The National Hockey League has announced that it has canceled the 2005 entry draft originally scheduled for June 25-26 at the Corel Centre in Ottawa.

The league apparently faced a deadline on the hotel rooms it had reserved in Ottawa and with the lack of progress on a collective bargaining agreement, made the decision to cancel the draft.

'In the absence of a collective bargaining agreement, we are not able to conduct an entry draft in the traditional sense on the dates scheduled,' Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said in a statement. Daly did reiterate that the league 'is committed to bringing an entry draft to Ottawa as soon as is feasible' but could not give any specific date.

'We apologize to the fans who had planned to attend this great event or participate in draft parties both at their local NHL arenas and elsewhere,' Daly said in the statement.

The NHL had long maintained it would not hold this year's entry draft without a new collective bargaining agreement. However, the league could reschedule the draft for later in the off-season or hold an alternative draft at some point.

The big question now is what becomes of top pick Sidney Crosby. Crosby is considered the top hockey prospect since Wayne Gretzky and 'The Great One' has even said that Crosby could break all of his records someday. Crosby's representatives have said they would declare their client a free agent able to sign with any team if there is no entry draft. Another alternative for Crosby would be the new upstart WHA which intends to start play next fall.

The NHL and NHLPA appear no closer to a collective bargaining agreement than they were when the lockout began on September 15. The NHL became the first North American pro sports league to cancel an entire season as a result of a labor dispute.