 Typically playing as a left winger, Ramzi Abid was selected by the Colorado Avalanche as the first choice in the second round (28th overall) of the 1998 NHL Entry Draft and was redrafted in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, 85th overall, by the Phoenix Coyotes, who on March 11, 2003, traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins with Dan Focht and Guillaume Lefebvre for Jan Hrdina and François Leroux .In March 2003, he successfully underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL and missed the remainder of the 2002–03 season.He played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, an affiliate team of the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the American Hockey League during the 2004–05 NHL lockout.