 During the late 1960s , the concept of sponsoring junior players and teams had been dismantled , meaning that for the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft , every player aged 20 or above was eligible to be selected . The Montreal Canadiens , however , exercised a special " cultural option " that allowed them to select two players of French @-@ Canadian heritage , before any other players were selected . These players counted as Montreal 's first two choices . After the Canadiens took Rejean Houle and Marc Tardif , the rest of the league voted to end the rule in 1970 , just before future star Gilbert Perreault was selected first in the 1970 expansion draft by the Buffalo Sabres . 
