Entering the 2001 NHL Entry Draft having been named the Top CHL Prospect, Spezza was drafted second overall by the Ottawa Senators, after Ilya Kovalchuk was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers. The second overall pick originally belonged to the New York Islanders but was traded to Ottawa (along with Zdeno Chára and Bill Muckalt) in exchange for Alexei Yashin on the day of the Draft. During the summer of 2001, Spezza passed on an invitation to the Canadian junior team's summer camp because he said he wanted to prepare for his first NHL camp.