- 3Brad StuartD1056 GP · 335 PSJSSan Jose Sharks
- 4Bryan AllenD721 GP · 136 PVANVancouver Canucks
- 5Vitaly VishnevskiD552 GP · 68 PANAAnaheim Ducks
- 6Rico FataL230 GP · 63 PCGYCalgary Flames
- 7Manny MalhotraC991 GP · 295 PNYRNew York Rangers
- 8Mark BellC450 GP · 182 PCHIChicago Blackhawks
- 9Mike RuppL610 GP · 99 PNYINew York Islanders
- 10Nik AntropovC788 GP · 465 PTORToronto Maple Leafs
+ 248 more
After the draft
The road to the NHL
Lance Ward made his NHL debut on November 15, 2000, 2 years and 141 days after the draft.
NHL regular season to date.
The team's draft
Florida Panthers picks in the 1998 draft
- 30Kyle RossiterD11 GP · 1 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 61Joe DipentaD174 GP · 23 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 63Lance WardR209 GP · 16 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 89Ryan JardineL8 GP · 2 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 117Jaroslav SpacekD880 GP · 355 PFLAFlorida Panthers
- 148Chris OvingtonDFLAFlorida Panthers
- 176B.J. KetchesonDFLAFlorida Panthers
- 203Ian JacobsRFLAFlorida Panthers
- 231Adrian WischerCFLAFlorida Panthers