The Hockey News has been providing the most comprehensive coverage of the world of hockey since 1947. In each issue, you'll find news, features and opinions about the NHL and leagues across North America and the world.

May 1, 1991

The Hockey News May 1, 1991

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Tim Campbell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0061-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0189/5943447-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">With players such as Pat Elynuik, a first-round pick (seventh overall) in 1986, drafting wingers isn&rsquo;t high on the Jets&rsquo; priority list</figcaption></div>There was a time when general manager Mike Smith made almost all the draft decisions while he was assistant GM of the Winnipeg Jets. Now, he makes next to none.The credit belongs to director of scouting Bill Lesuk.&ldquo;I still resent people saying I drafted Keith Tkachuk (19th in 1990),&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;I never saw him play. Bill Lesuk drafted him.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m involved in the draft, but we&rsquo;re not going to pick some John Doe because I saw him play one game rather than pick a guy they (scouting staff) have seen all year.&rdquo;Last June, the Jets broke a pattern of selecting major-junior players in the first round, something they had done in 10 of 11 previous drafts. Instead, they made Tkachuk their first-ever first-rounder from a United States high school.And with the rest of their choices, 13 in all, the Jets came under fire from the Canadian Hockey League and Winnipeg fans for drafting only two Canadian-born players.With the promotion of 1987 first pick Bryan Marchment, the Jets are getting thin on defense prospects. Their last three first picks have been forwards.In goal, Winnipeg&rsquo;s depth isn&rsquo;t what it was a year ago. Bob Essensa is a solid No. 1 man and Rick Tabaracci, if he can be signed in the off-season, is looked to as the team&rsquo;s stopper of the future. With Tom Draper traded and Stephane Beauregard floundering, there are question marks between the pipes.&ldquo;Our priorities will probably be defenseman, goaltender, winger, in that order,&rdquo; Smith predicted.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Keith Tkachuk, 19, 6-2, 200, C, Boston University (HE), 19th overall. Played on BU&rsquo;s top line with Tony Amonte and Shawn McEachern and put in a good showing for the U.S. at WJC. 14-16-30, 50 PIM, 29 games.Mike Muller, 19, 6-2, 205, D, Minnesota (WCHA), 35th overall. Came in with great credentials, but didn&rsquo;t play on a regular basis. Minnesota had eight other returning defensemen. 4-4-8, 44 PIM, 33 games.Roman Meluzin, 19, 5-11, 185, RW, Zetor Brno (Cze.), 74th overall. Earned a regular shift on club team and played well with prospect Zigmund Palffy on world junior team. 14-8-22, 8 PIM, 33 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Stu Barnes, 20, 5-10, 175, C, Canadian national team, fourth overall. A great offensive talent, Barnes needed help on his defensive play and was assigned to specialist Dave King. 19-2443, 52 PIM, 47 games.Dan Ratushny, 20,6-1,185, D, Cornell (ECAC), 25th overall. Was named first-team ECAC, first-team Ivy League and first-team all-American. A candidate to play in Olympics for Canada. 7-24-31, 52 PIM, 26 games.Jason Cirone, 20, 5-9, 185, C, Windsor (OHL), 46th overall. Voted by OHL coaches the most dangerous in goal area and the best on faceoffs. May need seasoning in the minors. 58-52-110, 97 PIM, 63 games.<h2>JOHN FERGUSON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0263/5943440-1-eng-US/f0061-022.jpg" title="f0061-02" width="616" height="428"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0340/5943433-1-eng-US/f0061-032.jpg" title="f0061-03" width="600" height="1728"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bob Essensa</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0061-01

IN THIS ISSUE

DEFENSE REMAINS PRIME OBJECTIVE

<div class="image-hero"><img title="Cover-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/cover-01884/5943640-1-eng-US/cover-012.jpg"></div>88 THINGS YOU DIDN&rsquo;T KNOW ABOUT THE FIVE-STAR GENERALYOUR AUTHORITATIVE GUIDE TO THE NHL ENTRY DRAFTERIC LINDROSNORDIQUE NIGHTMARE: ANATOMY OF A COLLAPSE44 TOP-RATED PROSPECTS: THN TAKES YOU INSIDE THE DRAFTWHY NHL FIRST-ROUND PICKS ARE OVERRATED &#9632;

Cover-01

DRAFT PREVIEW ’91

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Kevin Johnston</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0055-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01115/5943135-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Last year&rsquo;s first pick, Owen Nolan, experienced stage fright in his first NHL season. He scored only three goals in 59 games.</figcaption></div>No NHL team has ever had the fortune&mdash;or misfortune&mdash;of selecting first overall at the draft three years in a row.And despite some horrible first-round selections in the past, Quebec can&rsquo;t miss this season with Eric Lindros.The 6-foot-5, 228-pound center has the potential to be the NHL&rsquo;s next superstar.The Nordiques&rsquo; director of scouting Pierre Gauthier usually puts up a smoke screen when asked who the team will take in the draft. But not this season.&ldquo;If we finish dead last,&rdquo; said Gauthier, &ldquo;we&rsquo;ll evidently go with Eric Lindros. He&rsquo;s in a class by himself. There are other outstanding young talents out there, but Lindros is one-of-a-kind.&rdquo;The team may have trouble signing the Oshawa Generals&rsquo; star, but owner Marcel Aubut will get involved to ease the situation.&ldquo;We have 15 picks this year, and we want to be certain each one is the best we can make,&rdquo; said general manager Pierre Page.Page hired Dave Draper, head scout of Canada&rsquo;s back-to-back world junior teams to help sort things out. Draper has extensive international knowledge and has been scouting internationally since January.In the past, the Nordiques made the mistake of going for specific positions and not the best talent.But this draft will be different, Gauthier-said.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s selections like those (early rounds) that make or break a team,&rdquo; said Gauthier. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s the supporting cast that might make the difference between a Stanley Cup winner or a Stanley Cup contender.&rdquo;<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Owen Nolan, 19, 6-1, 195, RW, Quebec (NHL), first overall. Played almost entire season with Nordiques and didn&rsquo;t impress. Didn&rsquo;t receive adequate chance to prove himself. 3-9-12, 109 PIM in 57 games.Ryan Hughes, 19, 6-1, 185, C, Cornell (ECAC), 22nd overall. Started slowly in sophomore season, but ended up leading team in scoring. Scouts impressed by scoring ability. 18-34-52, 44 PIM, 32 games.Brad Zavisha, 19, 6-1, 195, LW, Portland (WHL), 43rd overall. Injured periodically this season and traded from Seattle to Portland. Should be top prospect in near future. 40-34-74, 81 PIM, 72 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Mats Sundin, 20, 6-2, 190, RW, Quebec (NHL), first overall. Was second in rookie scoring this season behind Sergei Fedorov. A skilled playmaker with excellent presence on the ice. 23-36-59, 58 PIM, 80 games.Adam Foote, 19, 6-1, 185, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), 22nd overall. One of main reasons behind Sault Ste. Marie&rsquo;s stellar season. Showed good leadership qualities for the Greyhounds. 18-51-69, 93 PIM, 59 games.Stephane Morin, 22, 6-0, 180, C, Quebec (NHL), 43rd overall. One of biggest bargains in last five years. Excelled offensively late in the year. Should be No. 3 center next season. 11-25-36, 28 PIM in 48 games.<h2>MAURICE FILION</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0282/5943128-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg" title="f0055-02" width="624" height="434"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0354/5943121-1-eng-US/f0055-032.jpg" title="f0055-03" width="600" height="1766"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Sakic</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0055-01

PAGE NOT SECRETIVE ABOUT LINDROS

<div class="byline">BY KEVIN ALLEN</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0066-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0066-0183/5943523-1-eng-US/f0066-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">New Jersey netted Derrick Coleman, right, the top pick in the 1990 NBA draft, for $15 million over five years</figcaption></div>Most NHL general managers are probably guilty of coveting thy neighbor&rsquo;s draft system. At the very least, they are envious of perceived advantages the National Basketball Association, National Football League and Major League Baseball teams have in harvesting talent.&ldquo;They&rsquo;re drafting men and we&rsquo;re drafting boys,&rdquo; says St. Louis Blues&rsquo; general manager Ron Caron.That&rsquo;s less true than it used to be since the NFL began accepting underclassmen into its pool. But for the most part, NFL and NBA scouts have an easier time projecting.&ldquo;When people think about a No. 1 draft choice, they think in terms of a guy like (Detroit Lions&rsquo;) Barry Sanders,&rdquo; San Jose Sharks&rsquo; GM Jack Ferreira says. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s ready to step in. We&rsquo;re dealing with 18-year-olds and trying to project what they will be like at age 21.&rdquo;In the NFL, some draft picks who take advantage of the NCAA system of allowing five years to use four seasons of eligibility could be as old as 23.&ldquo;Our draft is much more of a crapshoot,&rdquo; says Vancouver Canucks&rsquo; director of hockey operations Brian Burke. &ldquo;Our success rate is scary, if you base it on how many picks play 100 or 160 games in this league.&rdquo;Ferreira says the NHL draft is probably closest to baseball, which drafts players directly out of high school. And many hockey and baseball players have less public profile than their football and basketball counterparts. But those are probably the only similarities between hockey and baseball.Baseball has the most elaborate minorleague system in professional sports. &ldquo;Two weeks after they draft him, they can put him on a (rookie league) team and start working on his weakness,&rdquo; says Jack Birch of the NHL&rsquo;s scouting bureau. &ldquo;The same in NFL, if they draft someone who can&rsquo;t do something they can start working on it tomorrow.&rdquo;Here&rsquo;s a capsule look of the draft formats of the four major leagues:<h2>HOCKEY</h2>&#9632; Birth: The NHL&rsquo;s first draft was June 5, 1963 with Montreal choosing center Garry Monahan of St. Michael&rsquo;s Juveniles. In the first draft, all players 17 and over and not on NHL-sponsored junior teams were eligible. This year&rsquo;s entry draft is on June 22 at 12 noon (EDT) at Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium.&#9632; System: Teams draft in reverse order of finish for 12 rounds (252 players to 21 teams since 1980, 264 players to 22 teams this year).&#9632; Eligibility: In rounds one through three, players aged 18, 19 and 20, plus non-Northem American players aged 21 or older can be chosen. (To qualify as an 18-year-old, a player must turn 18 before or on Sept. 15).For rounds four through 12, 18 and 19-year-olds are eligible if they meet the following criteria: three seasons of Canadian major junior, or three seasons of U.S. high school hockey or equivalent, or one season of college hockey, or two seasons in an elite or Division I European League, or a combination of seasons in at least two of the above.&#9632; No. 1 pick last year: Cornwall Royals&rsquo; right winger Owen Nolan was the first choice of the Quebec Nordiques. He signed a five-year deal for $1.3 million (Cdn.), including a $250,000 signing bonus.&#9632; Who&rsquo;s No. 1 in&rsquo;91: Oshawa Generals&rsquo; center Eric Lindros, the most heralded top prospect since Mario Lemieux.&#9632; Television: In Canada, The Sports Network, a basic cable service, will televise the first two hours of the draft. TSN&rsquo;s French-language network, Reseau des Sport, will also carry it. No plans have been confirmed for U.S. TV.&#9632; Tidbit: In 1974, Buffalo Sabres&rsquo; GM Punch Imlach pulled a joke on fellow GMs by picking ficticious Japanese player Taro Tjujimoto from the Tokyo Katanas with his llth-round pick. Katana is the Japanese word for Sabre.<h2>BASKETBALL</h2>&#9632; Birth: The first NBA draft was prior to the 1947-48 season&mdash;but an NBA spokesman said record-keeping was so poor back then that it was impossible to determine the first draft pick. This year&rsquo;s draft is on June 26. Starting time and site have not been determined.&#9632; System: Once a 20-round event, the draft has been reduced to two rounds, for a total of 54 selected players. The NBA is the only league using a lottery to determine No. 1 pick and draft order for nonplayoff teams. It&rsquo;s a weighted lottery with 11 non-playoff teams getting a chance at the top pick. The team with worst record gets 11 chances, the second-worst 10 and so on.&#9632; Eligibility: Players who have exhausted college eligibility are automatically in the draft pool. Since 1976, an underclassman can be eligible by notifying the league 45 days before the draft. Drafting underclassmen has been around for almost 20 years.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0068-0160/5943516-1-eng-US/f0068-012.jpg" title="f0068-01" width="1922" height="3097"><figcaption class="caption-body">Joe Montana lasted until the third round of the 1979 NFL draft. He was the fourth quarterback selected.</figcaption></div>&#9632; No. 1 pick last year: Syracuse forward Derrick Coleman went to the New Jersey Nets. He signed a five-year, $15million (U.S.) contract.&#9632; Who&rsquo;s No. 1 in &rsquo;91: If he announces his intention to leave school, it&rsquo;s likely to be Louisiana State University sophomore center Shaquille O&rsquo;Neal.&#9632; Television: The NBA Lottery will be conducted at halftime of a playoff game May 19 on NBC. The entire draft is carried live on the TNT network, a U.S. basic cable service.&#9632; Tidbit: Shawn Kemp, Moses Malone, Bill Willoughby and Darryl Dawkins are the only players in recent history to enter the NBA without playing college basketball.<h2>FOOTBALL</h2>&#9632; Birth: In 1936, Philadelphia chose University of Chicago halfback Jay Ber-wanger with the first pick of the first NFL draft. This year&rsquo;s draft is April 21-22 and begins at 12 noon (EDT) at the Marriott Marquee in New York City. No round can start after 9 p.m. on the first day. The remaining rounds are held the next day.&#9632; System: Twenty-eight NFL teams draft for 12 rounds&mdash;with a potential of 336 players chosen. Sometimes the total is less if teams have to forfeit picks because they participated in the supplemental draft the year before. Teams can also be forced to give up draft picks as penalty for league infractions.&#9632; Eligibility: Any player who has completed college eligibility is automatically considered part of the draft pool. Underclassmen enter the draft pool simply by applying. In 1990, the flood of underclassmen began with 38 applying for the draft. Twenty were chosen.&#9632; No. 1 pick last year: Illinois quarterback Jeff George, selected by the Indianapolis Colts. He signed a six-year guaranteed contract for $12.75 million (U.S.). Base salary escalates from $900,000 to $2.75 million over the course of contract. Bonus package includes $25,000 payment just for showing up at pre-training camp workout.&#9632; Who&rsquo;s No. 1 in &rsquo;91: Notre Dame wide receiver Raghib (Rocket) Ismail. The New England Patriots have the No. 1 pick.&#9632; Television: The NFL draft will be broadcast live on ESPN April 21 from 12 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. ESPN will only broadcast the first day of the two-day event.&#9632; Tidbit: Joe Montana, one of Sports Illustrated&rsquo;s athletes of the decade, was selected by San Francisco in the third round (82nd overall) of the 1979 draft. Montana was the fourth quarterback chosen that year.<h2>BASEBALL</h2>&#9632; Birth: In 1965, the Kansas City Athletics chose Rick Monday first overall in the first MLB draft. This year&rsquo;s draft is June 3-5 and will be held by conference call, with headquarters in New York City.&#9632; System: Teams draft in reverse order of finish. Teams can pick as many players as they want. For example, the Houston Astros went 99 rounds in 1989. That year, a record 1,490 players were chosen.Baseball has the most elaborate minorleague system in professional sports. &ldquo;Two weeks after they draft him, they can put him on a (rookie league) team and start working on his weakness,&rdquo; Birch says. &ldquo;The same in NFL, if they draft someone who can&rsquo;t do something they can start working on it tomorrow.&rdquo;&#9632; Eligibility: Any player who completes high school enters draft pool for first time. However, if a player attends one college class the drafting team loses his rights and he can&rsquo;t be drafted again until after his junior season unless he withdraws from school.If a player is drafted out of high school and attends junior college, he can be signed up until the next year&rsquo;s draft.&#9632; No. 1 pick last year: Shortstop Chipper Jones of Bolles High School in Jacksonville, Fla., was selected by the Atlanta Braves. He signed a three-year contract for $450,000 (U.S.)&#9632; Television: None.&#9632; Tidbit: Oakland&rsquo;s Jose Canseco (Miami Coral Park High School) was chosen in the 15th round in 1982.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0069-0156/5943509-1-eng-US/f0069-012.jpg" title="f0069-01" width="1910" height="2599"><figcaption class="caption-body">Baseball teams often find gems late, as the Oakland A&rsquo;s did when they drafted Jose Canseco in the 15th round.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0066-01

THE GRASS IS GREENER

<div class="byline">BY ROGER LAJOIE AND THN STAFF</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011482/5941396-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">When Eric was a hyperactive child, his mother quelled the fire by enrolling him in hockey. He scored 132 goals in his second organized season.</figcaption></div>You know he wears No. 88. You know he plays for the Oshawa Generals. You know he&rsquo;s big. You know he&rsquo;s strong. You know he&rsquo;s talented. You know he has won two World Junior Championships. You know he has won one Memorial Cup and was in the hunt for another. You know he is the No.-l rated player eligible for the 1991 NHL entry draft at Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium June 22.Is there anything you don&rsquo;t know about the most publicized and heralded junior hockey player of all time?Probably.In the interest of accuracy, if not overkill, here are 88 things you may (or may not) want to know about Eric Lindros:1. He started skating at 1&frac12; and was urged to take up hockey by his mother, Bonnie, who found the hyperactive child too much to handle.2. The first Eric Lindros T-shirts the Oshawa Generals sold depicted him shooting left. He shoots right.3. One of his patented moves, aside from shooting with one hand, is holding his opponent&rsquo;s stick on a faceoff and using his skate to kick the puck back.4. He played most of the 1990-91 season with a knuckle injury that inhibited his ability and willingness to fight. When he did fight, he wouldn&rsquo;t start throwing punches until he pulled the helmet and visor off his opponent.5. In 1989-90, he wore the same commemorative patch for the late John McCauley (NHL director of officiating) as NHL on-ice officials. He played with John&rsquo;s son Wes at St. Mike&rsquo;s Jr. B and John was a friend of the family.6. His original number with the Generals was to have been 20. His favorite, No. 8 (the number McCauley wore as an NHL referee), was already being worn by team captain Iain Fraser. The club had a rule prohibiting a player from taking a number which had never been used in team history. The Generals changed the rule.7. He is the only known junior player to have it written into his contract that he may use his team&rsquo;s logo and jersey in his personal endorsement deals.8. His closest friend is Jeff Hardy, whom he met as a student at Henry High School in Whitby, Ont. It was Hardy who encouraged Lindros to play for the school baseball team.9. He signed an exclusive deal, worth approximately $30,000, with the Score card company to appear in its 1990-91 NHL set. Score made six cards of him in its regular set and one in its Update and Traded set. The first of the six is considered his rookie card and worth about $12. The others are worth roughly $3 each.10. When he isn&rsquo;t playing well or something isn&rsquo;t working in his game, he&rsquo;s most likely to ask his father, Carl, how to remedy the problem.11. He visits his agent Rick Curran&rsquo;s office in Scarborough, Ont., two to three times per week and spends at least an hour each time signing autographs and being brought up to date on all business matters and media demands.12. He has never played an Ontario League game in Sault Ste. Marie, the city he spumed when drafted. Unless Oshawa and the Soo meet in the OHL final, he likely never will. The only visit to the Soo by the Generals this season was when he was at the WJC in Saskatchewan.13. As a youngster, his favorite NHL team was Montreal. Now, he says he doesn&rsquo;t have one.14. His favorite NHL player is Mark Messier. He carries Messier&rsquo;s rookie card with him in his wallet.15. His first known hockey card is from his bantam year with the Toronto Marlboros of the Metropolitan Toronto Hockey League.16. Until he played for St. Mike&rsquo;s and won the Ontario Hockey Association title, he had never been on a championship team.17. He drives a 1989 Laredo Jeep YJ, which he bought when he moved to Detroit to play for Compuware of the North American Junior League (Tier II). But his favorite car is a Corvette. He likes to drive fast.18. His father (Carl) is a chartered accountant with an international firm in Toronto. His mother (Bonnie) is a registered nurse who works parttime. He has one brother, Brett, 15, and a sister, Robin, 12.19. Younger brother Brett is eligible for the 1991 OHL draft, but must be selected in the first three rounds. A right winger, Brett says he plays a bit like his older brother but compares himself to Eric&rsquo;s linemate in Oshawa, Rob Pearson.20. Do not invite Lindros and Dave Chyzowski, the No. 2 overall pick in the 1989 draft and a New York Islander, to the same party. The two didn&rsquo;t hit it off well at the 1990 WJC in Helsinki and Lindros hasn&rsquo;t forgotten a hard hit from behind during the 1990 Memorial Cup.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011389/5941389-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="2585" height="2160"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Next One&rsquo;, as Eric Lindros has been called, is a bigger celebrity and more popular in the Toronto area than Maple Leaf Wendel Clark.</figcaption></div>21. Lindros once dated Canadian Olympic gymnast Lori Strong.22. His teammates call him &ldquo;Lindy.&rdquo;23. Some members of the media have started calling him &ldquo;The Next One,&rdquo; a take off on &ldquo;The Great One.&rdquo;24. An Oshawa sportswriter dubbed him &ldquo;The Energizer.&rdquo;. Readers sent in letters with more than 100 other suggestions, including &ldquo;The Great 88,&rdquo; &ldquo;The General,&rdquo; and &ldquo;Eric the Eliminator.&rdquo;25. He is most definitely motivated by pride to be the best, but financial rewards are high on his list, too.26. During his 1&frac12; seasons in Oshawa, he was undefeated in eight fights, though Hamilton&rsquo;s Alex Stojanov did hurt him with a punch last season. The majority of his fights came late in the game with the outcome already decided.27. The media attention on him has been so great that on the same night, a crew from CTV&rsquo;s W5, a reporter from a newspaper in Minnesota and a reporter from a newspaper from Hamilton were among those at a game in Oshawa.28. He posted excellent marks throughout high school and enrolled parttime at York University in Toronto last fall. He is taking business courses and is working on his fourth credit.29. Sault Ste. Marie received three players, two second-round draft picks and roughly $80,000 in the trade that enabled him to play in the OHL. It was the biggest trade in junior hockey history.30. The Greyhounds improved from 42 points to 87 after trading his rights.31. The Generals&rsquo; home attendance increased 59 per cent over the two seasons he has been in Oshawa.32. The Generals sold out 21 of the 28 home games he played in this season. The smallest crowd was 2,054 (60.1 per cent of capacity) for the Oct. 9 game against Owen Sound.33. The media demand was so great upon his arrival in Oshawa that a special press box was constructed at Civic Auditorium to accommodate it. It is commonly referred to as &ldquo;The Lindros Box.&rdquo;34. His news conference after his first OHL game was attended by media from across Ontario. It was held in the Bobby Orr Lounge.35. He arrived in Oshawa in January of 1990 with a nasty cut over his eye, inflicted by brother Brett during a pick-up game after the 1990 WJC.36. One homemade sign which has appeared in Civic Auditorium reads: &ldquo;On the eighth day, God created Lindros.&rdquo;37. The Score card company made a baseball card of him after he appeared at SkyDome in Toronto to shag flies and take batting practice in a Blue Jays&rsquo; uniform. The card sells in Toronto for up to $12 and is by far the most valuable in the 110-card 1990 Update and Traded set.38. At a recent Toronto auction, his Oshawa jersey raised twice as much money as did the jersey of the Maple Leafs&rsquo; Wendel Clark.39. Since arriving in Oshawa, he had 250 regular-season penalty minutes, the most of any General during that time.40. He is on record saying Detroit Compuware is the best organization with which he has been associated. Compuware is trying to obtain an NHL team.41. His favorite linemate is Toronto Maple Leaf first-round draft pick Pearson. The Generals traded Jarrod Skalde to Belleville for Pearson earlier this season amid reports of dissension between Skalde and Lindros. Lindros and Skalde say there&rsquo;s no conflict between them and that their divergent on-ice styles and the fact both are centers necessitated the trade.42. He has thrown more crushing bodychecks this season than he has goals.43. During his time in Oshawa, he boarded with Gil Hughes, who coaches the Oshawa midget &lsquo;AAA&rsquo; team.44. He spent a night as the babysitter for his agent&rsquo;s three children and two of their friends.45. At 6-foot-5, Lindros ties five other players for the tallest player in the OHL. The others are Kingston&rsquo;s Rod Pasma, Detroit&rsquo;s Jamie Shea, North Bay&rsquo;s Derian Hatcher and Peterborough&rsquo;s Greg Bailey and Jassen Cullimore.46. He weighs 228 pounds.47. Fourteen of the 29 road games the Generals played with Lindros this season were sellouts. The largest crowd was 9,584 for the Feb. 8 game in Ottawa. The Generals played to 91.5 per cent capacity when Lindros was in the lineup.48. He led the league with 18 gamewinning goals, seven more than runnerup Trevor Halverson of North Bay.49. He will float at times&hellip;until he&rsquo;s hit, which rarely fails to get him fired up.50. As phenomenal as his offensive totals were (71 goals, 149 points in 57 games), he came nowhere near Bobby Smith&rsquo;s single-season junior record total of 192 points with Ottawa in 1977-78.51. He has three years of junior eligibility left (one as an overage), but won&rsquo;t be back in the OHL.52. He sat out the final game of the 1990-91 OHL regular season to study for exams at York University. He finished the season with 149 points, just one short of the Generals&rsquo; club record, held by Tony Tanti and Scott McCrory.53. His popularity has contributed to the delinquency of a police officer. The Generals&rsquo; Police, Law and Youth (PLAY) cards are popular with young fans in the Region of Durham. The cards, featuring a color photo of a player on one side and a crime prevention tip on the other, are distributed free by police. However, a Durham police officer was charged with discreditable conduct after selling Lindros&rsquo; cards.54. He became just the second OHL player to win the scoring title with more penalty minutes (189) than points (149). The other was Derek Sanderson of the Niagara Falls Flyers in 1966-67.55. He had at least one point in 54 of his 57 regular-season games. The Generals&rsquo; record was 40-8-6 when he had a point and 1-2-0 when he didn&rsquo;t.56. He finished fifth in the OHL in penalty minutes (189) and still won the scoring title by 21 points over London&rsquo;s Chris Taylor. Taylor had only 50 minutes and played eight more games.57. He had 10 shorthanded goals this season, tied for the lead league with linemate Pearson. His 19 power-play goals tied him with Niagara Falls&rsquo; Todd Simon for third in the league.58. In March, a host on the Canadian Home Shopping Club called him &ldquo;Eric Lindstrom.&rdquo;59. He has, according to his agent, turned down endorsement offers totalling $60,000 this year because they were &ldquo;inappropriate for a junior player.&rdquo; One of them involved a lucrative poster deal.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011415/5941382-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="1275" height="2142"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chicago thought it drafted big when it picked 6-foot-4 rearguard Adam Bennett. Lindros is an inch taller and 20 pounds heavier.</figcaption></div>60. Lindros did one collectables card show last year and was so turned off by the experience&mdash;especially the misleading media report that he was responsible for charging people for his autograph&mdash;that he has refused to do any more.61. One of the few personal appearances he made last season was at St. Michael&rsquo;s Arena in Toronto at the request of his former Jr. B team. His family felt those attending should be given a picture that Lindros would autograph. Lindros had 1,000 copies of a photo reproduced and gave them to fans.62. There have been reports that he will play for the Canadian Olympic team next season instead of the NHL. Curran says the Olympics are one of many options Lindros has for next season but isn&rsquo;t considering it any more than any other.63. The Hamilton franchise of the fledgling North American Hockey League says it will offer Lindros a $4 million, three-year contract.64. An unspecified franchise in the fledgling Continental Hockey Association is rumored to be offering Lindros a $5 million, three-year contract. Curran says Lindros will consider all offers.65. The first time he met former Oshawa General great Bobby Orr was for a photo session arranged for charity by The Hockey News Collectors World.66. One copy of the Lindros-Orr photo-poster, donated by Lindros, sold for $1,800 at the Feb. 4 London Sportsman&rsquo;s Dinner and Celebrity Auction. The money went to the Thames Valley Children&rsquo;s Centre treatment centre for crippled children and bum victims. Lindros was bom in London and lived there until he was 10.67. He requires custom-made hockey pants, four inches longer in the leg.68. His first job was working in the kitchen at the Delawana Inn in Honey Harbour, Ont., for $3.15 an hour.69. When he was 16, then Philadelphia Flyer GM Bob Clarke said he was good enough to play for any team in the NHL.70. Prior to his trip to Quebec City in May for the Canadian League awards banquet and possibly the Memorial Cup, he had visited there three times; twice to play in the famous International Peewee Tournament at Le Colisee and once with his Grade 7 class on a field trip.71. He has never suffered a major injury. His worst injury has been a shoulder separation.72. Plans are being formulated for an authorized biography.73. He lifts weights four times a week and can bench press about 300 pounds.74. From age 13 to 14, he grew seven inches in one year.75. Because of the width of his feet, he had to wear especially long skates as a youngster. Until he turned nine, his mother had to stuff newspaper in the toes of his skates.76. He spends much of his summer at the family cottage on Georgian Bay.77. He had no childhood heroes, but says he always looked up to famous baseball and hockey players.78. His off-season activities are waterskiing, tennis and going to the beach.79. The first newspaper story on him appeared in the Toronto Star when he was 15.80. One of the first renovations his father made to their home in Toronto was to fill in the in-ground swimming pool to make a backyard rink each winter.81. Even with the demands of the busiest year of his life, he still managed to spend a few hours per week on the backyard rink. From the time he was nine until 16, he spent an average of two hours on it every winter evening.82. If he&rsquo;s getting a new suit, his preference is an off-the-rack Hugo Boss.83. He had 43 multiple-point games, 15 three-point games, seven four-point games, six five-point games and one six-point game this season. He finished the season with points in 36 straight games.84. He started playing organized hockey at age six and scored 132 goals in his second year.85. He uses a Titan stick and has signed an endorsement contract with Jofa-Titan for approximately $30,000.86. His inner circle and unofficial advisory council is tight, consisting of his parents and agent.87. He says he is a free spirit with a wild side and that being a public figure has inhibited him from being himself. He says some of his friends who know him have started to call him &ldquo;Grampa.&rdquo;88. His favorite movie is Uncle Buck, starring actor John Candy. Three years ago, Lindros&rsquo; agent took him to a celebrity golf tourney attended by Candy. No one knew who Lindros was. &#9632;

f0004-01

HATS OFF TO LINDROS

<div class="byline">BY DAVID JOHNSTON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011448/5941462-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Night fell on Le CoIisee and the Nordiques in the summer of 1987. The ensuing four years have been the darkest in the history of the franchise.</figcaption></div>The Quebec Nordiques died of cardiac arrest on June 13, 1987, the day they traded Dale Hunter, the heart of the franchise. Ever since, they haven&rsquo;t made the playoffs. This past season, they finished dead last in the NHL for the third consecutive year, thus becoming the first franchise since the entry draft was instituted in 1968 to select No. 1 three years running. Barring a major surprise, Eric Lindros will complete the hat trick.Lindros; Owen Nolan; Mats Sundin; Joe Sakic; Curtis Leschyshyn; Ron Tug-nutt and Stephane Fiset. Ladies and gentlemen, meet les Nordiques de Quebec of the 1990s. The Nordiques are dead; long live the Nordiques. But who, or what, killed the Nordiques of the 1980s? How did the club get so rotten in the first place? Bad trades? Yes. Bad draft picks? Yes. A lethal combination in itself. But finishing last three years in a row is no ordinary feat; there were, not surprisingly, some extraordinary circumstances surrounding the decline of what was once the most exciting team in the Adams Division. The Nordiques could score; the Nordiques could fight.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-021027/5941455-1-eng-US/f0009-022.jpg" title="f0009-02" width="1274" height="1756"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dale Hunter was crushed when he heard of his trade to Washington. Nord officials agree that deal led directly to the death of the team.</figcaption></div>And so this is a sad story. Because history will show that the Nordiques suffered a stroke Jan. 17, 1987, and died of cardiac arrest exactly six months later, the day they traded Hunter. To the best of everyone&rsquo;s knowledge in the organization&mdash;from team president Marcel Aubut on down through the management ranks, to players past and present&mdash;Quebec&rsquo;s demise transpired over a period of six months in early 1987. And it began with the managerial stroke the Nordiques suffered on the night of Jan. 17 inside Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.At 6:30 p.m., an hour before game time, Quebec coach Michel Bergeron asked Red Wings&rsquo; trainer Jim Pengelly if he could see Detroit coach Jacques Demers in Demers&rsquo; office. It was an unusual request; the pre-game skate was only 20 minutes away. But Demers was curious, and within 20 minutes of stepping into his office Bergeron had gotten Demers to agree to a trade: Brent Ashton, Gilbert Delorme and Mark Kumpel to Detroit in return for John Ogrodnick, Basil McRae and Doug Shedden.Demers phoned general manager Jim Devellano. Devellano approved the deal and, in turn, phoned Aubut in Quebec City to close it. Bergeron had consulted nobody above him before making the trade, notably general manager Maurice Filion. It was like a stroke: A blood clot had developed within the Nordiques organization, with blood no longer running to the brain, to the top of the organization. Bergeron was that clot; he had begun to make trades himself.In the weeks following the trade, Ogrodnick failed to produce. He was miserable in Quebec. Filion, criticized in the newspapers for the trade, held the deal against Bergeron. But as relations between the two men deteriorated, Aubut wasn&rsquo;t around to arbitrate. For most of that season, he had been working in a temporary office outside of the Quebec Coliseum on preparations for Rendez Vous &rsquo;87, the two-game series in midFebruary between the Soviet national team and NHL all-stars. Effectively, nobody was in charge of the organization.&ldquo;In my view, the Ogrodnick trade ran contrary to what had been going on in the organization for years,&rdquo; says Bernard Brisset, then the Nordiques&rsquo; director of communications and now the sports editor of the Journal de Montreal. &ldquo;Before that, whenever the team made a trade, it was done in consultation with all the hockey people in management. But a kind of obsession with Rendez Vous had developed within the organization where the coach and the players felt left to themselves. I remember going into the dressing room and Randy Moller, the players&rsquo; rep, said to me, &lsquo;You and your bleeping Rendez Vous; look what you&rsquo;re doing to the team.&rsquo;&rdquo;In the eight games following Rendez Vous, the Nordiques went 1-6-1 and were stuck in fourth place with a 24-33-8 record. Quite a change from the year before, when they finished first with 92 points. Filion couldn&rsquo;t take it any longer. In early March, he wanted to fire Bergeron. But the team rebounded, finishing the season 6-5-1. In April, the fourth-place Nordiques defeated first-place Hartford in the opening playoff round, then lost to Montreal in Game 7 of a series marred by a disallowed Alain Cote goal in Game 5.Then, in June, came the massive heart attack which everyone in the Nordiques organization, absolutely everyone, now agrees killed the team. Filion traded Hunter, the heart of the team, to Washington in a multi-player deal. And then four days later he traded Bergeron, the soul of the team, to the Rangers for $100,000 and New York&rsquo;s first-round pick in 1988.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011518/5941448-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="614" height="941"><figcaption class="caption-body">Michel Bergeron&rsquo;s solo act signaled the beginning of the end.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Hunter was the leader of the English guys in the dressing room,&rdquo; recalls Gord Donnelly, now of the Winnipeg Jets. &ldquo;He never complained about living in Quebec. When they traded Hunter, management looked to Randy (Moller) and Paul (Gillis) for leadership. Then they got rid of Randy. Then Paul. They traded away every English player who was happy in Quebec.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-021146/5941441-1-eng-US/f0010-022.jpg" title="f0010-02" width="617" height="940"><figcaption class="caption-body">Quebec settled for Joe Sakic after Stephane Quintal went to Boston.</figcaption></div>Over a lunch interview at a Quebec City harness-racing track, Aubut said there is no doubt trading Hunter was the biggest mistake the organization has ever made. The second biggest mistake, he said, was unwittingly trading away every established anglophone veteran who liked Quebec City, leaving the club with no role models for subsequent anglophone draftees.Looking back, said Aubut, the organization didn&rsquo;t realize what it had in players such as Ashton, Moller, Donnelly, Clint Malarchuk and David Shaw. One could add Jeff Brown&rsquo;s name to this list. But Brown, according to Brisset, was traded because he liked Quebec City and its pretty women too much for his own good. &ldquo;He was calling (Joe) Sakic at one in the morning,&rdquo; says Brisset.The exodus of anglophone veterans began with the Bergeron-Demers trade. Ashton liked Quebec. And so did his wife, Susan. In contrast, John and Betty-Ann Ogrodnick hated the city. But the Nordiques are partly to blame for the Ogrodnick&rsquo;s unhappiness. Under normal circumstances, the organization takes very good care of its anglophone players, particularly older or married ones. But in the Ogrodnicks&rsquo; case, the team put the couple in a country home in Lac Beauport with no cable-TV service. Betty-Ann, with no American TV to make her comfortable, grew homesick, and began laying the seeds for her husband&rsquo;s trade to the Rangers eight months later.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011372/5941434-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="1282" height="1402"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Nordiques are banking on players such as Owen Nolan, the first pick overall in the 1990 draft, to lead them back to respectability.</figcaption></div>After the Nordiques had gone 1-6-1 in the eight games after Rendez Vous, Filion began plotting to oust Bergeron. Filion had made 13 trades in the previous 20 months. And now, he was about to make another move. On the morning of Saturday, March 7, as the Nordiques headed into back-to-back weekend games against last-place Buffalo, Filion told Bergeron if he didn&rsquo;t win that night, he was gone.The game ended in a 5-5 tie. Bergeron asked Filion what his decision was. But Filion had no Plan B in the event of a tie. So off to Buffalo the Nordiques went for the Sunday game, Bergeron still at the helm. That Sunday afternoon, reporter Albert Ladouceur of the Journal de Quebec wrote a pre-game story from his hotel room that underlined Filion&rsquo;s presence in Buffalo. Filion, wrote Ladouceur, &ldquo;had red, wet eyes, a terribly distraught air about him.&rdquo; Reporters sensed someone&rsquo;s demise was imminent. Bergeron&rsquo;s? Filion&rsquo;s? They didn&rsquo;t know.That night, Quebec lost 5-1, prompting the emotional Bergeron to tell the Quebec media after the game, &ldquo;My fate isn&rsquo;t in my own hands anymore. Other people in the organization will decide.&rdquo; Now everyone knew it was Bergeron who was in trouble. Filion didn&rsquo;t say a thing. But, privately, he had decided to wait one more game before acting.So when more than 15,000 fans showed up at the Coliseum for the Tuesday game against Hartford, the guillotine was raised, and an execution was imminent. That night, Bergeron left the Quebec dressing room minutes before the game, and assistant coach Guy Lapointe went inside and told the players, &ldquo;If you like your coach, you better win tonight.&rdquo; The message couldn&rsquo;t have been any clearer. For win the Nordiques did: 6-4, with 47 shots on goal.After the game, Filion told Bergeron he could coach for the rest of the season, after which the two men would have a long talk. But talk wasn&rsquo;t their strong point as the rest of the season progressed. After the Hartford game, the team headed on a long western road trip, and Aubut had to send Brisset along to act as a messenger between Filion and Bergeron. &ldquo;They weren&rsquo;t talking to each other,&rdquo; says Brisset.Quebec finished the season a respectable 6-5-1. By the time the playoffs started, Hunter and Peter Stastny had recovered from injuries. The Nordiques took Hartford in six games, then moved on to the division final against the Canadiens, winning the first two games in Montreal. To Quebec City fans, it seemed as if the whole season had been a bad dream. Ogrodnick, meanwhile, had begun playing the best hockey of his career.But it was all an illusion. Montreal won Games 3 and 4 in Quebec City. And in memorable Game 5, with the game tied 2-2 late in the third period, Kerry Fraser disallowed what should have been a goal by Alain Cote. Bergeron went crazy. So did his team. But not the Canadiens: Ryan Walter scored seconds later. The Canadiens won 3-2, and took the series in seven.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011470/5941427-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="1916" height="2323"><figcaption class="caption-body">Talented goalie Ron Tugnutt has been used as target practice by more than one opposition NHL team.</figcaption></div>The Nordiques&rsquo; season was over, but the final and most important chapter in their six-month demise had yet to be written. On Saturday, June 13,the entry draft was held in Detroit&rsquo;s Joe Louis Arena. Dale and Mark Hunter, who had made the short trip from Sarnia, Ont., were sitting in the stands. When it came Washington&rsquo;s turn to select 15th in the first round, the Capitals and the Nordiques announced a trade giving Washington&rsquo;s first pick to Quebec. The Hunter brothers tried to guess who had been traded, and both guessed Moller. Moller for Washington&rsquo;s first-round pick. Within seconds of the trade announcement, Dale was in tears. Quebec City reporters rushed to his seat, and Dale said: &ldquo;I never asked to leave Quebec.&rdquo; A fitting epitaph, perhaps, for the tombstone of the Quebec Nordiques of the 1980s. An anglophone who had liked the city, and didn&rsquo;t want to leave.It was, Aubut now admits, the trade which killed the Nordiques. Hunter and Clint Malarchuk for Alan Haworth, Gaetan Duchesne and Washington&rsquo;s No. 1 pick. The pick turned out to be Joe Sakic. But Filion, sources say, had been crossing his fingers for defenseman Stephane Quintal, even though Quebec had picked another defenseman, Bryan Fogarty, ninth overall. But when Quintal was selected 14th by Boston, Filion selected a player whom the Journal de Quebec referred to as &ldquo;somebody by the name of Joe Sakic.&rdquo;Meanwhile, another drama was unfolding in Detroit. The night before, Rangers&rsquo; GM Phil Esposito had approached Filion about acquiring Bergeron for New York&rsquo;s first-round pick in 1988. Filion was thrilled. He told Aubut. And Aubut said, &ldquo;If he wants Bergeron so much, ask him for $100,000.&rdquo;Esposito agreed. And the day after the draft, on a commercial flight from Detroit to Montreal, Filion informed Bergeron of the deal and gave him 48 hours to agree with Esposito on a new contract. Otherwise, the trade was off. Bergeron came to terms, and the trade was announced on the Wednesday.In the space of four days, the Nordiques had lost their heart (Hunter) and their soul (Bergeron). Bergeron would return as coach two years later. But by then the club was wrapped in such a straightjacket of incompetence even Harry Houdini couldn&rsquo;t have gotten them out.&ldquo;And by that point,&rdquo; says Aubut, &ldquo;we had gotten into a cycle of making trades to try to correct past mistakes.&rdquo; Like trading Ogrodnick and Shaw to the Rangers for Terry Carkner and Jeff Jackson. Quebec lost Carkner to Philadelphia as a result of Filion&rsquo;s misreading of Carkner&rsquo;s free-agent eligibility. So the net effect was Quebec lost Ashton (in the trade to Detroit), Ogrodnick and Shaw in return for Jackson.On April 19, 1988, Aubut accepted Filion&rsquo;s resignation as general manager, then moved him laterally to director of hockey operations. Martin Madden took over as GM. Then Madden was removed during the 1989-90 season, with Filion returning temporarily until Pierre Page was hired last May. After Bergeron left for New York, Andre Savard, Ron Lapointe, Jean Perron and then Bergeron again presided behind the bench until Page bought out Bergeron&rsquo;s contract last year in favor of Dave Chambers.With each managerial and coaching change came different views on which players were good and which were bad. The instability destroyed the young team&rsquo;s confidence. Lapointe hated Gillis; Perron liked him. Perron didn&rsquo;t think much of Sakic; Bergeron predicted he would become the new Steve Yzerman. Before he was traded March 6 to Chicago, Gillis said, &ldquo;Every player on this team has gone from the penthouse to the doghouse 20 times in four years.&rdquo;Says Aubut: &ldquo;The idea of rebuilding was probably a good one, but we didn&rsquo;t know how to do it. The Ashton/Ogrod-nick trade was made by coaches afraid of not making the playoffs. We should have signed Basil McRae when he became a free agent. And how could I have vetoed the Hunter trade, when my hockey people told me he would never be the same (because of a broken ankle in late 1986) and that Haworth and Duchesne were good players? I didn&rsquo;t know these players.&ldquo;Trading Hunter, we can now see, killed the heart of the franchise. Since then, we have never got back that heart.&rdquo;Perhaps one day they will. Sakic is flourishing, a true superstar who showed this season he&rsquo;s among the elite offensive players in the NHL. He, along with an improving supporting cast that includes the gifted Sundin and, perhaps, Lindros, are potentially a team for the &rsquo;90s.But those days may still be a few years away and, really, who knows what exactly the future holds? Whatever success the Nordiques enjoy in the years to come, it must be weighed against the sorry state of affairs that has become the club&rsquo;s new trademark. &#9632;

f0009-01

NORDS ON LIFE SUPPORT SINCE TRADING HUNTER

<div class="byline">BY RAND SIMON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0014-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011469/5941493-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The three-round rule, which may be eliminated in upcoming CBA talks, left Yanlc Perreault undrafted the last two years.</figcaption></div>The question of free agency will be on everyone&rsquo;s mind when the players and management negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement this summer.But the wild-card issue may well be the NHL entry draft. The draft is a bargaining chip the NHL Players&rsquo; Association may find it has to play.Currently, the entry draft is not a part of the CBA. NHLPA deputy executive director Bob Goodenow, who is firmly in charge of the union despite the &lsquo;deputy&rsquo; tag, calls what will happen on June 22 in Buffalo &ldquo;the owners&rsquo; draft.&rdquo;The NHLPA was asked by the league to rubber stamp a proposed change to the draft that would have allowed 18-year-old major junior players to be eligible in all 12 rounds. Since 1987, they have had to be taken in the first three rounds, unless they had three seasons of major junior experience.The NHLPA refused. Why, especially since it was more the Canadian Hockey League than the NHL which was pushing for the change?Simply, the NHLPA didn&rsquo;t want to give its approval because to do so may have excluded the entry draft from U.S. anti-trust legislation. In other words, if management and union agree on something that is considered in the best interests of the employees, then it doesn&rsquo;t necessarily have to conform to the letter of the law.Bottom line? With tough negotiations about to commence, the NHLPA doesn&rsquo;t want to embark on any joint ventures with the league.&ldquo;The league runs the entry draft,&rdquo; says Goodenow. &ldquo;No one who is a member of the association is drafted. We&rsquo;ll take a very tough look at the draft (during CBA negotiations). We haven&rsquo;t had (prior) discussions concerning the entry draft, because it&rsquo;s the owners&rsquo; draft.&rdquo;All that could change this summer. As long as the NHLPA doesn&rsquo;t endorse or involve itself in the draft process, there is the question of whether it&rsquo;s a legitimate legal exercise. Using that as the hammer, the NHLPA may choose to negotiate approval of the draft in exchange for certain concessions.Or if, for example, the battle for less restrictive free agency and the ensuing wage hike that goes with it isn&rsquo;t going well, the NHLPA could change tack and aim to raise salaries with an entry-draft overhaul.The most dramatic would be a significant reduction of the number of players selected in the draft.Say, for example, the 12-round draft was cut in half. That would create more free agents coming out of junior, high school, college and European leagues. That would result in more bidding between clubs and, therefore, higher entrylevel salaries. That, in turn, would continue to prop up the rapidly-escalating NHL salary structure.There are precedents in professional sports for the reduction in draft rounds. The National Basketball Association cut back from six rounds to three in 1988 and from three to two the next season. The National Football League reduced its number from 17 to 12 in 1977.Both leagues have experienced far greater salary increases than the NHL. Of course, there are several reasons for that&mdash;larger television contracts being the main one&mdash;but the smaller draft has also had an effect.Management counters that fewer rounds and increased salaries for some players would lead to fewer pro hockey jobs. It&rsquo;s a threat which the NHLPA will be forced to consider.&ldquo;If there were drastic changes made in this collective bargaining agreement, i (the NHLPA) were to force that, when you couldn&rsquo;t afford to protect (draft more (players), that might cause less jobs,&rdquo; says Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; genera manager Russ Farwell.Many NHL GMs agree that if salaries continue their upward spiral, teams wil be forced to cut back on the number of contract players. Currently, NHL teams are allowed to have no more than 50 players under contract.&ldquo;I think the one thing you&rsquo;re going to see in the years to come is that teams are going to have fewer contracts,&rdquo; says San Jose Shark GM Jack Ferriera. &ldquo;The good players are always going to get paid well, so instead of having 50 players under contract, teams will probably only be able to afford 25. Maybe that&rsquo;s when we&rsquo;ll go to a six-round draft.&rdquo;If teams keep fewer players under contract and reduce the number of players they draft, it will have a profound effect on the minor-league system.Teams would no longer need to have their own farm team, and would share a minor-league operation with another NHL club, much the way it was done for most of the 1970s. Or perhaps the NHL would go to NFL-type. taxi squads.There is little doubt, however, that by assigning playing rights through the draft, entry-level salaries are being kept in check. With few exceptions, a drafted player, especially in the later rounds, has few options. He signs for what is offered or he doesn&rsquo;t play pro hockey. The arbitration system to mediate stalemates is considered by players and their agents to be a joke, stacked heavily in favor of the club.&ldquo;If the purpose of the draft is to spread the talent around the league, does it really serve its purpose?&rdquo; asks Goodenow. &ldquo;Or is it to restrain the entry-level salaries? There have been many scholarly articles which show the draft does not create competitive balance; it controls entrylevel wages.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt the entry draft has done little to create parity in the NHL. No number of high draft picks has helped Quebec, Toronto or Vancouver escape the bottom rungs of the NHL ladder. At the same time, teams such as St. Louis and Los Angeles have joined the NHL&rsquo;s elite without much of a contribution from high draft picks. &#9632;

f0014-01

NHL DRAFT MAY BE A CHIP IN CBA POKER

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0016-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011244/5941545-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kamloops&rsquo; Scott Niedermayer may blaze a trail to San Jose. He&rsquo;s one of four players the Sharks might take second overall.</figcaption></div>In stark contrast to the past two years, the Quebec Nordiques need not be coy about who is going to be their first pick in the 1991 NHL entry draft.It will be Eric Lindros.&ldquo;There&rsquo;ll be no suspense this time,&rdquo; says Nordique director of player personnel Pierre Gauthier. &ldquo;In the past, for a variety of reasons, it wasn&rsquo;t in our best interest to say in advance who would be our top pick. With Mats Sundin (1989) and Owen Nolan (1990), there was some element of surprise when we picked them. This year, Eric Lindros is the guy. There will be no surprises.&rdquo;Perhaps. The Nordiques may choose Lindros No. 1 at Buffalo&rsquo;s Memorial Auditorium (12:00 noon EDT, live on The Sports Network in Canada) June 22. But will he choose them and the NHL?It is a question well worth asking, if for no other reason than Lindros has already rejected one draft. He illustrated that the consequences of a draft are only binding if the player opts to play in that league.In May of 1989, the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds took Lindros No. 1 overall in the Ontario League midget priority selections, despite his insistence that he would never report to the Soo.He backed up his threat by playing for Detroit Compuware of a Michigan Tier II league until the OHL revised a rule permitting the trading of first-round draft choices. The Greyhounds traded his rights to the Oshawa Generals and the rest, of course, is history.Lindros has become the most hyped player in major junior history and is considered the premier draft-eligible prospect since Mario Lemieux was taken No. 1 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1984.Ironically, it was at the 1984 draft in Montreal that Lemieux, insulted by the Penguins&rsquo; initial contract offer, refused to follow tradition and make the walk to the Pittsburgh draft table.Not long after, Lemieux came to terms with the Penguins and has become the foundation of the franchise.That type of happy ending is possible for Lindros and the Nordiques. Lindros has never said publicly he will not play in Quebec City.But neither has he said he will automatically join the team that drafts him.&ldquo;As long as Eric is still playing hockey this season it is a matter we&rsquo;re not even going to address,&rdquo; said Lindros&rsquo; agent Rick Curran in mid-April as the Oshawa Generals prepared to face the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s in the OHL playoffs.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not fair to Eric or anyone else. We are not going to allow anything to distract Eric from the job at hand, which is helping his team to defend its Memorial Cup championship. All we are prepared to say at this point is that we are keeping all our options open.&rdquo;Lindros may indeed have options.They include:&#9632; Rival leagues. Both the North American Hockey League and Continental Hockey Association are scheduled to begin play in the fall.The Hamilton franchise of the NAHL claims to have offered Lindros a three-year, $4-million contract. Curran said he had talks with NAHL officials but no firm offer was ever tendered. The CHA, meanwhile, is reportedly putting together an offer that may exceed $5 million for three years.&#9632; Canadian Olympic team. Because next season is an Olympic year, Dave King&rsquo;s ongoing national team program escapes the shadows and will take center stage in Albertville, France next February. Who better to do it with than Lindros?Because he is as marketable a hockey commodity as there is today, Lindros could join the Olympic team and receive significant income from one or more corporate sponsors. In 1988, NHL netminder Andy Moog left the pro ranks and was paid more than $100,000 from the IGA grocery chain to play on the Olympic squad. The best guess is that Lindros could likely improve on that figure by at least five fold.&ldquo;I ran into Dave King at a Calgary Flames&rsquo; playoff game,&rdquo; Curran said. &ldquo;He indicated the Olympic team is interested in Eric, but that he didn&rsquo;t want the Olympic program to be used merely as leverage for contract negotiations. That&rsquo;s fine with us. We consider the Olympic program as a viable option based on its own merit.&rdquo;One might wonder on what basis anyone would speculate that Lindros might not report to the Nordiques.Aside from the Sault Ste. Marie experience, you might start with financial considerations.Lindros is expected to seek an unprecedented sum. Curran refused comment, but the numbers that keep surfacing are a $1-million signing bonus and more than $1 million per year for three years. Last June, Quebec paid No. 1 pick Nolan $1.3 million&mdash;for a five-year contract, including signing bonus.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011093/5941538-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="1294" height="1736"><figcaption class="caption-body">Spokane&rsquo;s Pat Falloon, considered an early favorite to be drafted after Eric Lindros, didn&rsquo;t disappoint with his play this season.</figcaption></div>Can the Nordiques, who operate at near capacity every game in the league&rsquo;s smallest market, afford him? Better still, can the rebuilding franchise afford not to have him?A recurring problem&mdash;for all of pro hockey, not just Lindros&mdash;is the discrepancy between Canadian and U.S. dollars. If Lindros were to go to a U.S. team, his package would be worth a minimum of 15 to 20 per cent more, based strictly on foreign-exchange rates.Then there are tax considerations. Debates have raged on as to the exact impact of living in Canada&rsquo;s most highly-taxed province compared to the rest of the country, but suffice to say there is a difference between take-home pays in Quebec versus the U.S.Certainly, Lindros won&rsquo;t lack accurate financial information. Eric&rsquo;s father, Carl, is a senior partner at Peat Marwick Thome chartered accountants in Toronto.Lindros will also no doubt have to consider what impact playing in Quebec will do to his earning power off the ice. In a short period of time, No. 88 has almost transcended the game. He has the potential to become a profit center unto himself and, like Wayne Gretzky, earn as much or more off the ice as he does on it.Will playing in Quebec City, a small, insular and predominantly francophone market, impact negatively on his endorsement earning power? Will the tax rate on any off-ice dollars be significantly higher than they would be if he was based in the U.S.?And just how important are those extra dollars, weighed against the controversy that will erupt if Lindros is to spurn the Nordiques?Those are the questions that Lindros and his inner circle (his parents and Curran) must address in the weeks leading up to the draft.Regardless, Lindros will get an opportunity to experience life in Quebec City in May. As a nominee, and likely winner, of the Canadian Hockey League player-of-the-year award, he&rsquo;ll be there for the awards banquet May 13. If the Generals were to win the OHL title again, he&rsquo;d be playing, before capacity crowds at Le Colisee no doubt, in the Memorial Cup tournament, May 11-19.Eric Lindros isn&rsquo;t the only player available for this year&rsquo;s entry draft. It just seems that way some-times.In the week before the entry draft, there will be plenty of excitement that is non-Lindros related.Start with the NHL&rsquo;s first expansion draft since 1979. It goes June 17 and is, of course, the method by which the San Jose Sharks will begin to fill out their roster. The Sharks, the NHL&rsquo;s 22nd team, begin play next fall in San Francisco&rsquo;s Cow Palace. They will eventually move to San Jose upon completion of a new arena there.The added wrinkle of the expansion draft is the cross-pollination draft between the Sharks and Minnesota North Stars. It, too, is June 17. Both will be conducted by conference call.The supplemental draft for U.S. college free agents is next, June 21 in Buffalo. The entry draft, of course, goes the next day.Given that Lindros will be the No. 1 pick, the speculation will center on who the Sharks will take with the No. 2 pick (see story on page 57).After Lindros, the field is seemingly wide open, though a consensus of NHL scouts surveyed by The Hockey News indicates a group of four has emerged in No. 88&rsquo;s shadow.&ldquo;It is definitely a case of Eric and the rest,&rdquo; says one scout, &ldquo;but there are no booby prizes with picks No. 2 through five.&rdquo;Boston University defenseman Scott Lachance, Spokane Chief right wingercenter Pat Falloon, Kamloops Blazer defenseman Scott Niedermayer and University of Michigan defenseman Aaron Ward join Lindros in The Hockey News Draft Preview &rsquo;91 top five.Two Quebec League players, left winger Patrick Poulin of St-Hyacinthe and defenseman Phillipe Boucher of Granby, are given outside shots of cracking the top five.Beyond that, consensus is a little more difficult to obtain. At least one NHL scout isn&rsquo;t thrilled with what he sees.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think it&rsquo;s a great year,&rdquo; he says. &ldquo;After the first two or three picks, I have a tough time getting excited. I think the quality is shy and the depth of talent isn&rsquo;t great either.&rdquo;Short of calling it the Eric Lindros draft, this year&rsquo;s event doesn&rsquo;t have easily identifiable characteristics.There are a few trends to note, though:&#9632; It is a bad year for goaltenders. In fact, not one goalie cracked The Hockey News rankings of the top 44. What interest that was expressed in goalies was of the third-round variety and even that was lukewarm.&#9632; It is a decent year for Europeans. As many as two are strong candidates for the first round. Don&rsquo;t rule out three.Sweden&rsquo;s Markus Naslund, an offensive winger, and Czechoslovakia&rsquo;s Martin Rucinsky, a center who starred at the 1991 World Junior Championships, are the best bets. Another Swede, center Peter Forsberg is, at worst, a solid second rounder who could move into the first.&#9632; The draft will become wildly unpredictable by the middle of the second round. Usually, it is the third round when the form chart goes out the window. In our annual survey of NHL scouts, The Hockey News had little difficulty in identifying consensus choices for the top 35. After that, it was only slightly better than a guessing game. If that sounds like a disclaimer for our rankings in the bottom half of the second round, so be it.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011139/5941531-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="624" height="1134"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrick Poulin of St-Hyacinthe could sneak into the top five.</figcaption></div>This year&rsquo;s draft, with the inclusion of the expansion Sharks, will see an unprecedented 264 players selected. Next year, assuming the NHL remains with a 12-round format, that figure would escalate to 288 to accommodate the Ottawa Sentaors and Tampa Bay Lightning. Those two expansion entries are supposed to begin play in the fall of 1992.The Nordiques, of course, own the No. 1 pick for the third consecutive year by virtue of their last-place overall finish. After the Sharks pick No. 2, the other four non-playoff teams follow in inverse order of regular-season point totals and the same pattern holds for the remaining 16 clubs.At the end of the NHL regular season, three teams were without first-round picks in the 1991 entry draft.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-02851/5941524-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="624" height="1138"><figcaption class="caption-body">Michigan&rsquo;s Aaron Ward is an immovable force on the blue line.</figcaption></div>The Toronto Maple Leafs would have had the third pick overall, but traded it to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Tom Kurvers.Los Angeles would have had the 20th pick overall, but surrendered it to the Edmonton Oilers as part of the Wayne Gretzky deal.And St. Louis would have had the 21st pick overall, but must use it as a downpayment on compensation to the Washington Capitals for signing free-agent defenseman Scott Stevens last summer.After the first round has been completed, the Sharks will draft first in each subsequent round and Quebec moves to the second slot in each round.As for second-round picks, the Montreal Canadiens will give up their own (39th overall) to the Chicago Blackhawks as part of the Chris Chelios trade last summer. But the Habs have two other second-round picks coming their way. They will get Philadelphia&rsquo;s (28th overall) as part of the March trade for Mark Pederson. And as part of the trade that sent Jyrki Lumme to Vancouver, the Habs will get St. Louis&rsquo; second-rounder (43rd overall), which the Canucks held.St. Louis, however, gets Winnipeg&rsquo;s second-round pick (27th overall) as part of the deal that originally made Greg Paslawski a Jet.And finally, Toronto is without its second-rounder (25th overall) because the Maple Leafs sent it to Quebec with Scott Pearson in exchange for Michel Petit, Aaron Broten and Lucien DeBlois.That means the Nordiques have three picks, including No. 1 overall, in the top 25 and the Maple Leafs have none in the first two rounds (or 44 picks).The order of selection, barring any post-season transactions, is as follows:<h2>FIRST ROUND</h2>1. Quebec; 2. San Jose; 3. New Jersey (from Toronto); 4. New York Islanders; 5. Winnipeg; 6. Philadelphia; 7. Vancouver; 8. Minnesota; 9. Hartford; 10. Detroit; 11. New Jersey; 12. Edmonton; 13. Buffalo; 14. Washington; 15. New York Rangers; 16. Pittsburgh; 17. Montreal; 18. Boston; 19. Calgary; 20. Edmonton (from Los Angeles); 21. Washington (from St. Louis); 22. Chicago.<h2>SECOND ROUND</h2>23. San Jose; 24. Quebec; 25. Quebec (from Toronto); 26. New York Islanders; 27. St. Louis (from Winnipeg); 28. Montreal (from Philadelphia); 29. Vancouver; 30. Minnesota; 31. Hartford; 32. Detroit; 33. New Jersey; 34. Edmonton; 35. Buffalo; 36. Washington; 37. New York Rangers; 38. Pittsburgh; 39. Chicago (from Montreal); 40. Boston; 41. Calgary; 42. Los Angeles; 43. Montreal (from St. Louis via Vancouver); 44. Chicago. &#9632;

f0016-01

LINDROS, NHL TEAMS HAVE HARD DECISIONS TO MAKE

f0020-01

DRAFT GUIDE

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div>This is not the Year of the Goaltender. In our annual survey of NHL scouts, The Hockey News found it difficult to find one who was excited about this year&rsquo;s crop of netminders.There was virtually no consensus. For every scout who was intrigued by a specific netminder, there were three who had no interest in him at all. As a result, it was impossible to include even one goalie in our top-44 ranked prospects.Which may be a mistake. Traditionally, NHL clubs will start taking netminders in the second round. Once one team claims one, the trend is usually for several more to follow.Also, goaltenders could be taken in the second round because the scouts didn&rsquo;t seem too enamored of the overall talent pool of skaters from the middle of the second round on. As with the goalies, it was difficult to obtain any consensus after the 35th pick.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-01734/5942244-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="616" height="800"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jamie McLennan</figcaption></div>And remember, it only takes one team of 22 to be interested in a prospect for him to be drafted.If there was one who seemed to get slightly more support than the others, it was Czechoslovakian national junior team goalie Milan Hnilicka, who plays for Kladno.Otherwise, support was spread across the board. Here&rsquo;s a look at several draft-eligible netminding prospects (listed alphabetically) who may be selected on June 22. Information includes: name, height, weight, birthdate, 1990-91 team and statistics (W-L-T, GAA).<h2>GOALIES</h2>Mike Buzak, 6-2, 175, Feb. 10, 1973, Ft. Saskatchewan (AJHL), N/ARob Dykeman, 5-7, 167, Jan. 15, 1973, Cornwall (OHL), 14-21-1, 4.85.Milan Hnilicka, 6-0, 178, June 25, 1973, Kladno, N/A.Kevin Hodson, 5-11, 184, March 27, 1972, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), 18-11-0, 3.26.Jamie McLennan, 5-11&frac12;, 190, June 30, 1971, Lethbridge (WHL), 32-18-4, 3.81Chris Osgood. 5-10, 156, Nov. 26, 1972, Medicine Hat (WHL), 23-18-3, 3.95.Dan Ryder, 6-0, 190, Oct. 24, 1972, Sudbury (OHL), 18-9-4, 3.62.Steve Shields, 6-3, 210, Aug. 21. 1971, Michigan (CCHA), 26-5-3, 3.24.Mike Torchia, 5-11, 225, Feb. 23, 1972, Kitchener (OHL), 25-24-7, 3.96.Andrew Verner, 6-&frac12;, 194, Nov. 20. 1972. Peterborough (OHL), 22-14-7, 3.52.An intriguing aspect of this year&rsquo;s draft will be the extent of the European flavor.Swedes Markus Naslund and Peter Forsberg are legitimate first-round prospects and so is Czechoslovakian Martin Rucinsky. Another Swede, Niklas Sundblad, will likely go in either the second or third round.As the second round progresses and general managers and scouts start seeing more negatives than positives with some of the better-known North American prospects, the dip into the European talent pool could be significant.&ldquo;With the exception of the Soviet Union, and even the situation there is rapidly changing, you no longer have to wait long for the Europeans you draft,&rdquo; says one scout. &ldquo;This is especially true in Czechoslovakia. If you draft a Czech and you&rsquo;re prepared to pay, you can get him instantly in most cases.&rdquo;Scouts continue to be enamored of European talent. Generally, their skill level is high and the player is often playing in the Elite League or First Division against mature competition. This some-times provides a better read than the scout can get on a homegrown prospect, especially in U.S. high school hockey.The Soviet factor will be interesting, too. The Detroit Red Wings broke with tradition last year and took gifted forward Viacheslav Kozlov in the third round. It&rsquo;s reasonable to expect Kozlov will join the Red Wings by 1994 at the latest and possibly sooner than that.In 1989, Detroit took Sergei Fedorov in the fourth round and he&rsquo;s been an impact player for the Wings.Granted, none of the Soviets or Czechoslovaks available this year are in the same class as Fedorov, Kozlov or Pavel Bure, Vancouver&rsquo;s property, but it wouldn&rsquo;t be out of the question to see a number taken in the third round, or perhaps even the second.Soviet defenseman Darius Kasparaitas andGzechoslovakian defenseman Martin Hamrlik, both of whom were impressive at the 1991 World Junior Championships in Saskatchewan, have decent support amongst NHL scouts.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02539/5942237-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="619" height="933"><figcaption class="caption-body">Darren Van Impe</figcaption></div>There will also be some difficult decisions on the homefront.One player attracting attention was Oshawa General left winger Matt Hoffman. Scouts expressed significant interest in him, yet they hadn&rsquo;t decided exactly where the native of Saginaw, Mich., who plays on a line with Eric Lindros and Rob Pearson, fits in.Because he was bom in 1971 and is eligible in all rounds, it&rsquo;s anybody&rsquo;s guess where he&rsquo;ll be taken.Listed below (by position and alphabetically) are player prospects who will be considered for this year&rsquo;s draft. All have some hope of being taken in the third round and any number of them could displace players rated in the second round, especially in the latter half. Information includes: name, position (for forwards only), height, weight, birthdate, 1990-91 team and statistics (G-A-P-PIM).<h2>DEFENSEMEN</h2>Daniel Arsenault, 6-4&frac12;, 200, Feb. 12, 1972, Laval (QMJHL), 1-9-10-212.Adrian Aucoin, 6-1, 185, July 3, 1973, Nepean (COJHL), 16-33-49-125.Craig Bonner, 6-4&frac12;, 196, May 20, 1972, Kamloops (WHL), 5-13-18-59.Aris Brimanis, 6-3, 195, March 14, 1972, Bowling Green (CCHA), 3-6-921.JassenCullimore, 6-4&frac12;, 219, Dec. 4, 1972, Peterborough (OHL), 8-16-24-74.Janne Gronvall, 6-2, 183, July 17, 1973, Lukko (Finland), N/A.Martin Hamrlik, 5-11, 189, May 6, 1973, Zlin (Czech.), N/A.Darius Kasparaitas, 5-10, 178, Oct. 16, 1972, Moscow Dynamo, N/A.Corey Machanic, 6-3, 193, Sept. 26, 1972, Vermont (ECAC), 0-8-8-30.Boris Mironov, 6-1, 183, Mar. 2, 1972, CSKA (USSR), 1-5-6-16.Kurt Seher, 6-&frac12;, 170, April 15, 1973, Swift Current (WHL), 4-26-30-63.Michal Sykora. 6-3, 172, July 5, 1973, Pardubice (Czech.), N/A.Darren Van Impe, 6-0, 202, May 18, 1973, Prince Albert (WHL), 15-45-6057.Jason Widmer, 6-0, 205, Aug. I. 1973, Lethbridge (WHL), 2-12-14-55.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-01699/5942230-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="618" height="826"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jassen Cullimore</figcaption></div><h2>FORWARDS</h2>Jeff Bes, C, 5-11&frac12;, 180, July 31, 1973, Hamilton (OHL), 23-47-70-51.Donald Brashear, LW, 6-4&frac12;, 209, Jan. 7, 1972, Longueuil (QMJHL), 1226-38-195.George Breen, RW, 6-2, 195, Aug. 3, 1973, Cushing Academy, N/A.Jamie Caruso, RW, 5-11&frac12;, 192, Jan. 31, 1973, North Bay (OHL), 21-27-48125.Brian Clifford, C, 5-11&frac12;, 170, June 7, 1973, Nichols Academy (Buffalo), N/A.Rusty Fitzgerald, C, 6-1, 196, Oct 4, 1972, Duluth East (Minn.), 18-17-35-N/A.Ryan Haggerty, C, 6-2, 190, May 2, 1973, Westminster (Conn.), 34-26-60-24.Matt Hoffman, LW, 6-2, 190, July 6, 1971, Oshawa (OHL), 41-58-99-93.Alexei Kovalev, LW, 5-11, 176, Feb. 24, 1973, Moscow Dyunamo, I-2-3-4.Jere Lehtinen, RW, 5-11, 178, June 24, 1973, Espoo (Finland), N/A.Fredrik Lindqvist, C, 5-11, 172, June 21, 1973, Djurgarden (Sweden), 7-4-110.Mikael Nylander, C, 5-11, 167, Oct. 3, 1972, Huddinge (Sweden), 9-9-18-6Stephane Ouellet, C, 6-0, 173, March 3, 1973, St-Jean (QMJHL), 11-39-50-41.Zigmund Palffy, RW, 5-9, 176, May 5, 1972, Nitra (Czech.), 34-16-50-18.Steve Parson, C-LW, 6-0, 174, March 14, 1973, Owen Sound (OHL), 23-31-54-34.Sean Pronger, C, 6-3, 195, Nov. 30, 1972, Bowling Green (CCHA), 3-7-10-30.Tony Prpic, C-RW, 6-4&frac12; 204, June 16, 1973, Culver Military Academy (Indiana), N/A.Jim Storm, LW, 6-2, 200, Feb. 5, 1971, Michigan Tech (WCHA), 16-1834-46.Niklas Sundblad, LW, 6-1, 189, March 1, 1972, AIK (Sweden), 1-3-414.Sergei Zholtok, C, 5-10, 183, Dec. 2, 1972, Dynamo Riga, 4-0-4-8.Brad Zimmer, LW, 6-1, 195, Feb. 18, 1973, Lethbridge (WHL), 33-28-61-27.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02531/5942223-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="1274" height="2235"><figcaption class="caption-body">Matt Hoffman, who played on Eric Lindros&rsquo; line in Oshawa, impressed scouts and could be picked anytime after Round 2.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0034-01

GOALIE POOL SHALLOW, TALENT OVERSEAS DEEP

<div class="byline">BY MURRAY TOWNSEND</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0037-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01579/5942282-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gerry McNamara had more luck on draft day than with the media. The ex-Leaf GM had many prize catches, including Vincent Damphousse.</figcaption></div>His critics said Gerry McNamara was misguided. McNamara said he was misunderstood. His record said he didn&rsquo;t miss very often during the first three rounds of the entry draft.The former general manager may have made a lot of enemies in the Toronto media but he also made a lot of good draft choices for the Maple Leafs from 1982 through 1987. It didn&rsquo;t save his job but it should allow him to save face more than three years after being fired as GM.An analysis of the nine entry drafts from 1980 through 1988 reveals McNamara has much of which to be proud. He had the best record of any GM in the league&mdash;past or present&mdash;for picking NHLers during the first three rounds.An astounding 78 per cent of his choices in the first three rounds have met minimum requirements established by The Hockey News Draft Preview. No other GM who oversaw his team&rsquo;s fortunes in at least five entry drafts during that time period had better than a 63 percent efficiency rating through the first three rounds.Here&rsquo;s how we arrived at that conclusion. Every player drafted from 1980 through 1988 was credited to the GM who selected him. Then, it was determined how many of those players met the THN criteria: Forwards and defensemen must have appeared in 80 regular-season career games and goalies 40 career games by the end of 1990-91 to earn credits for their GMs. For the purposes of this survey, it doesn&rsquo;t matter if the players met the minimum as members of the organization that drafted them, only that they played the necessary games.We did it in this way because on most teams, the GMs are only responsible for getting the players. It&rsquo;s up to others to get the most out of them. A cut-off of three years ago was established because it generally takes that long for prospects to clear the development system after being chosen by an NHL team. Of course, there are still players from the 1988 draft who will eventually meet the minimum.McNamara has long insisted he got a bad rap from the press. And he is largely correct. However, it is worth noting that one of the criticisms leveled at McNamara was that he had limited success identifying NHLers after the third round. That is borne out by the numbers. Only four of the 55 players (seven per cent) he chose after 63rd overall have made it. More significantly, 14 of his 18 picks from the first three rounds have proven to be NHLers.GMs ultimately get the praise or blame for team choices but the key decisionmaker is often the chief scout&mdash;if not early in the draft, then certainly later when players with whom the GM is un-familiar are chosen. In Toronto, that man was Floyd Smith during the McNamara years. Smith is the current Maple Leafs&rsquo; GM and has been vilified for a series of trades that did little to salvage a dreadful season in Toronto. He may not be a good GM but he is a good judge of talent.McNamara&rsquo;s poor record after the third round lowered his overall efficiency rating to 25 per cent, the fourth-best of the decade among GMs who participated in at least five drafts. He finished behind Scotty Bowman of the Buffalo Sabres (32 percent), Craig Patrick of the New York Rangers (27 per cent) and Maurice Filion of the Quebec Nordiques (26 per cent). All four of the leaders were fired as GMs. Only Patrick has re-emerged in that role; he is with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bowman is his director of player development and recruitment which bodes well for the Penguins&rsquo; future.Curiously, the three GMs with the worst marks are still employed as GMs. Bobby Clarke earned a 10 percent efficiency rating with the Philadelphia Flyers, was fired and then hired by the Minnesota North Stars. David Poile of the Washington Capitals and Rogie Vachon of the Los Angeles Kings had 11 percent marks.And now a few words of explanation and caution. All statistics have shortcomings and these are no exception. Here are three things to consider:&#9633; This is more a quantitative analysis than qualitative. The minimum standards are not high and don&rsquo;t distinguish between ordinary players and truly extraordinary NHLers. What they do tell you is how accurate GMs were in projecting whether a player could play in the NHL.&#9633; GMs of good teams are at something of a disadvantage for two reasons. First, they are drafting lower than their peers on bad teams. And second, their picks should have a more difficult time meeting the minimum requirements on a good team than they would on a bad team. For instance, Andy Schliebener, a third-round pick in 1980. might have been good enough to play 84 games with the Vancouver Canucks but would he have been good enough to play that many with the Edmonton Oilers?&#9633; This assessment is an evaluation of draft records, not trade records or development records. We&rsquo;re not saying Bowman is the best GM of the 1980s. Nor are we saying Clarke is the worst. What we are saying, though, is that if you happen to buy an NHL team and have a choice between Bowman and Clarke to run your draft, take the winningest coach in NHL history over the man whose team&rsquo;s point totals declined each year he was in charge.The accompanying table ranks the performances of GMs who were at the helm for at least five drafts from 1980 through 1988. We list their number of drafts, their overall efficiency ratings, their ratings through the first three rounds and their ratings from the fourth round down. (There were 10 rounds in the 1980 and 1981 entry drafts and 12 the rest of the decade.) Emile Francis and Max McNab are the only two men who presided over at least five drafts as GMs of two teams. Their combined records are listed.In the pages that follow, we provide team-by-team analyses of GM draft records, updates on each team&rsquo;s top three picks from 1989 and 1990 and a look at every club&rsquo;s draft philosophy. A story on the expansion San Jose Sharks is also included.<h2>FIVE-YEAR PLANS</h2><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02419/5942275-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1260" height="878"></div> &#9632;

f0037-01

GM REPORT CARDS

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Stephen Harris</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0038-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01665/5942327-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Boston had big hopes for center Wes Walz, but the Calgary native struggled in 56 NHL games. He finished the season with Maine.</figcaption></div>In the not-too-distant past, the Boston Bruins would&rsquo;ve lacked the organizational depth to survive more than 400 manpower-games lost to injury and illness.But relying heavily on a steady stream of reinforcements from their American League affiliate in Maine, the Bruins shrugged off long-term losses to Dave Poulin, Bob Carpenter and Randy Burridge.&ldquo;I like our depth at the pro level better than in unsigned draft choices,&rdquo; said Bruins&rsquo; general manager Harry Sinden, who, with several key forwards over 30, approached the 1991 draft looking for help up front.Defensively, Ray Bourque shows no signs of slowing down at age 30. Glen Wesley is only 22 and Garry Galley just 28.&ldquo;Wesley, (Stephane) Quintal, (Bob) Beers and (Don) Sweeney&mdash;it&rsquo;s not a bad looking future,&rdquo; said Sinden. &ldquo;If we&rsquo;re lucky, I suppose I&rsquo;d like to have a winger. But picking down near the end of the first round, you don&rsquo;t usually have the luxury of picking a position, you just take the best players available.&rdquo;The past three drafts, Sinden and director of player evaluation Bart Bradley have used nearly all their early picks on forwards.The team&rsquo;s lack of scoring punch&mdash;Boston failed to score 300 goals for the third consecutive year&mdash;was a good reason why.&ldquo;You try to keep a good mix,&rdquo; said Sinden. &ldquo;But defense is harder to come by. If you&rsquo;ve got a chance to get a decent defenseman now, do it, because there&rsquo;s a better chance of finding a forward later than a defenseman.&rdquo;<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Bryan Smolinski, 19, 6-1, 195, C, Michigan State (CCHA), 21 st overall. Smolinski was a major disappointment in this, his sophomore season with the Spartans. He scored more points as a freshman. 9-12-21, 24 PIM, 35 games.Cam Stewart, 19, 5-11, 190, C, Michigan (CCHA), 63rd overall. A definite surprise in his first season with the Wolverines. Showed a deft scoring touch and a ruggedness around the net. 8-32-40, 122 PIM, 44 games.Jerome Buckley, 19, 6-2, 200, RW, Northwood Prep (USHS), 84th overall. Enjoyed a fine senior season at Northwood. One of the team&rsquo;s leading scorers. Headed for Boston College. 22-2547, 32 PIM, 30 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Shayne Stevenson, 20, 6-1, 190, RW, Maine (AHL), 17th overall. Not quite ready for the NHL. Went pointless in 14 games with Boston and didn&rsquo;t impress in Maine. 22-28-50, 112 PIM, 58 games.Mike Parson, 21,6-0, 170, G, Maine (AHL), 38th overall. Once the goalie of the future, Parson has slipped on the Bruins&rsquo; depth chart. Finished season with Johstown of ECHL. 6-10-1, 4.11 GAA (24 games in Maine).Wes Walz, 20, 5-10, 180, C, Maine (AHL), 57th overall. Big hopes, big disappointment. Had eight goals and 16 points in 56 games with Boston before returning to the AHL. 8-12-20, 19 PIM, 20 games.<h2>HARRY SINDEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02509/5942320-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="626" height="438"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03412/5942313-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="610" height="1760"><figcaption class="caption-body">Glen Wesley</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0038-01

SINDEN MAINTAINS FOCUS ON DEFENSE

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Jim Kelley</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0039-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01627/5942379-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman Kevin Hailer took the fast track to Buffalo after playing 52 games in Rochester. He had nine points in 21 games for the Sabres.</figcaption></div>The Buffalo Sabres could own the draft this year. Not the first pick overall mind you, but the rest of the draft.Buffalo will host the 1991 talent pool, but don&rsquo;t look for the middle-of-the-road Sabres to try to trade up for the Eric Lindros pick.They&rsquo;ve had sufficient success in the past drafting from the middle-of-the-pack.In recent drafts, the Sabres have snapped up left wingers Alexander Mogilny (89th overall in 1988) and Robert Ray, (97th overall in 1988), and defenseman Ken Sutton (98th overall in 1989) in the mid-to-late rounds.And they&rsquo;ve done pretty well with their first round picks as well. Defenseman Kevin Haller (14th overall in 1989) earned a spot on the Buffalo defense this season and left winger Brad May (14th overall in 1990) has done well in Niagara Falls (Ontario League).&ldquo;We don&rsquo;t see major changes in our approach this year,&rdquo; said general manager Gerry Meehan. &ldquo;We have a policy of identifying different players who should be available at certain rounds and then draft the best player.&rdquo;Meehan and chief scout Rudy Migay see as many players as they can before creating a draft plan. They work through the first four or five rounds, trying to predict the outcome.&ldquo;Our idea is to pick the most talented player available in the early rounds, but if it&rsquo;s too close to call&mdash;I mean virtually all things being equal&mdash;we might pick according to position or need.&ldquo;We have several picks this year so we can select one or two players at every stage of the draft.&rdquo;<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Brad May, 19, 6-0, 200, LW, Niagara Falls (OHL), 14th overall. Missed half the season with knee injury, but excelled in second half. Could be in Buffalo next season. 37-32-69, 93 PIM, 34 games.Brian McCarthy, 19, 6-2, 190, Providence (ECAC), 82nd overall. Didn&rsquo;t receive a lot of playing time, but played well when given the chance. Should improve with more experience. 5-6-11,12 PIM, 28 games.Richard Smehlik, 20,6-3,208, Dukla Jihlava (Cze), 97th. overall. Young, Czechoslovakian defenseman is still learning, but will benefit from playing at world-class level. Can play physically. 4-7-11, 5 PIM, 58 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Kevin Haller, 20, 6-2, 183, D, Rochester (AHL), 14th overall. Played most of the season in Rochester before catching on with Buffalo. Developing into solid defensive defenseman. 2-810, 53 PIM, 52 games.Scott Thomas, 21, 6-2, 195, RW, Clarkson (ECAC), 56th overall. Rugged winger had solid sophomore season. Helped lead the Golden Knights to NCAA national championship game. 28-14-42, 90 PIM, 40 games.Doug MacDonald, 22, 6-0, 190, C, Wisconsin (WCHA), 77th overall. Missed 14 games with thigh and knee injuries, but still finished second in team scoring. Has strong playmaking skills. 12-19-31, 50 PIM, 31 games.<h2>SCOTTY BOWMAN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02440/5942372-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="624" height="442"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03331/5942365-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="596" height="1194"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Andreychuk</figcaption></div><h2>GERRY MEEHAN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04267/5942358-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="626" height="442"></div> &#9632;

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KINGS OF MIDDLE OF THE ROAD

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0040-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01340/5942431-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Flames are hoping Stephane Matteau, a second-round pick in 1987, will be able to pick up the imminent scoring slack on the wing.</figcaption></div>Two years ago, the Calgary Flames finished the season with 117 points. Since then, they&rsquo;ve moved six veterans&mdash;Lanny McDonald, Jim Peplinski, Joey Mullen, Hakan Loob, Brad McCrimmon and Rob Ramage&mdash;out of the lineup.They also traded three youngsters&mdash;Brian Glynn, Ken Sabourin and Marc Bureau&mdash;who were on the verge of making the club. In other words, the cupboard is pretty much bare.The most pressing need of general manager Cliff Fletcher and chief scout Gerry Blair may be to replace 33-year-old Sergei Makarov on right wing. He scored 30 goals this season, but they know he won&rsquo;t be around forever.Theo Fleury, a natural center, switched to the wing and became a 50-goal scorer. But after Fleury and Makarov, the next highest scoring winger was Gary Roberts, a 22-goal man.In Gary Suter and Al Maclnnis, Calgary has two of the NHL&rsquo;s best puckhandling defensemen. After them, however, they do not have anybody waiting in the wings.The presence of Fleury on the roster obscures the fundamental cornerstone of Fletcher&rsquo;s philosophy: The bigger, the better. Even in their Atlanta days, the Flames&rsquo; reputation was centered on size with the wingers and in front of the net.Fleury, Makarov and Doug Gilmour represent exceptions to that rule, but in general, the Flames do not spend any high draft choices on players under 6-foot-2. In the later rounds, they may take a gamble on a project. Over the years, the gambles&mdash;Fleury, Suter, Brett Hull&mdash;proved to be among their most astute selections.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Trevor Kidd, 19, 6-2, 176, G, Spokane (WHL), 11th overall. Wasn&rsquo;t spectacular like in 1989-90, but came on late after trade from Brandon and helped Canada win WJC gold medal. Overcame minor back injury. 18-22-1,3.90,. 889.Nicolas P. Perreault, 19, 6-3, 200, D, Michigan State (CCHA), 26th overall. Spent most of freshman season learning college game. Showed he can use his size well. Will see more ice time next year. 1-7-8, 32 PIM, 34 games.Vesa Viitakoski, 20, 6-2, 200, LW, Tappera (Fin.), 32nd overall. Character player, was at his best at Goodwill Games and his second WJC, where he scored six goals in seven games. 17-2340, 52 PIM, 41 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Kent Manderville, 20, 6-3, 200, LW, Cornell (ECAC), 24th overall. A solid performer for Canada at WJC. Has the potential to score more, but still a blue-chip prospect. 17-14-31, 60 PIM, 28 games.Ted Drury, 19, 6-1, 185, C, Harvard (ECAC), 42th overall. Captained the American WJC team and played in the I shadow of three Harvard teammates who had more than 50 points each. 18-18-36, 22 PIM, 26 games.Vell-Pekka Kautonen, 21,6-2, 195, D, Saipa (Fin.), 50th overall. Attended Flames&rsquo; training camp, but was required to serve military duty in Finland. Big and steady, but not overly rambunctious. 12-19-31, 51 PIM, 43 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02224/5942424-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="605" height="890"><figcaption class="caption-body">Al Maclnnis</figcaption></div><h2>CLIFF FLETCHER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03158/5942417-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="613" height="430"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04124/5942410-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="585" height="810"><figcaption class="caption-body">Cliff Fletcher</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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ABUNDANT CUPBOARD RUNNING ON EMPTY

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Tim Sassone</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0041-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01280/5942476-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Hawks were depending on Jeremy Roenick, picked eighth overall in 1988, after trading Denis Savard. He responded with 94 points.</figcaption></div>Ever since Mike Keenan arrived in Chicago in June of 1988, the Blackhawks&rsquo; drafting tendency can be best summed up in one word&mdash;size. Keenan is a true believer that bigger is often better.Chicago&rsquo;s top five picks in the last two drafts have been big, strong defensemen. Last year, the Hawks took Karl Dykhuis and Czechoslovak Ivan Droppa. In 1989, Adam Bennett, Mike Speer and Bob Kellogg were picked. Of those five defensemen, Dykhuis is the smallest at 6-feet-2, 185 pounds.The Hawks have had a tendency over the last few years to draft for need with an eye to the future, which explains the emphasis placed on defensemen in the last two drafts.With Doug Wilson (33), Keith Brown (30), Steve Konroyd (30) and Bob McGill (29) all advancing in age, the Blackhawks are looking to rebuild their blue line.Now, with their defense apparently in good shape for the future, it&rsquo;s probably time for the Blackhawks to begin looking in the draft for eventual replacements for aging forwards Troy Murray (28), Greg Gilbert (29), Steve Larmer (30), Dirk Graham (31), and Michel Goulet (31).Scouting director and assistant general manager Jack Davison is responsible for most of the key decisions, although it&rsquo;s debatable whether he or general manager Keenan would have the final word should push come to shove at the draft table.Senior vice-president Bob Pulford remains a major voice in whatever player personnel decisions the organization makes.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Karl Dykhuis, 18, 6-3, 185, D, Canadian national team, I6th overall. Played well and may play in &rsquo;92 Olympics. Junior rights traded from Hull to College Francais where he ended the year. 2-9-11, 16 PIM, 37 games.Ivan Droppa, 18, 6-2, 210, D, Kosice (Cze.), 37th overall. Started season with junior team and played well in WJC despite hand injury. Called up to elite league to finish season. 1-7-8 with 47 PIM in 54 games.Chris Tucker, 19, 5-11, 183, LW, Wisconsin (WCHA), 79th overall. Freshman saw a lot of ice time early, but with seven seniors, sat out near the end. But played two of six playoff games. 5-6-11, 6 PIM, 35 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Adam Bennett, 20, 6-4, 205, D, Sudbury (OHL), sixth overall. Had strong season and ended the year with the Hawks&rsquo; farm team in Indianapolis. Was third in OHL top defensemen balloting. 21-29-50, 123 PIM, 54 games.Michael Speer, 20, 6-2, 200, D, Windsor (OHL), 27th overall. Voted hardest shot in league by coaches&mdash;he also earned that honor last season&mdash;and ended the year with the Ice. 21-47-68, 126 PIM, 57 games.Bob Kellogg, 20, 6-4, 200, D, Northeastern (HE), 48th overall. Started season well but severe mononucleosis ended year. Red-shirted by Huskies to save a year of eligibility. 0-0-0, 6 PIM, two games.<h2>BOB PULFORD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02180/5942469-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="626" height="446"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03134/5942462-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="600" height="1726"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dave Manson</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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BIGGER IS BETTER ON DRAFT DAY

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Keith Gave</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0042-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01296/5942535-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gerard Gallant, drafted eighth overall in 1981, is an example of the hard-working player that general manager Bryan Murray wants.</figcaption></div>In his first year as general manager, Bryan Murray and his scouting staff have tried to design a draft philosophy around a simple, yet difficult to answer question: What is a Detroit Red Wing?The Red Wing of the future, Murray says, &ldquo;will be someone who&rsquo;s hard working, with character and discipline, a guy that really loves to play.&rdquo;What about talent? &ldquo;Obviously, that&rsquo;s part of it,&rdquo; he continued. &ldquo;But you don&rsquo;t always have to be a talented guy to play in the NHL.&rdquo;Asked which of his current Wings best personified the Red Wing of the future image, Murray said, &ldquo;Gerard Gallant is that kind of guy. And so is Steve Yzerman, though he&rsquo;s much more talented. These guys have a good work ethic.&rdquo;Yzerman was the first player drafted for the Wings by Jimmy Devellano, who led the regime that preceded Murray. Devellano made no qualms that his scouts always selected the most &ldquo;talented player available&rdquo; regardless of team needs. Gallant was selected by Jimmy Skinner&mdash;the GM before Devellano.Also having input into the draft decision is Ken Holland, the Wings&rsquo; chief scout. He works closely with Bob Strumm, Murray&rsquo;s administrative aid who spent most of his first season with the Wings scouting draft-eligible players. The Wings select 10th overall.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve instructed my scouts to make sure they investigate the person we&rsquo;re going to get,&rdquo; Murray said. &ldquo;We have to get to know the person as well as the player. The most talented player available may not be the one we select.&rdquo;<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Keith Primeau, 19, 6-4, 220, C, Detroit (NHL), third overall. Came a long way with a lot of work in practice. Probably proved all he could in junior with stellar season in &rsquo;89-90. 3-12-15, 106 PIM, 58 games.Viacheslav Kozlov, 19, 5-10, 172, C, Khimik (USSR), 45th overall. Was youngest player on national team. Has ability to play in NHL now but will likely play in &rsquo;92 Olympics. 11-10-21, 42 PIM, 44 games.Stewart Malgunas, 21,5-11,190, D, Adirondack (AHL), 66th overall. Played well for Canada at 1990. Progressed extremely well in Adirondack, considered a top prospect on defense. 5-1924, 70 PIM, 78 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Mike Sillinger, 19, 5-10, 191, C, Regina (WHL), 11th overall. Had outstanding season playing some at right wing&mdash;Detroit has an abundance of centers. Improved on his defensive play. 50-66-116, 42 PIM, 57 games.Bob Boughner, 20, 6-0, 195, D, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), 32nd overall. Rugged, tough defenseman was a key member of Greyhounds. Improved his skating and passing. 13-33-46, 156 PIM, 64 games.Niklas Lidstrom, 21, 6-1, 180, D, Vasteras (Swe.), 53rd overall. Rangy defenseman expected to play for Sweden at World Championships. Wings hope to have him at training camp. 2-12-14, 14 PIM, 20 games.<h2>TED LINDSAY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02212/5942528-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="619" height="438"></div><h2>JIMMY SKINNER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03161/5942521-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="619" height="439"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04124/5942514-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="588" height="698"><figcaption class="caption-body">Tim Cheveldae</figcaption></div><h2>JIMMY DEVELLANO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-05107/5942507-1-eng-US/f0042-052.jpg" title="f0042-05" width="614" height="439"></div> &#9632;

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DECIDING THE SHAPE OF WINGS TO COME

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Dick Chubey</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01307/5942587-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Defenseman Jeff Beukeboom, drafted 19th overall in 1983, is the last first rounder to play regularly with the Edmonton Oilers.</figcaption></div>The slump has stretched to eight years. Not since the 1983 entry draft, when Jeff Beukeboom was taken 19th, has a first-round pick played regularly for the Edmonton Oilers.That&rsquo;s not to say all of the seven first-round picks since&mdash;Selmar Odelein, Scott Metcalfe, Kim Issel, Peter Sober-lak, Francois Leroux, Jason Soules and Scott Allison&mdash;have been busts, they&rsquo;ve just haven&rsquo;t been able to step in and contribute the way Kevin Lowe (1979), Paul Coffey (1980) and Grant Fuhr (1981) have.The Oilers&rsquo; tendency since joining the NHL in 1979 has been to draft size in the first round. In the early years, they opted for defensemen. Blueliners were five of their first six picks, although in 1981 Fuhr broke the pattern.In the last six years, four of the players selected were forwards, but the best first-round future prospects remain on the blueline&mdash;Leroux (1988) and Soules (1989).Other than their 1980 (Coffey sixth overall) and 1981 (Fuhr eighth) picks, part of the Oilers&rsquo; problem has been drafting low. This season they finished 11th overall and have the 12th pick. Edmonton will also draft 20th (Los Angeles&rsquo; choice as part of the 1988 trade that sent Wayne Gretzky to the Kings).&ldquo;In the past, we&rsquo;ve always believed in taking the best prospect, regardless of position,&rdquo; said chief scout Barry Fraser, who makes the decisions along with general manager/president Glen Sather. &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t see any reason to change that philosophy. Unless you have the first or second pick, the guy&rsquo;s not going to play for you for two or three years anyhow&hellip;if ever!&rdquo;<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Scott Allison, 19, 6-4, 195, C, Portland (WHL), 17th overall. Hasn&rsquo;t played the physical game Edmonton expected. Had shoulder problem and was benched at times. 10-22-32, 162 PIM, 74 games.Alexandre Legault, 19, 6-1,205, D, Drummondville (QMJHL), 38th over-all. After good freshman season at Boston University, he quit in December. Played in Quebec and was happier with ice time. 3-14-17, 27 PIM, 22 games.Joe Crowley, 19,6-2, 190, LW, Boston College (HE), 59th overall. Had a tough time cracking an Eagle lineup which had just two graduating players. Has a strong shot and tough in front of the net. 3-0-3, 14 PIM, 17 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Jason Soules, 20,6-2, 212, D, Belleville (OHL), 15th overall. After missing 95 games with injuries (broken clavicle the most serious) in three years, he stayed healthy and played reasonably well. 8-42-50, 144 PIM, 62 games.Richard Borgo, 20, 5-11, 190, RW, Kitchener (OHL), 36th overall. Finally blossomed in his fifth year of junior. Nothing wrong with his season, but may have benefitted more playing in the minors. 43-56-99, 50 PIM, 60 games.Josef Beranek, 21,6-0, 180, C, Litvonia (Cze.), 78th overall. Led team in, scoring and seventh in the Elite League. Highly skilled, but don&rsquo;t be fooled by PIM total. Said to be more dirty than tough. 29-31-60, 110 PIM, 58 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02228/5942580-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg" title="f0043-02" width="600" height="948"><figcaption class="caption-body">Grant Fuhr</figcaption></div><h2>GLEN SATHER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03194/5942573-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="624" height="434"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04130/5942566-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="590" height="738"><figcaption class="caption-body">Glen Sather</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0043-01

DRAFT DROUGHT PUSHING EIGHT

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Jeff Jacobs</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0044-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01219/5942646-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Whalers didn&rsquo;t draft Europeans from 1984 to &rsquo;88, but hit the jackpot with Czechoslovakian Bobby Holik (first choice, 10th overall in &rsquo;89).</figcaption></div>Former Hartford general manager Emile Francis looked far and wide for the best talent available during his tenure with the Whalers.And it&rsquo;s a policy that holds true today under the direction of current Whaler GM Ed Johnston and chief scout Bruce Haralson.During the Francis era from 19831988, the Whalers took North Americans of all positions regardless of geography.First-round draft picks included two French Canadian Sylvains&mdash;defenseman Cote (11th overall in 1984) and left winger Turgeon (second overall in 1983).The Whalers also scoured Western Canada, the U.S. and Southern Ontario, drafting defenseman Dana Murzyn (fifth overall in 1985); American right winger Scott Young (11th overall in 1986); and Ontario wingers Jody Hull (18th overall in 1987) and Chris Govedaris (11th overall in 1988).But Johnston and Haralson have broadened the team&rsquo;s scouting range, concentrating more on Western Canada and Europe.No Europeans were drafted by the club from 1984 to 1988, but now they&rsquo;re a primary focus.Left winger Bobby Holik is a good example.The team&rsquo;s first choice, 10th overall in 1989, Holik has emerged into a solid NHL player, capable of 30 goals and 70 points-per-season.At this season&rsquo;s draft, the Whalers will try to increase their depth at left wing and center.Hartford will also look for an aggressive defenseman.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Mark Greig, 21, 5-11, 190, RW, Springfield (AHL), 15th overall. Showed steady improvement in all areas, especially on defense. Could crack Whaler lineup next season. 32-5587, 73 PIM, 73 games.Geoff Sanderson, 19, 6-0, 185, C, Swift Current (WHL), 36th overall. Sanderson was called up by Springfield after Broncos were eliminated. Was second in team scoring for Swift Current. 62-50-112, 57 PIM, 70 games.Mike Lenarduzzi, 18, 6-0, 165, G, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), 57th overall. One of principal players involved in Eric Lindros trade. Had an outstanding season, leading the league in goals-against average 19-8-3. 3 73 880<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Robert Holik, 20, 6-1, 185, LW, Hartford (NHL), 10th overall. Impressed everyone this season with ability to adapt to the NHL style. Has surprising strength and isn&rsquo;t afraid to mix it up. 21-22-43, 113 PIM, 78 games.Blair Atcheynum, 22,6-2,190, RW, Springfield (AHL), 52nd overall. Second season with Indians showed marked improvement, especially defensively. Was more physical. 25-27-52, 42 PIM, 72 games.Jim McKenzie, 21, 6-3, 205, LW, Hartford (NHL), 73rd overall. Recalled mid-way through the season by Hartford and added toughness to sometimes passive lineup. Should stick next season. 4-3-7, 108 PIM, 41 games.<h2>JACK KELLEY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02141/5942639-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="618" height="436"></div><h2>LARRY PLEAU</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0397/5942632-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="624" height="444"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0475/5942625-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="594" height="710"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Dineen</figcaption></div><h2>EMILE FRANCIS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-0564/5942618-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="622" height="444"></div> &#9632;

f0044-01

JOHNSTON BROADENS TEAM’S FOCUS

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Rick Sadowski</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0046-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01184/5942698-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rob Blake emerged as a solid defenseman, a key reason why L.A. shaved more than a goal from its goals-against total.</figcaption></div>Considering how many early selections the Los Angeles Kings have, the NHL entry draft is out of sight, out of mind.The Kings do not have: A first-round pick, having traded it to Edmonton as part of the Wayne Gretzky package in 1988; a No. 3 pick, gone to St. Louis last season for defenseman Brian Benning; or their eighth selection, which went to Minnesota this year for right winger Ilkka Sinisalo.&ldquo;To be very honest, we don&rsquo;t have as much interest in this draft as we usually do,&rdquo; said Kings&rsquo; general manager Rogie Vachon, who will be joined at the draft table by director of scouting Bob Owen. &ldquo;Naturally, we&rsquo;re still interested, but I&rsquo;ll probably be looking to sign a couple of free agents, maybe some guys out of college who won&rsquo;t be in this draft.&rdquo;The Kings have taken defensemen from the Western League with each of their last two top picks, Kamloops&rsquo; Darryl Sydor (seventh overall in 1990) and Medicine Hat&rsquo;s Brent Thompson (39th overall in 1989). Of the 23 players they&rsquo;ve selected in the past two drafts, eight were defensemen and seven were right wingers.Although they are deep at center&mdash;Gretzky, Todd Elik, Steve Kasper and John McIntyre&mdash;they need to shore up that position throughout the organization.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a crucial position and we&rsquo;d like to add more depth there,&rdquo; Vachon said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got a lot of good, young defensemen coming up. But I don&rsquo;t think position will matter too much with our second-round pick. We&rsquo;ll be drafting pretty low and probably go with the best player available.&rdquo;<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Darryl Sydor, 19,6-0, 205, D, Kamloops (WHL), seventh overall. A finalist for the best defenseman award in the WHL. Known for his offense, has improved his defensive play. 27-78-105, 88 PIM, 66 games.Brandy Semchuk, 19, 6-1, 185, RW, Lethbridge (WHL), 28th overall. Played two seasons with the Canadian national team, but switched to majorjunior hockey to develop a scoring touch. 9-8-17, 10 PIM, 14 games.Bob Berg, 20, 6-2, 190, LW, Sudbury (OHL), 49th overall. After just one assist in 19 games with New Haven, Berg was returned for an overage season. The brother of Islanders&rsquo; Bill. 2019-39, 45 PIM, 35 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Brent Thompson, 20, 6-3, 190, D, Medicine Hat (WHL), 39th overall. Tall, wiry rearguard is very adept at moving the puck. Cut down on his penalty-minute total. 5-40-45, 87 PIM, 51 games.Jim Maher, 20, 6-1, 219, D, 111.-Chicago (CCHA), 81st overall. Third-year player was a strong contributor on a poor team. Not flashy, but is sturdy in his own end and can clear the front of the net. 6-8-14, 49 PIM, 37 games.Eric Ricard, 22, 6-4, 220, D, New Haven (AHL), 102nd overall. Started the season wth the Nighthawks, but was moved to Phoenix in February. He&rsquo;s a big, strong defenseman who likes to get physical. 1-4-5, 65 PIM, 35 games.<h2>GEORGE MAGUIRE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02130/5942691-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="625" height="444"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0392/5942684-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="599" height="1146"><figcaption class="caption-body">Luc Robitaille</figcaption></div><h2>ROGIE VACHON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0474/5942677-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="628" height="518"></div> &#9632;

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’91 DRAFT STRICTLY HO-HUM AFFAIR

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Gary Olson</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0047-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01209/5942750-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A mid-season hand injury put a damper on an outstanding season for Mike Craig, a second-round North Stars&rsquo; pick in 1989.</figcaption></div>It was easier for Einstein to explain his theory of relativity than it is to sort through the Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; options on draft day.When general manager Bob Clarke and director of player personnel Les Jackson sit down at the draft table in Buffalo, they may pick eighth or they may pass into the second round.In the week prior to the entry draft, the North Stars and expansion San Jose Sharks will hold a dispersal draft&mdash;a sharing of the Minnesota wealth, such as it is&mdash;June 17. That afternoon, the team that used to be owned by George and Gordon Gund and the one that still is owned by George and Gordon Gund will share in the expansion draft&mdash;each getting 10 players.There are also agreements between the Stars and Sharks that will effect draft day, agreements within and beyond league guidelines. On the evening of June 17, there will be a collective sigh among NHL executives that the embarrassment of the San Jose-Minnesota &ldquo;agreement&rdquo; is finally history.The renegotiated player swap with San Jose forces the North Stars to give up a first-round pick this year or firstand second-round picks next year. That decision probably won&rsquo;t be made until after Vancouver picks seventh and Clarke and Jackson see who&rsquo;s available.The North Stars&rsquo; needs by then will be considerable since the Sharks will probably own as many as 30 players who used to belong to Minnesota. The Stars are currently deep at center, but Bobby Smith and Neal Broten are on the wrong side of 30 so by the time a draftee matures, that could be a need. Defense is good, but maybe not good enough.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Derian Hatcher, 19, 6-5, 205, D, North Bay (OHL), eighth overall. Expected to dominate but responded with ordinary season. Voted second-best defenseman in OHL. 13-50-63, 163 PIM, 64 games.Laurie Billeck, 20, 6-3, 210, D, Prince Albert (WHL), 50th overall. Missed 37 games because of dislocated shoulder but rugged defenseman came back for season finale and playoffs. 110-11, 60 PIM, 35 games.Cal McGowan, 21, 6-1, 185, C, Kamloops (WHL), 70th overall. Over-shadowed by highly touted teammates Darryl Sydor and Scott Niedermayer, but still a player every coach covets. 58-81-139, 147 PIM, 71 games.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Doug Zmolek, 20, 6-1, 195, D, University of Minnesota (WCHA), seventh overall. Very steady defensive defenseman in his sophomore year. Hard hitter who doesn&rsquo;t back down. 3-15-18, 94 PIM, 42 games.Mike Craig, 20, 6-1, 180, RW, Minnesota (NHL), 28th overall. Surprised many by making the North Stars. Played well for Team Canada at WJC. Suffered hand injury on return to NHL. 8-4-12, 32 PIM, 39 games.Murray Garbutt, 19, 6-1, 205, C, Spokane (WHL), 60th overall. Flourished after mid-season trade from Medicine Hat. Combines deft scoring touch with aggressive style. 32-45-77, 187 PIM, 61 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02151/5942743-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="584" height="1012"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Bellows</figcaption></div><h2>LOU NANNE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03118/5942736-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="622" height="438"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-0483/5942729-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="598" height="640"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lou Nanne</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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ALLIS RELATIVE FOR STARS, SHARKS

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Chris Stevenson</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0048-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01144/5942802-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Patrice Brisebois has improved faster than any Habs&rsquo; pick over the past two seasons. He played 10 games in Montreal in 1990-91.</figcaption></div>The Montreal Canadiens have long been referred to as the Flying Frenchmen.And in the last five drafts, general manager Serge Savard and director of player recruitment Andre Boudrias have kept at least one part of that description intact&mdash;French.But flying? Hardly.For the most part, the Canadiens have opted for big, bruising, crash-and-bang-type forwards.For the past two seasons, the Canadiens have looked to the Western League&rsquo;s Seattle Thunderbirds for their first-round picks.Last season, it was physical right winger Turner Stevenson, a big, imposing force at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds.The year before, it was right winger Lindsay Vallis (6-2, 200).Five of the Habs&rsquo; last six top picks over the last two seasons have been forwards. All but center Steve Larouche&mdash;the club&rsquo;s third pick in 1989&mdash;have been at least six-feet.The only non-forward taken in the last two drafts was defenseman Patrice Brisebois.The 6-foot-1, 175-pound rearguard was the Habs&rsquo; second pick (30th overall) in 1989.Ryan Kuwabara, a 6-foot-1, 205-pound right winger from the Ontario League&rsquo;s Ottawa 67&rsquo;s, was Montreal&rsquo;s second choice (39th overall) last year in Vancouver.The Canadiens won&rsquo;t change their recent drafting tendencies much this year, Savard said.They already possess a good, young defensive core and are solid in goal for the next few years with all-star Patrick Roy.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Turner Stevenson, 19, 6-3, 200, RW, Seattle (WHL), 12thoverall. Averaged better than a point-per-game, 63 in 57 games. Had a hefty 222 penalty minutes this season. 36-27-63, 222 PIM, 57 games.Ryan Kuwabara, 19, 6-1,205, RW, Ottawa (OHL), 39th overall. Kuwabara caught fire in the second half after signing a contract with the Canadiens. Progressing better than expected. 34-38-72, 67 PIM in 64 games.Charles Poulin, 18, 6-0, 170, C, St. Hyacinthe (QMJHL), 58th overall. A disappointing year for the Laser center. Poulin&rsquo;s production slipped after an 84-point rookie season. 25-46-71, 166 PIM in 64 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Lindsay Vallis, 20, 6-2, 200, RW, Seattle (WHL), 13thoverall. Vallis was regarded as an underachiever when he was first selected, but played well this season. Was more physical. 41-38-79, 119 PIM in 72 games.Patrice Brisebois, 20, 6-1, 175, D, Drummondville (QMJHL), 30th overall. Progressed faster than any other pick from last two drafts. Played 10 games with Montreal this season. 17-44-61,72 PIM, 54 games.Steve Larouche, C, 5-11, 165, C, Chicoutimi (QMJHL), 41st overall. Injuries restricted him to 45 games. Production tailed off from seasons of 153 and 145 points. 35-41-76, 64 PIM in 45 games.<h2>IRVING GRUNDMAN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0294/5942795-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="620" height="444"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0364/5942788-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="588" height="1220"><figcaption class="caption-body">Petr Svoboda</figcaption></div><h2>SERGE SAVARD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0449/5942781-1-eng-US/f0048-042.jpg" title="f0048-04" width="622" height="444"></div> &#9632;

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SAVARD OPTS FOR GRINDERS, NOT FLASH

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Rich Chere</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01129/5942861-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A fifth-round pick in 1983, Chris Terreri played his way into the No. 1 goaltending job and may have made Sean Burke expendable.</figcaption></div>For more than a year, New Jersey Devils&rsquo; general manager Lou Lamoriello was hailed as the genius who traded defenseman Tom Kurvers to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a No. 1 draft choice that could have turned out to be Eric Lindros.When the Leafs&rsquo; spoiled Lamoriello&rsquo;s coup, the GM simply turned to player personnel director Marshall Johnston and assistant David Conte for an alternative draft plan.&ldquo;We prepared as if we wouldn&rsquo;t have him (Lindros), because if we did have the first pick overall there wouldn&rsquo;t be any choice,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;Now it&rsquo;s no different than in past years. Do we have an idea of who we&rsquo;d like to pick? I&rsquo;d say we do.&rdquo;The Devils, who have two first-round picks, are likely to select a big defenseman with Toronto&rsquo;s No. 1, third overall. However, if the past is any indication, Lamoriello may be wheeling and dealing on draft day. His 1989 trade with Edmonton gave the Devils two high picks and he juggled his first-round pick last June before taking goalie Martin Brodeur.There is speculation the Devils might trade unhappy goalie Sean Burke and their own first pick on draft day. But Lamoriello may be hesitant to deal Burke, especially since they&rsquo;re already in a position to draft a talented defenseman such as Scott Niedermayer.Conte and scout Claude Carrier named Brent Bilodeau (Seattle), Philippe Boucher (Granby) and Aaron Ward (University of Michigan) as possible No. 1 picks, but refused to tip their hand. Conte did say this draft is twice as deep as last year&rsquo;s&hellip;even after Lindros.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Martin Brodeur, 19, 6-0, 190, G, St-Hyacinthe (QMJHL), 20th overall. Started slowly, played through some nagging injuries, then enjoyed a strong second half. The Devils have signed him to a contract. 22-24-4, 3.30,. 886.David Harlock, 20, 6-2, 195, D, Michigan (CCHA), 24th overall. Captain in his sophomore season, Harlock&rsquo;s strength is mental toughness. Was criticized for his play at WJC. 2-8-10, 70 PIM, 39 games.Chris Gotziaman, 19,6-2,190, RW, North Dakota (WCHA), 29th overall. A member of U.S team at the WJC, Gotziaman wasn&rsquo;t on the ice for a goal against during the tournament. 11-8-19, 26 PIM, 40 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Bill Guerin, 20, 6-2, 190, RW, Boston College (HE), fifth overall. The Devils feel Guerin can make the jump to the NHL now, but he is expected to play for the U.S. Olympic team next season. 2619-45, 102 PIM, 38 games.Jason Miller, 20, 6-1, 180, C, Medicine Hat (WHL), 22nd overall. Enjoyed a strong season as the Tigers&rsquo; No. 1 center, but he&rsquo;s probably still a year away and figures to spend next season in Utica. 60-76-136, 31 PIM, 66 games.Jarrod Skalde, 20, 6-0, 170, C, Belleville (OHL), 26th overall. Skalde flourished after his much-publicized falling out with Eric Lindros, then subsequent trade from Oshawa to Belleville. 38-66-104, 35 PIM. 55 games.<h2>RAY MIRON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0292/5942854-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg" title="f0049-02" width="618" height="436"></div><h2>BILLY MacMILLAN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0359/5942847-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="620" height="440"></div><h2>MAX McNAB</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0450/5942840-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="620" height="432"></div><h2>LOU LAMORIELLO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0529/5942833-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="616" height="446"></div> &#9632;

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HIERARCHY TURNS TO BACKUP PLAN

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Mark Herrmann</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0050-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01131/5942913-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dean Chynoweth, one of several Western League players taken in the first round by the Islanders, has spent most of his time in the AHL.</figcaption></div>The New York Islanders&rsquo; greatest objective in this year&rsquo;s entry draft is to control this long-running, damaging cycle: Each draft becomes more urgent because the previous one just didn&rsquo;t work out.A team that always has relied almost exclusively on the draft to build its roster, the Islanders are in particularly dire need of fresh talent now&mdash;after a string of unproductive drafts finally resulted in a tumultuous, lackluster season and the franchise&rsquo;s worst finish in 17 years.&ldquo;The hardest thing about it still is the underage drafting because there&rsquo;s so much projection involved,&rdquo; said Gerry Ehman, chief scout and assistant general manager since 1983. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re overan-xious to turn things around, but that isn&rsquo;t the way it falls.&rdquo;There was no way to be certain, at the end of the season, just who would be calling the shots on draft day because the team is up for sale.General manager Bill Torrey, Ehman and their staff were preparing to make the draft choices.If form holds, it would not be a surprise to see them draft a player from Ehman&rsquo;s home turf&mdash;Western Canada. The past four first-round picks (Scott Scissons, Dave Chyzowski, Kevin Cheveldayoff and Dean Chynoweth) have been Western League players.No matter where they might find their first-rounder and subsequent picks, the Islanders desperately need forwards who can score. Their goal total this season (223) was the team&rsquo;s lowest since 197374, and that surely won&rsquo;t get any better if Torrey accommodates a trade request from Pat LaFontaine, their only proven scorer.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Scott Scissons, 19, 6-1, 200, C, Saskatoon (WHL), sixth overall. Scissons was cut from the Canadian WJC team, stripped of his captaincy and struggled offensively. 24-53-77, 61 PIM, 57 games.Chris Taylor, 19, 6-0, 185, C, London (OHL), 27th overall. Enjoyed a strong offensive season, finishing second to Oshawa&rsquo;s Eric Lindros In the OHL scoring race. 50-78-128, 50 PIM, 65 games.Dan Plante, 19, 5-H, 190, RW, Wisconsin (WCHA), 48th overall. Plante was in and out of the lineup for the first 2/3 of season, before earning a regular job on the top line. 1-2-3, 54 PIM, 33 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Dave Chyzowski, 19,6-0, 190, LW, NY Islanders (NHL), second overall. While he showed flashes of brilliance, Chyzowski mostly struggled through his first full NHL season. 5-9-14, 61 PIM, 56 games.Travis Green, 20,6-0, 195, C, Capital District (AHL), 23rd overall. A strong performer in his rookie AHL season, Green finished fourth in team scoring for Capital District. 21-34-55, 26 PIM, 73 games.Jason Zent, 20,5-11,190, LW, Wisconsin (WCHA), 44th overall. Injuries slowed his development, but was one UW&rsquo;s best players down the stretch. May play for U.S. Olympic team next year. 19-18-37, 51 PIM, 39 games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0294/5942906-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg" title="f0050-02" width="584" height="1020"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat LaFontaine</figcaption></div><h2>BILL TORREY</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0350/5942899-1-eng-US/f0050-032.jpg" title="f0050-03" width="618" height="440"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0440/5942892-1-eng-US/f0050-042.jpg" title="f0050-04" width="606" height="656"><figcaption class="caption-body">Bill Torrey</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0050-01

TRYING TO RIGHT DRAFT WRONGS

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Frank Brown</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0051-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01119/5942972-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Rangers would like to draft a tough defenseman, one who would complement the offensive style of 1986 first-rounder Brian Leetch.</figcaption></div>Neil Smith wants no part of the spotlight on draft day.The New York Rangers&rsquo; general manager wants to be aware of the player his staff wants to claim in the first and second rounds, &ldquo;but from the second round on, to pretend I have a handle on it would be facetious.&ldquo;In our case, draft day is, the day for the scouts to see seven or eight months of work reach fruition.&rdquo;The betting here is that if the scouts see a blue-chip defenseman with a mean streak when New York&rsquo;s turn comes at No. 15, that defenseman will be a Ranger. While Smith has built a whopping stockpile of right wingers, while he has attempted to add size, speed and toughness to his reserve list, one missing component is that Dave Manson/Mark Tinordi/Scott Stevens-type who makes forwards think twice about driving to the net, makes them pay a price when they get there.&ldquo;But you&rsquo;re not going to leave a potential Rick Tocchet sitting on the side just to pick a defenseman,&rdquo; Smith said, muddying the picture somewhat. &ldquo;All things being equal, if we rate a certain forward and a certain defenseman at about the same place, we&rsquo;d probably take the defenseman with the proper credentials.&rdquo;Smith took a physical defenseman in the first round of his first Rangers&rsquo; draft last June, claiming 6-3, 210-pound Michael Stewart from Michigan State at No. 13. He added John Vary in the third round at No. 55, and with those two on the way&mdash;eventually&mdash;Smith may choose to deal from his stockpile on the right side to bolster a sketchy situation on left wing.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Michael Stewart, 19, 6-3, 210, D, Michigan State (CCHA), 13th overall. Asked to concentrate on his defense, Stewart started poorly, then progressed towards the end of the season. 3-12-15, 58 PIM, 37 games.Doug Weight, 20, 5-11, 185, C, Lake Superior (CCHA), 34th overall. Beat Eric Lindros to win scoring title at WJC and finished second in CCHA. Signed contract as playoffs began. 2946-75, 86 PIM, 42 games.John Vary, 19, 6-2, 205, D, Kingston (OHL), 55th overall. Mid-season trade from Belleville to Kingston seemed to slow his progress. Rangers feel he needs work on his skating. 10-3747, 124 PIM, 70 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Steven Rice, 20, 6-0, 210, RW, Kitchener (OHL), 20th overall. Captain of Canadian WJC team, Rice joined Rangers at end of season. Has a good shot of earning a job next year. 30-3060, 43 PIM, 29 games.Jason Prosofsky, 20, 6-4, 220, RW, Medicine Hat (WHL), 40th overall. A long-term project, Prosofsky had a tough start to the 1990-91 season, but showed signs of improvement. 15-1530, 195 PIM, 72 games.Rob Zamuner, 21, 6-2, 200, C, Binghamton (AHL), 45th overall. Almost made the Rangers in training camp. An awkward skater, Zamuner starred at Binghamton this season. 2558-83, 50 PIM, 80 games.<h2>FRED SHERO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0291/5942965-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg" title="f0051-02" width="626" height="431"></div><h2>CRAIG PATRICK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0360/5942958-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="625" height="436"></div><h2>PHIL ESPOSITO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0445/5942951-1-eng-US/f0051-042.jpg" title="f0051-04" width="621" height="440"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0529/5942944-1-eng-US/f0051-052.jpg" title="f0051-05" width="587" height="711"><figcaption class="caption-body">Trov Mallette</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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SMITH DEFENSIVE ON D-DAY PLANS

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Wayne Fish</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0052-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01117/5943031-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Disappointed at being selected fourth overall last year, Mike Ricci enjoyed a better rookie season than the top three picks.</figcaption></div>After many years of leaning toward players who hit first and score goals later, the Flyers began to reverse the trend in 1988 with the selections of forwards Pat Murray from Michigan State and Craig Fisher from the University of Miami-Ohio.That pattern continued the past two seasons, first with Greg Johnson (now with the University of North Dakota) and Sweden Patrik Juhlin in 1989 and Mike Ricci (Peterborough) and Kimbi Daniels (Swift Current) this past June.If general manager Russ Farwell sticks to his plan, this draft should be no different.&ldquo;We do have to emphasize, when we put our list together, that we take guys who can skate,&rdquo; said Farwell.&ldquo;Not that we want to foresake any other area, but we just feel we have to skate better.&rdquo;With the exception of Pelle Eklund&rsquo;s swift skates and Rick Tocchet&rsquo;s lethal stick, the Flyers have evolved into a plodding team which has little imagination on offense. They finished the 1990 91 season with their lowest goal total (252) since 1971-72.That year, the club managed 200 goals in 78 games.Also, the Flyers have not drafted a goalie higher than the 11th round since taking Dominic Roussel (third round, 63rd overall) and Scott LaGrand (fourth round, 77th overall) in 1988.But with Ron Hextall&rsquo;s health status a question mark, Ken Wregget the object of constant trade rumors and Pete Peelers probably nearing the end of his stay in Philadelphia, chief scout Jerry Melnyk and his staff might be thinking about a goaltender early in the draft.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Mike Ricci, 19, 6-l, 190, C, Philadelphia (NHL), fourth overall. Ricci became only the ninth rookie in Flyer history to reach the 20-goal mark, despite missing 11 games with a broken finger. 21-20-41, 64 PIM, 68 games.Chris Simon, 19, 6-3, 220, LW, Ottawa (OHL), 25th overall. Simon missed the first half of the season with a separated shoulder suffered in a training camp fight, which hampered his development. 16-6-22,69 PIM, 20 games.Mikael Renberg, 19, 6-2, 185, LW, Lulea (Swe.), 40th overall. Renberg&rsquo;s season was interrupted when he broke his thumb at the WJC. He&rsquo;s expected to play one more year in Sweden. 11-6-17, 29 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Greg Johnson, 20, 5-11, 180, C, North Dakota (WCHA), 33rd overall. A Hobey Baker finalist in his sophomore season, Johnson finished second in WCHA scoring. He also impressed at the WJC. 18-61-79, 6 PIM, 38 games.Patrik Juhlin, 21, 6-0, 185, LW, Vasteras (Swe.), 34th overall. Failed to move up with team when it joined Elite League. Has good shot, good speed, but lacks necessary experience. 13-9-22, 24 PIM, 40 games.Reid Simpson, 22, 6-1, 210, LW, Hershey (AHL), 72nd overall. Farwell is satisfied with Simpson&rsquo;s progress, but feels he&rsquo;s still a year or two away. He also needs to work on his skating. 9-1524, 183 PIM, 54 games.<h2>KEITH ALLEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0271/5943024-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="628" height="432"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0342/5943017-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="596" height="732"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rick Tocchet</figcaption></div><h2>BOB McCAMMON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0432/5943010-1-eng-US/f0052-042.jpg" title="f0052-04" width="628" height="438"></div><h2>BOB CLARKE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0523/5943003-1-eng-US/f0052-052.jpg" title="f0052-05" width="624" height="436"></div> &#9632;

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SPEED AND OFFENSE FARWELL’S PRIORITY

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Dave Molinari</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0053-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01121/5943090-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Taking Jaromir Jagr in the first round last year was a gamble for the Penguins. His play this year, however, made it seem worth the risk.</figcaption></div>General manager Craig Patrick insists it was a coincidence. He really doesn&rsquo;t have anything against the Canadian junior leagues.But last year, his first as the main man at the Pittsburgh Penguin draft table, he didn&rsquo;t draft one CHL player, instead showing a strong bias in favor of U.S. college and high school players. The Penguin GM also drafted three Europeans.Patrick backed up his theory of taking the &ldquo;best player available&rdquo; by drafting right winger Jaromir Jagr in the first round, even though Pittsburgh was pretty solid at that position and there was no guarantee when the Penguins would be able to get him out of Czechoslovakia.The move paid off, because Jagr&rsquo;s development allowed the Penguins to trade Rob Brown.So what will he do his second time around?Because the Penguins lack organizational depth at every position except right wing, he&rsquo;ll likely follow his best player philosophy. Patrick has shown a willingness to plug holes via trades&mdash;only three of nine defensemen who started the 1990-91 season in Pittsburgh finished it there&mdash;but often talks about the importance of &ldquo;building a depth chart&rdquo; with quality players.That&rsquo;s a tedious process, but one Pittsburgh must go through if it wants to move among the league&rsquo;s elite for an extended period. The Penguins also must replenish the supply of quality prospects in their system because of the high number of first-round draft choices&mdash;guys like Doug Bodger, Craig Simpson, Zarley Zalapski, Chris Joseph and Darrin Shannon&mdash;they&rsquo;ve traded.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Jaromir Jagr, 19, 6-2, 200, RW, Pittsburgh (NHL), fifth overall. Highly-skilled Czech played to expectations in his rookie NHL season, finishing fourth in scoring among first-year players. 2730-57, 42 PIM, 80 games.Joe Dziedzic, 19, 6-3, 200, LW, Minnesota (WCHA), 61st overall. Dziedzic had a tough time cracking the Gopher lineup in his freshman year. He needs to work on his intensity. 6-4-10, 26 PIM, 20 games.Chris Tamer, 19, 6-2, 190, D, Michigan (CCHA), 68th overall. Known for his defense, Tamer honed his offensive skills, while leading the Wolverines in penalty minutes. 8-19-27, 130 PIM, 45 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Jamie Heward, 20, 6-2, 185, D, Regina (WHL), 16th overall. Drafted as a right winger, Heward was moved back to play defense two years ago and has adjusted well. Could play a more physical style. 23-61-84, 41 PIM, 71 games.Paul Laus, 20, 6-1, 200, D, Muskegon (IHL), 37th overall. Joined Lumber-jacks after starting season in Albany (IHL). Needs work on fundamentals, but was Muskegon&rsquo;s most physical defenseman. 3-4-7, 103 PIM, 35 games.John Brill, 20, 6-3, 180, RW, Minnesota (WCHA), 58th overall. A good skater and strong defensively, Brill will be expected to produce more offensively next season for the Gophers. 6-13-19,36 PIM, 36 games.<h2>BAZ BASTIEN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0281/5943083-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="618" height="442"></div><h2>ED JOHNSTON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0350/5943076-1-eng-US/f0053-032.jpg" title="f0053-03" width="618" height="436"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0442/5943069-1-eng-US/f0053-042.jpg" title="f0053-04" width="594" height="730"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Recchi</figcaption></div><h2>TONY ESPOSITO</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0527/5943062-1-eng-US/f0053-052.jpg" title="f0053-05" width="616" height="430"></div> &#9632;

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PATRICK GIVES IT COLLEGE TRY

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Dave Luecking</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0056-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01110/5943187-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Jablonski caught on with the Blues in a big way, especially after injuries to goaltenders Vincent Riendeau and Curtis Joseph.</figcaption></div>St. Louis Blues&rsquo; general manager Ron Caron had no qualms about spending five first-round draft picks to sign defenseman Scott Stevens as a free-agent last summer.He simply looked at the Blues&rsquo; draft history and discovered that from 1980 through 1985, the Blues had only two No. 1 picks and neither one panned out.&ldquo;We missed six years in a row and we&rsquo;re not that bad,&rdquo; Caron says of his team which finished second in the NHL with 105 points in 1990-91. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve grown out of that. That forced us to draft top guys in second and third rounds.&rdquo;Caron and chief scout Ted Hampson, the key decision maker, have no choice but to draft top guys in the second and third rounds. They actually like it that way.Current Blues Tom Tilley, Steve Tuttle, Pat Jablonski and Glen Featherstone were later-round picks. Top prospects Nelson Emerson, Guy Hebert, Rick Corriveau, Denny Felsner, Dave Roberts and Daniel LaPerriere were not first-round picks.Winger Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour and prospect Jason Marshall are the only No. 1 picks in the organization.The Blues have focused in recent seasons on college-age and junior players. They also take chances on obscure Tier II players&mdash;such as Brind&rsquo;Amour&mdash;-who aren&rsquo;t as widely scouted as the majorjunior players.Last season, the Blues emphasized forwards in the draft, using six of their nine picks to select them. In the previous two seasons, they stocked up on defenseman.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Craig Johnson, 19, 6-1, 180, C, Minnesota (WCHA), 33rd overall. One of best U.S college freshman until injuring shoulder with U.S. WJC team in January. Has great speed. 13-18-32, 34 PIM, 33 games.Patrice Tardif, 20, 6-2, 175, C, Maine (HE), 54th overall. Had mixed season. He&rsquo;s a center but played left wing most of the year. A freshman, he didn&rsquo;t see any playoff action. 13-12-25, 18 PIM, 36 games.Jason Ruff, 21,6-3, 200, LW, Lethbridge (WHL), 96th overall. Ruff had a productive season as an overager after a good training camp with Blues. Became a team leader with Broncos. 61-75-136, 154 PIM, 66 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Jason Marshall, 20,6-2, 185, D, TriCity (WHL), ninth overall. Made late decision to go to junior instead of NCAA. Started slowly but played well with Canadian team at WJC. 10-34-44, 236 PIM, 59 games.Rick Corriveau, 20, 5-11, 205, D, London (OHL), 31st overall. Big year offensively but some areas of defensive game need work. Played a lot on penalty-killing and power-play units. 27-6087, 83 PIM, 64 games.Denny Felsner, 21, 6-0, 180, LW, Michigan (CCHA), 55th overall. One of ten Hobey Baker Award finalists, Felsner may prove to be a steal at 55th overall. A dangerous offensive player. 4035-75, 58 PIM, 46 games.<h2>EMILE FRANCIS</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0275/5943180-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="621" height="496"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0340/5943173-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="613" height="1235"><figcaption class="caption-body">Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour</figcaption></div><h2>RON CARON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0433/5943166-1-eng-US/f0056-042.jpg" title="f0056-04" width="628" height="453"></div> &#9632;

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FIVE EASY PIECES TO TOP-LEVEL TEAM

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Mike Weaver</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0057-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01106/5943225-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ulf Dahlen could be one of the veteran players the Sharks take from the Stars in the upcoming&mdash;and complicated&mdash;dispersal draft.</figcaption></div>When the San Jose Sharks say they&rsquo;re going to select the best player available in the NHL entry draft, regardless of position, you can believe it.With no young players on the Sharks&rsquo; roster, every player picked has to be the best available.Unfortunately, deciding just who is the best player available is a question of great concern for the expansion Sharks.Deciding to make Eric Lindros the first pick in the NHL entry draft should be easy for the Quebec Nordiques. Making the No. 2 selection is the challenge for San Jose.The Sharks have the second pick in the opening round of the draft, and the first pick in the other 11 rounds. The development of the franchise depends upon its draft.&ldquo;That No. 2 pick will be very important to us,&rdquo; said Chuck Grillo, director of player personnel and head scout for the Sharks. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll be looking for a player with the potential to carry a team.&rdquo;The consensus is San Jose will make one of four players the No. 2 pick overall. Grillo said the Sharks are high on defenseman Brent Bilodeau of the Western League&rsquo;s Seattle Thunderbirds, center Pat Falloon of the WHL&rsquo;s Spokane Chiefs, defenseman Scott Lachance of Boston University and defenseman Scott Niedermayer of the WHL&rsquo;s Kamloops Blazers.Grillo said Bilodeau&rsquo;s size (6-foot-3, 220 pounds), strong shot and work ethic might make him a leader on the Sharks&rsquo; blue line. But Grillo is also impressed with Falloon&rsquo;s intelligence, skating and stickhandling abilities and the fact Lachance and Niedermayer are excellent puck-handling rearguards.With Lindros sure to be selected by Quebec, all eyes are on the Sharks and their No. 2 pick. And they aren&rsquo;t about to tell anyone until draft day June 22.Grillo said Sharks&rsquo; scouts consider 23 variables when grading players&mdash;and personality rates ahead of intelligence and talent as the No. 1 consideration.&ldquo;We want players who are emotionally stable,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We want to be sure they can get along with their peer group.&rdquo;But what exactly are the Sharks looking for? A dynamic center? A steady defenseman? A take-charge rearguard?Some NHL expansion teams have shown a remarkable success pattern in their early years dependent upon their first-ever draft choice.The Buffalo Sabres selected Gilbert Perreault when they entered the league in 1970 and flourished by their third season. The New York Islanders, with Billy Harris in 1972 and Denis Potvin the next year, went on to win four Stanley Cups.On the down side, the Kansas City Scouts, with Wilf Paiement in 1974, the Vancouver Canucks, with Dale Tallon in 1970, and the Washington Capitals, with Greg Joly in 1974, all floundered for years.Because the Sharks have been placed in the wide-open Smythe Division for at least their first season, they&rsquo;ll need players with good speed. But size is the favorite commodity of San Jose general manager Jack Ferreira.Ferreira covets players cut from the same mold as Joe Nieuwendyk, a second-round draft choice of the Calgary Flames in 1985. Ferreira, a former college scout for Calgary, recommended the Flames select Nieuwendyk.None of the previously mentioned players available in this year&rsquo;s draft fit the description of Nieuwendyk, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean the Sharks can&rsquo;t get lucky and perhaps land another star player with the 23rd or 45th pick overall.&ldquo;It can be a crapshoot when you&rsquo;re dealing with such young kids,&rdquo; Grillo said. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re lucky, you end up with a franchise player.&rdquo;The entry draft is the final stage in a four-phase process in which the Sharks will form their initial roster.The nucleus of the roster will be several players from the Minnesota North Stars&rsquo; organization. When former North Stars&rsquo; owners George and Gordon Gund agreed to sell the Stars last year in exchange for the rights to the expansion franchise they were granted nermission to take up to 30 players from the Minnesota system according to a complicated formula devised for the dispersal draft between the teams.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0280/5943218-1-eng-US/f0057-022.jpg" title="f0057-02" width="624" height="612"></div>The Sharks also will acquire players during an expansion draft, in which they and the North Stars will combine to select one player from each of the league&rsquo;s 20 other teams. The other NHL teams can protect 16 skaters and two goalies. The expansion draft is scheduled for June 17.Even though the Sharks won&rsquo;t be starting completely from scratch when they get to the entry draft, they won&rsquo;t have the luxury of being able to concentrate on specific needs.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in a situation where we have to go for the best players available regardless of their positions,&rdquo; Ferreira said. &#9632;

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SHARKS LOOKING OUT FOR NO. 2

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Mark Harding</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0058-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01110/5943284-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">A 100-point season was expected for Vincent Damphousse, Toronto&rsquo;s sixth overall pick in 1986 who led the Leafs with 73 points.</figcaption></div>This may come as a surprise to many, but the Maple Leafs actually do have a few selections remaining for this summer&rsquo;s dip into the young talent pool. Floyd Smith didn&rsquo;t trade them all away.Just some, like their top two picks over-all.Their No. 1 pick, as nearly every hockey fan knows by now, was traded to New Jersey for defenseman Tom Kurvers (who was subsequently dealt to Vancouver for Brian Bradley).The second-round pick (along with the No. 2 pick next year) went to Quebec in the Scott Pearson trade, which brought Michel Petit, Lucien DeBlois and Aaron Broten to Toronto.Unable to recover those gigantic losses, Smith picked up some extra choices in subsequent trades (he did make 13 trades, remember). Allan Bester, for example, brought Toronto a second sixthround pick from Detroit, while Brad Marsh was worth an eighth-round choice from the Red Wings. John Kordic and Paul Fenton were worth a fifth-round pick from Washington.But regardless of these additional choices, the Leafs will be hard-pressed to make this a worthwhile draft without a first- or second-round pick.Depending on what happens in the upper echelons of the club as a result of the current ownership struggles in the courts, Smith should be calling the shots for the Leafs come draft day.Thanks to years of drafting defensemen, the Leafs have a fairly solid stable of young blueliners which includes Drake Berehowsky, Jeff Serowik and Alex Godynyuk. In goal, the Leafs have ample young talent.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Drake Berehowsky, 19,6-1,211, D, North Bay (OHL), drafted 10th overall. Only played nine games in 1989-90 due to knee injury but had solid NHL camp. Struggled after trade from Kingston. 1236-48, 79 PIM, 39 games.Felix Potvin, 19, 6-0, 183, G, Chicoutimi (QMJHL), 31st overall. Beat Quebec Nordiques in pre-season game and carried confidence into season. Top goalie in QMJHL. Lowest GAA in CHL. 33-15-4, 2.71,. 911.Darby Hendrickson, 18, 6-0, 175, C, Richfield, (USHS), drafted 73rd overall. Best player at state all-star tournament for high-school seniors and won Minnesota&rsquo;s Mr. Hockey award. 27-23-50, 32 PIM, 24 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Scott Thornton, 20, 6-2, 200, C, Toronto (NHL), third overall. Played well when given chance but saw little ice time. Given defensive role for Canada at WJC. Came back with increased confidence. 1-3-4, 30 PIM, 33 games.Rob Pearson, 19, 6-1, 173, RW, Oshawa(OHL), 12th overall. Thrived as Eric Lindros&rsquo; winger after early season trade from Belleville. Scored 2.9 points-per-game while Lindros at WJC. 63-55118, 103 PIM, 51 games.Matt Martin, 20, 6-3, 190, D, Maine (HE), 66th overall. Missed start of season because of mononucleosis but played regular shift as a freshman and showed improvement. 3-12-15,46PIM, 35 games.<h2>PUNCH IMLACH</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0270/5943277-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="628" height="442"></div><h2>GERRY McNAMARA</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0337/5943270-1-eng-US/f0058-032.jpg" title="f0058-03" width="622" height="444"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0428/5943263-1-eng-US/f0058-042.jpg" title="f0058-04" width="602" height="702"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Ing</figcaption></div><h2>GORD STELLICK</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0521/5943256-1-eng-US/f0058-052.jpg" title="f0058-05" width="618" height="438"></div> &#9632;

f0058-01

PICKINGS SLIM WITH FEW HIGH CHOICES

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Mike Beamish</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0059-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0189/5943343-1-eng-US/f0059-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">After starting the season slowly, there was no looking back for Petr Nedved, the second pick overall in the 1990 draft.</figcaption></div>Fifteen straight losing seasons might indicate the Vancouver Canucks have been losers at the draft table too.But that&rsquo;s not necessarily the case.In fact, the Canucks have drafted more good pros than most teams. They just blossom elsewhere. Cam Neely (Boston), Rick Vaive (Buffalo), Patrik Sundstrom (New Jersey), Dirk Graham (Chicago), Dave Lowry (St. Louis), Michel Petit (Toronto), Brent Ashton (Winnipeg), J.J. Daigneault (Montreal) are Canuck draft choices who&rsquo;ve proven themselves after being traded.Because of this, general manager Pat Quinn has been extremely reluctant to trade away first-rounders.At last year&rsquo;s draft in Vancouver, Quinn turned down a package of players from Philadelphia to maintain the No. 2 overall spot that netted center Petr Nedved. Two years before, Quinn resisted intiatives from other teams and took Trevor Linden second overall.For years, the Canucks experienced a chronic shortage of good left wingers, but the acquisition of Geoff Courtnall and Sergio Momesso will allow Quinn to draft at other positions.The Canucks, who finished with the NHL&rsquo;s 18th best power play, are searching for a quarterback on the blue line to replace Paul Reinhart, who retired this past season. Jason Herter (eighth overall in 1989) may eventually fill that void.A power center who can match up physically with Mark Messier or Joel Otto is still high on the shopping list this year. The Canucks were hoping Rob Murphy, their first pick in &rsquo;87 (24th overall), might fill the bill, but he hasn&rsquo;t shown enough puck-handling talent.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>Petr Nedved, 19, 6-3, 180, C, Vancouver (NHL), second overall. Elevated to full-time status after trade of Brian Bradley to Toronto. Has great moves but point total was disappointing. 10-6-16, 20 PIM, 61 games.Shawn Antoski, 21, 6-4, 235, LW, Milwaukee (IHL), 18th overall. With the exception of two games in the NHL, Antoski spent entire season in Milwaukee trying to develop consistency. 17-7-24, 330 PIM, 62 games.Jiri Slegr, 20 5-11, 185, D, Litvinov (Cze.), 23rd overall. Balked at being assigned to Milwaukee, and played entire season in Czech first division. One of the outstanding defensemen at WJC. 11-37-48, 53 PIM, 47 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Jason Herter, 20, 6-1, 182, D, North Dakota (WCHA), eighth overall. Pos-sesses a great shot from the point and has great offensive potential, but nagging groin injury has slowed his development. 6-21-27, 46 PIM, 31 games.Robert Woodward, 20, 6-4, 220, LW, Michigan State (CCHA), 29th overall. Considered a &ldquo;project&rdquo;, linebacker-sized Illinois high school product experienced disappointing sophomore season. 5-13-18, 16 PIM, 32 games.Brett Hauer, 19,6-2, 180, D, Minnesota-Duluth (WCHA), 71st overall. Didn&rsquo;t progress with the Bulldogs as much as the Canucks expected and is still at least a couple of years away. 1-7-8, 54 PIM, 30 games.<h2>JAKE MILFORD</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0259/5943336-1-eng-US/f0059-022.jpg" title="f0059-02" width="622" height="441"></div><h2>HARRY NEALE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0342/5943329-1-eng-US/f0059-032.jpg" title="f0059-03" width="618" height="447"></div><h2>JACK GORDON</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0434/5943322-1-eng-US/f0059-042.jpg" title="f0059-04" width="619" height="451"></div><h2>PAT QUINN</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0524/5943315-1-eng-US/f0059-052.jpg" title="f0059-05" width="619" height="447"></div> &#9632;

f0059-01

HOCKEY’S VERSION OF ST. ELSEWHERE

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Dave Sell</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0060-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0186/5943402-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">The arrival of Soviet defenseman Mikhail Tatarinov, among others, has turned the Caps&rsquo; blue line unit into a more offensive group.</figcaption></div>Losing free agent Scott Stevens to the St. Louis Blues last summer put a huge dent in the Washington Capitals&rsquo; plans. The five potential first-round picks they got as compensation was supposed to mitigate the damage.The Capitals will start to reap the benefits this June when they finally see some return on the deal. And draft day could prove to be busier than usual for general manager David Poile, director of player personnel Jack Button and the rest of the scouting staff as they have a number of options at their disposal.Will Poile attempt to package some of his excess first-round choices to obtain an experienced player? Or will Blues&rsquo; GM Ron Caron try to swing a deal to obtain a top seven overall pick, thereby meeting half of the requirement to lose just two first rounders? In either event, how will Poile draft?If he follows his usual pattern, Poile will simply take the best player available. That said, he strayed from that thinking a year ago when he took defenseman John Slaney ninth overall.Because the existing blue line corps (Kevin Hatcher notwithstanding) was a defensive-oriented group, Poile took Slaney in hopes of filling the club&rsquo;s greatest need.Since then, with the addition of Mikhail Tatarinov and the emergence of Calle Johannson, the defense has been transformed to a more offensive-oriented group, so it&rsquo;s no longer a great concern. With four young goalies in the system and 29-year-old Don Beaupre having a great season, that doesn&rsquo;t appear to be a need, either. What&rsquo;s left? Scoring up front, which, of course, is what everybody wants.<h2>1990 UPDATE</h2>John Slaney, 19, 6-0, 190, D, Cornwall (OHL), ninth overall. Had a solid WJC, scoring the gold-medal winning goal for Canada, then sustained a knee injury midway through the season. 2125-46, 28 PIM, 34 games.Rod Pasma, 19, 6-5, 205, D, Kingston (OHL), 30th overall. Pasma had a tough time adjusting after mid-season trade from Cornwall to Kingston and finished the campaign poorly. 4-18-22, 103 PIM, 64 games.Chris Longo, 19, 5-ll, 180, RW, Peterborough (OHL), 51 st overall. The 1989-90 OHL rookie of the year had a solid, if unspectacular, sophomore year while playing through a variety of injuries. 29-38-67, 68 PIM, 64 games.<h2>1989 UPDATE</h2>Olaf Kolzig, 21,6-3, 205, G, Baltimore (AHL), 19th overall. Was sent to Hampton Roads (ECHL) to get more playing time, then finished in Baltimore. Will undergo shoulder surgery in offseason. 10-12-2, 3.16,. 889.Byron Dafoe, 20, 5-l I, 175, G, Prince Albert (WHL), 35th overall. The team was happy with Dafoe&rsquo;s progress after early-season trade from Portland to Prince Albert. Should start in Baltimore next year. 13-12-4,4.05,. 880.Jim Mathieson, 21, 6-1, 210, D, Baltimore (AHL), 59th overall. The rugged defenseman spent all of the 1990-91 campaign in Baltimore, his first professional season. 3-5-8, 168 PIM, 65 games.<h2>MAX McNAB</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0249/5943395-1-eng-US/f0060-022.jpg" title="f0060-02" width="626" height="442"></div><h2>ROGER CROZIER</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0330/5943388-1-eng-US/f0060-032.jpg" title="f0060-03" width="628" height="436"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0422/5943381-1-eng-US/f0060-042.jpg" title="f0060-04" width="600" height="695"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kevin Hatcher</figcaption></div><h2>DAVID POILE</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0517/5943374-1-eng-US/f0060-052.jpg" title="f0060-05" width="622" height="432"></div> &#9632;

f0060-01

PAYOFF FOR LOSING STEVENS BEGINS

<div class="byline">BY RAND SIMON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0062-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0062-0191/5943478-1-eng-US/f0062-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Rolston of Detroit Compuware was good enough to make the U.S junior national team but couldn&rsquo;t crack the hockey card lineup.</figcaption></div>Once upon a time, collectors had to wait for a player to skate in the NHL before obtaining his card.Now, a fan attending the NHL entry draft could get autographs of the draftable prospects on their own card.Thanks to 7th Inning Sketch, the producers of cards for the Ontario, Quebec and Western Leagues, there is now cardboard for players who have yet to be drafted.And it doesn&rsquo;t stop there.Upper Deck, one of five companies producing NHL cards this year, made cards of five draft-eligible players, three of whom are expected to be taken in the first round. And, of course, there are the numerous Eric Lindros cards, issued by Score as part of its $30,000 deal with the Oshawa General superstar.You&rsquo;ll have to excuse top prospects such as Boston University defenseman Scott Lachance, University of Michigan defenseman Aaron Ward and Compuware center Brian Rolston if they feel a little left out. They are the only North American-based players likely to go in the first round who aren&rsquo;t already on a hockey card.7th Inning Sketch, based in Windsor, Ont., has a license to produce cards for the three major junior leagues. A year ago, the company made cards for seven OHL teams. This year the deal was expanded to all 42 major junior teams, with more than 1,000 players featured. Some of them, such as Tri-City American Brian Sakic (Washington&rsquo;s sixth-round pick in 1990) and Oshawa General Rob Pearson (Toronto&rsquo;s first-round pick in 1989), have already been selected by NHL teams. But most of the players have yet to be drafted. Many of them never will, so this will be the first and last card for a high number of them.In April, Upper Deck released its second series of cards in 1990-91. Called the High-Number Series, the 150-card set contains rookies, traded players and others missed in its 400-card Low-Number Series. Upper Deck also made cards of players from the gold-medal winning Canadian national junior team. Included in the subset of 21 players are cards of five draft-eligible players&mdash;Kamloops&rsquo; Scott Niedermayer, Spokane&rsquo;s Pat Falloon, Laval&rsquo;s Martin Lapointe, Oshawa&rsquo;s Dale Craigwell and Ottawa&rsquo;s Chris Snell. Niedermayer, Falloon and Lapointe are expected to go high in the first round.While 7th Inning Sketch made cards of many players who will be drafted in June, these cards are not considered true rookie cards. A rookie card, usually the most valuable of a player, must come from an NHL set, such as those made by Upper Deck.Upper Deck made cards of the top 10 picks from the 1990 entry draft. Score made cards with 16 of the 21 picks. Pro Set included just the top two. It would not be surprising if each of the companies expanded its number of first-round draft pick cards, possibly to include all 22 players taken in this year&rsquo;s first round.When the cards come out next year, the most valuable will be the player who&rsquo;s chosen first&mdash;Lindros. Whomever goes second will have the second-most valuable card, and so on through the top 10 picks. After that, the values will likely be similar. But as soon as a draft pick makes the NHL and plays regularly, the value of his card has the potential to rise.When a card collector decides to speculate on the cards of a player taken in the first round, there are several factors to consider.&#9632; Players who score goals will always have higher card values than players who prevent them. A solid, defensive defenseman such as Seattle&rsquo;s Brent Bilodeau may be a safe pick for an NHL team, but he&rsquo;s not a good pick for a card collector. Someone with great offensive potential, such as Prince Albert&rsquo;s Jeff Nelson may never make an impact in the NHL, but if he does, it will be as a goalscorer. Bilodeau could be drafted before Nelson, but the latter is a much better investment for a card speculator. Even if Bilodeau has a long, productive NHL career as a defensive defenseman, his rookie card will never be worth more than a dollar or two.&#9632; Consider the team that drafted the player before investing in his cards. If Montreal, for example, drafts Nelson, he&rsquo;s not as good an investment as if Pittsburgh drafts him. The two teams play such different styles that Nelson would be more likely to produce points with the Penguins than with the Canadiens. Whomever gets drafted by San Jose is a good investment because that player can be expected to win a job immediately and be one of the team&rsquo;s better players.&#9632; Goaltenders are generally high-risk investments because performance tends to fluctuate wildly from one season to the next. Their careers are usually shorter than players, too. Since no goaltenders are likely to be drafted in the first round this year, there won&rsquo;t be NHL cards of this year&rsquo;s draft-eligible goaltenders.&#9632; Don&rsquo;t be in a hurry to speculate on a drafted player who is likely to step into the NHL immediately. Quebec Nordique Owen Nolan&rsquo;s card is currently worth much more than a first-round pick who remained in junior, say, for example, Los Angeles King draftee Darryl Sydor, who starred this season on defense for the Kamloops Blazers. Long term, Sydor may turn out to be a better investment than Nolan even though the current perceived value of Nolan&rsquo;s card is much higher, in other words, there are bargains out there if you&hellip;&#9632; Look at the big picture. Try to figure out what&rsquo;s the best-case scenario for a player 10 years from now. In the case of Bilodeau, if everything goes well, he&rsquo;ll likely have a Mike Ramsey-type career. Ramsey&rsquo;s rookie card is worth 35 cents. If Nelson fulfills his potential, he may enjoy a career similar to that of Joe Sakic. Sakic&rsquo;s rookie card is worth $7 &#9632;

f0062-01

MORE TO LOOK FOR THAN DRAFT POSITION

<div class="byline">BY JEFF GORDON</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0071-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0071-0155/5943554-1-eng-US/f0071-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Record-setting right winger Brett Hull wasn&rsquo;t drafted until he was almost 20 years old. Even then, he lasted until Calgary took him 117th overall.</figcaption></div>While many in the hockey establishment questioned the logic, David Quinn applauded the St. Louis Blues&rsquo; free-agent signing of exWashington Capitals&rsquo; defenseman Scott Stevens.Never mind that the Blues will likely surrender their next five No. 1 picks as compensation.&ldquo;I think what the Blues did is great,&rdquo; Quinn says. &ldquo;There isn&rsquo;t much difference between the 15th player picked and the 30th. It&rsquo;s frightening. In five years of drafting, you&rsquo;d be lucky to find one superstar there. Scott Stevens has already proven he is a superstar. Not many players picked after the top 10 are a sure bet.&ldquo;I should know. I was one of them.&rdquo; Indeed, the Minnesota North Stars picked Quinn 13th overall in the talentladen 1984 entry draft. Quinn, a defenseman trained at the Kent School in Connecticut, carried high hopes with him to Boston University.But they were dashed (seemingly for good) when a hemophiliac blood condition was diagnosed in his sophomore year. He retired from hockey in 1987 to pursue a career as a player agent.Now, following the formulation of a new drug that controls his disorder, Quinn is attempting a comeback. He&rsquo;s been invited to tryout for the U.S. Olympic team and the Boston Bruins have offered him a summer free-agent camp audition.Quinn was just one of many first-round disappointments for the North Stars in the 1980s. Brad Palmer, Ron Meighan, Brian Lawton, Warren Babe, David Archibald&hellip;none became cornerstone players for the franchise.Drafting is a risky business, even in the first round.&ldquo;In every draft, because we are drafting 18-year-olds, it&rsquo;s not always clear cut who the best players are,&rdquo; says San Jose Sharks&rsquo; general manager Jack Ferreira, who starts rolling the dice this summer.That&rsquo;s why Blues&rsquo; general manager Ron Caron didn&rsquo;t hesitate to trade middle-first-round picks in 1984, 1985 and 1989 to get proven veterans Mark Hunter, Rick Wamsley and Rich Sutter. And that&rsquo;s why he committed up to five No. 1&rsquo;s as compensation for Stevens.Even if some of those picks do pan out for the Caps, Caron will likely be long retired to a golf course in Florida by that time. There are very few quick fixes available in the draft.&ldquo;The St. Louis Blues are right now using Scott Stevens,&rdquo; says Capitals&rsquo; general manager David Poile. &ldquo;The Washington Capitals will get an opportunity to draft an 18-year-old player in June, 1991, who will play for us in maybe three or four years. How do you equate that to fair compensation?&rdquo;Especially when the draft pick the Blues, who finished second overall in the NHL, will surrender to Washington is No. 20 overall.On his breakthough 1990-91 Blues team, Caron employed just one of his first-round picks, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour. He traded for front-line players such as Brett Hull, Adam Oates, Paul Cavallini, Jeff Brown, Geoff Courtnall, Vincent Rien-deau and added depth with later-round draft picks, free agents and waiver draft claims.An analysis of first-round picks shows that from 1980-87, the first seven picks of the first round were generally successful; perhaps nine of the 56 players taken there could be deemed a major disappointment. Journeymen or washouts such as Brian Lawton, Doug Wickenheiser, Craig Redmond, Shawn Anderson, Ken Yaremchuk, David Archibald, Neil Brady, Dan Woodley and Brad Dalgamo were exceptions to the rule.In those same years, the eighth through 13th picks proved to be pretty good bets. NHL teams snapped up the likes of Grant Fuhr, Cam Neely, Brian Leetch, Jeremy Roenick, Craig Janney, Dave Gagner, James Patrick, Pat Elynuik, Mike Bullard, Shayne Corson, Doug Bodger, Jim Kyte, Dan Quinn, Tony Tanti, Scott Young and Gary Roberts.But the third tier of the 1980-87 first rounds was only slightly more bountiful than the second rounds which followed. Only seven players&mdash;about one-ninth of those chosen 14th to 21st&mdash;became coveted NHL players: Dave Andreychuk, Murray Craven, Kevin Hatcher, Al Maclnnis, Barry Pederson, Joe Sakic and Brent Sutter. Perhaps a dozen more, like Terry Carkner, Calle Johansson, Ken Daneyko, Bob Errey, Stepahane Quintal and Patrick Flatley, became solid pros.And that&rsquo;s all folks. Fellows like Jiri Dudacek, Glen Seabrooke, Chris Kontos, Ryan Stewart, Dave Pasin, Bruce Cassidy, Scott Metcalfe, Alain Heroux and Paul Lawless became footnotes in media guides.From 1980-87, the second round turned up as many top players as the bottom third of the first round. You could build a team or three with these players: Chris Chelios, Joe Nieuwendyk, Kelly Hrudey, Mike Richter, Tomas Sandstrom, Jeff Brown, Stephane Richer, Gary Leeman, Dan Marois, Peter Zezel, Normand Rochefort and Sean Burke.There was a trickle-down theory at work in the 1980s. From the second round on, NHL general managers found bargains in slower-developing, collegebound players and Europeans who would take some time to import. And some teams shunned one talent source or the other during the decade while focusing on major junior players.Then changes in the draft rules&mdash;limiting the availability of 18-year-old players to the first three rounds&mdash;forced every team to scout U.S. high school and college players to draft from the fourth round on.What makes sifting through prospects so difficult? Ferreira blames the 18-year-old draft for forcing scouts to make decisions on players before they bloom.Brett Hull wasn&rsquo;t drafted until he was 19 years, 10 months old. Adam Oates wasn&rsquo;t drafted. John Cullen was ignored as an 18-year-old, then picked by Buffalo in the 1986 supplemental draft. But the Sabres didn&rsquo;t sign him and Cullen was working as a free agent with an IHL contract in 1987-88.Now, all three of these late bloomers have emerged as dominant offensive players in the NHL.Another factor muddying the selection process is the diversity of talent sources. Scouts are comparing major junior stars with Tier II players headed to American college, U.S. high school players and players from Sweden, Finland, Czechos-lavkia and the Soviet Union.On the plus side, the sudden availability of European players&mdash;especially those from Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union&mdash;has improved the caliber of the very top of the draft.No longer do NHL clubs have to wrestle with national federations to extract their draft picks.The moral of the story?All first-round draft picks are not created equal. If you don&rsquo;t buy that, you just haven&rsquo;t been paying attention to the lesson being taught by Caron, The Professor. &#9632;

f0071-01

FIRST ROUND KO’s

<div class="byline">BY BOB MCKENZIE</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0074-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0074-0145/5943585-1-eng-US/f0074-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Paul Brousseau of Trois Rivieres is big, strong and possesses natural scoring ability. His only weakness, say some scouts, is a lack of intensity.</figcaption></div>The Ottawa Senators and Tampa Bay Lightning will have their scouting work cut out for them next season.Not only will they begin the daunting task of evaluating young talent for their NHL expansion entries that begin play in the fall of 1992, they will be starting in a year when there is no clear-cut No. 1 prospect.As always, there is no shortage of potential quality prospects. But if there is an Eric Lindros, Mario Lemieux or Dale Hawer-chuk out there, he has yet to rise above his peers.Ottawa and Tampa Bay are assured of the top two picks in the 1992 entry draft. However, the order of selection, and the method for determining it, have yet to be decided.There are some NHL scouts who say the Quebec League will produce the No. 1 draft pick in 1992, but it is still far from consensus.Trois Rivieres Draveur right winger Paul Brousseau is mentioned by some as a potential No. 1. The 6-foot-3, 204-pounder is an Anglophone from Montreal&rsquo;s West Island.He has completed two seasons in the QMJHL and scored 30 goals and 96 points in 67 games this season. He misses being eligible for the 1991 draft by only three days.Scouts like his size, strength and scoring ability, but his intensity doesn&rsquo;t always match his talent. Asaresult, he&rsquo;s not No. 1 on everyone&rsquo;s list.Fact is, the 1992 draft is a wide-open affair. There are numerous candidates from the Ontario and Western Leagues who will also merit consideration as the top pick. At this point, it&rsquo;s ludicrous to even speculate which of them have the best shot. Who knows? Perhaps there&rsquo;s a U.S. high schooler, European or a future major junior rookie who will emerge as the most sought-after prospect.Nevertheless, here&rsquo;s a look at 25 prospects (listed alphabetically and by league) who start next season under immediate scrutiny from NHL scouts. Information includes: name, position, height, weight, birthdate and 1990-91 team and statistics (G-A-P-PIM).<h2>OHL</h2>Curtis Bowen, C, 6-foot-1, 185, March 24, 1974, Ottawa 67&rsquo;s, 12-14-2631 in 42 games.Brandon Convery, C, 6 feet, 164, Feb. 4, 1974, Sudbury Wolves, 26-2248-18 in 56 games.Keli Corpse, C, 5-foot-10, 167, May 14, 1974, Kingston Frontenacs, 18-32-50-34 in 58 games.Shayne McCosh, D, 6 feet, 178, Jan. 27, 1974, Kitchener Rangers, 3-22-25-26 in 62 games.Michael Peca, RW, 5-foot-11, 155, March 26, 1974, Sudbury Wolves, 1427-41-24 in 62 games.Chad Penney, LW, 6-foot-1, 192, Sept. 18, 1973, North Bay Centennials, 33-34-67-56 in 66 garpes.Jeremy Stevenson C, 6-foot-2, 198, July 28, 1974, Cornwall Royals, 13-20-33-124 in 58 games.Corey Stillman, C-LW, 5-foot-10, 172, Dec. 20, 1973, Windsor Spitfires, 31-70-101-31 in 64 games.Brent Tully, D, 6-foot-2, 180, March 26, 1974, Peterborough Petes, 4-4-8-35 in 45 games.Todd Warriner, C-LW, 6 feet, 170, Jan. 3, 1974, Windsor Spitfires, 36-28-64-26 in 57 games.<h2>QMJHL</h2>Joel Bouchard, D, 6 feet, 177, Jan. 23, 1974, College Francais (Longueuil), 3-19-22-34 in 53 games.Paul Brousseau, RW, 6-foot-3, 204, Sept. 18, 1973, Trois Rivieres Draveurs, 30-66-96-48 in 67 games.Martin Lepage, D, 6 feet, 157, Feb. 26, 1974, Hull Olympiques, 0-8-8-48 in 60 games.<h2>WHL</h2>Jason Bowen, LW-D, 6-foot-2, 210, Nov. 11, 1973, Tri-City Americans, 7-13-20-252 in 60 games.Lance Bums, C, 6-foot-3, 195, Jan. 23, 1974, Lethbridge Hurricanes, 10-5-15-53 in 64 games.David Cooper, D, 6-foot-1, 190, Nov. 2, 1973, Medicine Hat Tigers, 1231-43-66 in 64 games.Jarrett Deuling, C, 6 feet, 180, March 4,1974, Kamloops Blazers, 4-1216-43 in 48 games.Jeff Jubenville, RW, 6-foot-1, 183, May 2, 1974, Seattle Thunderbirds, 812-20-117 in 63 games.Todd Klassen, RW, 6 feet, 185, April 17, 1974, Tri-City Americans, 6-27-3372 in 67 games.Jason McBain, D, 6-foot-2, 180, April 12, 1974, Lethbridge Hurricanes, 2-7-9-39 in 52 games.Andy McIntyre, LW, 6-foot-1, 180, April 16, 1974, Seattle Thunderbirds, 16-13-29-52 in 71 games.Mike Rathje, D, 6-foot-4, 190, May 11, 1974, Medicine Hat Tigers, 1-16-1728 in 64 games.Kevin Smyth, LW, 6-foot-2, 200, Nov. 22, 1973, Moose Jaw Warriors, 30-45-75-96 in 66 games.Mark Szoke, LW, 5-foot-11, 175, Aug. 12, 1974, Spokane Chiefs, 15-2136-59 in 70 games.Jeff Watchom, C, 6 feet, 190, Sept. 19, 1973, Kamloops Blazers, 14-16-30-79 in 42 games. &#9632;

f0074-01

COMING SOON

<div class="byline">&#x2014;Bob McKenzie</div>It never fails. The further away an entry draft is, the better it looks.And so it is as we glance down the road two years at the prospects emerging for the 1993 NHL entry draft.Pro scouts haven&rsquo;t even begun to legitimately evaluate them, but that doesn&rsquo;t mean they aren&rsquo;t anticipating their arrival either.Here are five reasons why some NHL scouts believe 1993 will yield a bumper crop of blue-chip talent:1. Alexandre Daigle, C, 6 feet, 165 pounds, Feb. 7,1975, Laval midgets (Quebec &lsquo;AAA&rsquo;), 50-60-110-98 in 42 games. He is the first 15-year-old to win the Quebec &lsquo;AAA&rsquo; midget league scoring title and that includes such impressive alumni as Mario Lemieux. Daigle is gifted and feisty.2. Chris Gratton, C, 6-foot-2,185 pounds, July 5, 1975, Brantford Jr. B, 30-30-60-28 in 31 games. Scores and sets up goals equally well, outstanding hockey sense and size make him a prototypical No. 1 offensive center. Another in the long line of Brantford Grattons headed for the OHL.3. Todd Harvey, C, 5-foot-11, 175 pounds, Feb. 17, 1975, Cambridge Jr. B, 32-39-71-174 in 35 games. A smallish center who can be too aggressive at times, he remains an outstanding point producer with excellent leadership qualities.4. Rob Niedermayer, C, 6 feet, 170 pounds, Dec. 28,1974, Medicine Hat Tigers (WHL), 24-26-50-8 in 71 games. The younger brother of Kamloops&rsquo; defenseman and top 1991 prospect Scott Niedermayer. Rob was the youngest player in major junior this season.5. Chris Pronger, D, 6-foot-4,175 pounds, Oct. 10, 1974, Stratford, Ont., Jr. B, 15-37-52-132 in 48 games. A towering blueliner who, if he commits to play major junior, is likely to be the first pick overall in the 1991 Ontario League midget draft. &#9632;

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May 1, 1991

DEFENSE REMAINS PRIME OBJECTIVE

DRAFT PREVIEW ’91

PAGE NOT SECRETIVE ABOUT LINDROS

THE GRASS IS GREENER