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.

June 1, 2001

The Hockey News June 1, 2001

<div class="byline">Brian Costello&nbsp;Draft Preview Editor</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-021250/7652890-1-eng-US/f0005-022.jpg" title="f0005-02" width="331" height="395"></div>It&rsquo;s fitting that in a year when the New Jersey Devils and Colorado Avalanche are in the Stanley Cup final, a study by The Hockey News Draft Preview shows those two powerhouses have the hottest drafting report cards.On each of the 30 NHL team pages in our 16th annual Draft Preview, you&rsquo;ll find a thermometer illustrating how many players drafted since 1990 have gone on to play in the NHL.New Jersey, Colorado and the New York Islanders lead the way with 47 apiece. Chicago brings up the rear at 24. The NHL average for the 21 teams drafting since 1990 is 37.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011775/7652883-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg" title="f0005-01" width="280" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">David Conte</figcaption></div>There are also draft records for the nine expansion teams of the past decade, but their totals are not a true barometer of drafting success because they haven&rsquo;t been selecting since 1990.Every player who has appeared in at least one NHL game qualifies even if it&rsquo;s with a rival team. True, some are stars, some are role players and some just had a cup of coffee in the bigs. But the fact remains, if they made it to the NHL, they at least had a serviceable career in the farm system and were, at one time or another, an asset to the organization.It&rsquo;s no big surprise the Devils and Avalanche take the mercury to the top with 47 NHLers apiece. Colorado has bulked up on draft picks in the past decade. The Avs have had 129 picks since 1990, tied with Montreal for most in the NHL and a dozen more than the next closest team.So, on average, Colorado has one more pick per year than every team save for Montreal. The Avalanche have made them count by assembling the deepest prospect system in the game. Colorado finished first in Future Watch&rsquo;s team ranking of prospects this season and placed in the top five in the NHL five times in the 1990s.The Islanders have done a decent job finding gems in the lottery. Problem is, they can&rsquo;t keep them. Of the 47 prospects they&rsquo;ve selected since 1990 who have played in the NHL, only six are still in the organization. The Devils, on the other hand, have 15 in the system.Moreover, the bumbling Islanders are aided by their poor on-ice results.They&rsquo;ve had 13 draft picks in the top 10 since 1990, including nine in the top five. That&rsquo;s bound to produce NHLers. New Jersey, however, has had just two selections in the top 10. in that span.The Devils, with director of scouting David Conte calling the shots, are widely reput-ed to be the gurus of draft day. The numbers back them up.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s not any sort of secret that we have over other teams,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s confidence in following up on what we believe in. We&rsquo;ve had a lot of continuity over the years and with success (at the draft table) comes support and we have a very supportive GM (Lou Lamoriello).&rdquo;New Jersey&rsquo;s success at the 1990 draft is unprecedented. No fewer than 10 of 14 Devil picks played in the NHL, led by Martin Brodeur (20th). That&rsquo;s like stocking half a team with one draft.&ldquo;I remember that year well,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;With Brodeur 20th and Mike Dunham 53rd, I knew we&rsquo;d be set in goal for quite a while.&ldquo;But you need to be fortuitous as well. Sometimes you have good fortune, sometimes you don&rsquo;t. I remember us getting ready for our first round pick in 1988. It was four picks before us and we were discussing which one of three players we wanted when it was our turn.&ldquo;Jeremy Roenick, Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour and Teemu Selanne were still available. Wouldn&rsquo;t you know it, they went eighth, ninth, 10th.&rdquo;The Devils were snuffed out at that draft. They took Corey Foster 12th. It was an off year.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-03800/7652876-1-eng-US/f0005-032.jpg" title="f0005-03" width="277" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">Teemu Selanne</figcaption></div><h2>2001 First Round Draft Order</h2>1. Atlanta Thrashers2. New York Islanders3. Tampa Bay Lightning4. Florida Panthers5. Anaheim Mighty Ducks6. Minnesota Wild7. Montreal Canadiens8. Columbus Blue Jackets9. Chicago Blackhawks10. New York Rangers11. Calgary Flames12. Nashville Predators13. Boston Bruins114. Phoenix Coyotes15. Carolina Hurricanes16. Vancouver Canucks17. Toronto Maple Leafs18. Los Angeles Kings19. Edmonton Oilers120. San Jose Sharks21. Pittsburgh Penguins22. Buffalo Sabres23. Philadelphia Flyers24. New Jersey Devils225. Montreal Canadians326. Dallas Stars27. Ottawa Senators28. *New Jersey Devils29. *Chicago Blackhawks430. *Los Angeles Kings5FOOTNOTES Listing reflects tentative first round draft order only. Positions for Rounds 2 through 9 appear on team stories which begin on page 32.1. Edmonton has option of flipping with Boston this year or next. 2. From St. Louis to New Jersey for past tampering charge. 3. From Washington to Montreal in Trevor Linden trade. 4. From Detroit to Chicago in Chris Chelios trade. 5. From Colorado to Los Angeles in Rob Blake trade.* Nos. 28 through 30 are dependent upon who wins the Stanley Cup. The Cup winner automatically goes to 30 and bumps everyone down one slot. &#9632;

f0005-02

FEATURES

Successful drafting built Devils, Avs

<div class="byline">By Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-01177/7656382-1-eng-US/f0055-012.jpg" title="f0055-01" width="258" height="258"></div>This has the potential to be Pittsburgh&rsquo;s most interesting draft since it took right winger Jaromir Jagr fifth overall in 1990.-and Jagr might again be a central figure in the proceedings. He has acknowledged he could be traded this summer and draft day is often the time for blockbusters.Jagr would no doubt bring a large return, perhaps including a high draft choice. The Penguins haven&rsquo;t drafted higher than 16th since taking him.The superstar&rsquo;s situation isn&rsquo;t the only uncertainty facing the team. Of the 26 players on Pittsburgh&rsquo;s playoff roster, 19 are free agents of one sort or another. Depending on who stays or goes, some recent draft picks should have a chance to step into the lineup next season.CALLING THE SHOTS GM Craig Patrick has led the Penguins to 11 consecutive playoff appearances. One of his major strengths is allowing the men who work for him to do their jobs.Patrick has the last say on draft day, but his table is a democratic one. Head scout Greg Malone coordinates the Penguins&rsquo; drafts. He&rsquo;ll enter his 11th season with Pittsburgh in 2001-02.DRAFT TENDENCY Under Malone and Patrick, the Penguins stick to a philosophy of drafting the top player on their board as opposed to trying to fill a specific need. Usually, that means a European skill player in the first round, although the selection of 2000 top pick Brooks Orpik, a defenseman from Boston College, broke with tradition.Before that, the Penguins had used four of their five previous first round picks on European forwards. It has been nine years since the Penguins had a first round pick make a big splash in the NHL.IMMEDIATE NEED Size and physicality on defense always seem to be issues, although Orpik should help in this area. The Penguins probably will lose Bob Boughner to unrestricted free agency this summer and Darius Kasparaitis&rsquo; return is no guarantee. He&rsquo;s a restricted free agent and a regular in trade rumors. Those are the team&rsquo;s two most physical defensemen. There aren&rsquo;t a whole lot of hulking, hard hitters in the system, so any new blood in this area would be welcomed.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-02118/7656375-1-eng-US/f0055-022.jpg" title="f0055-02" width="1012" height="1527"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Jaromir Jagr Drafted: fifth overall by Pittsburgh, 1990 (Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED Any budding Hall of Earners out there? The Penguins might lose two of the greatest players in NHLhistory in the next few years. Mario Lemieux&rsquo;s future is unpredictable. He could play anywhere from one to five more years. Jagr might get traded this summer. He can be an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2003. Clearly, the Penguins could use a stud, a high pick who could be part of a trade involving Jagr. If they&rsquo;re able to draft first or second this summer, that player could develop just in time for the opening of a new arena in a few years.READY TO STEP IN Michal Rozsival already has proven he can play in the NHL, but a confidence crisis put him in the minors this season. Rozsival had an outstanding NHL rookie season in 1999-2000, playing 75 games and posting a plus-11 rating, but he hit the wall near the end and was benched for most of the playoffs. This season he made the Penguins out of training camp and was plus-3 in 30 games before getting sent to Wilkes-Barre of the American League. He had 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) in 29 games there and gained valuable playoff experience. He has great lateral movement, but needs more of a mean streak.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Pittsburgh&rsquo;s system: 1. Milan Kraft, C, Wilkes-Barre (AHL); 2. Brooks Orpik, D, Boston College (HE); 3. Konstantin Koltsov, RW, Kazan (Rus.); 4. Sebastien Caron, G, Wilkes-Barre (AHL); 5. Josef Melichar, D, Wilkes-Barre (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS J-S Aubin, G, 23; Rene Corbet, LW, 27; Johan Hedberg, G, 28; Jan Hrdina, C, 25; Hans Jonsson, D, 27; Darius Kasparaitis, D, 28; Alexei Kovalev, RW, 28; Dan LaCouture, LW, 24; Robert Lang, C, 30; Steve McKenna, LW, 27; Ian Moran, D, 28; Aleksey Morozov, RW, 24; Wayne Primeau, C, 24; Martin Straka, LW, 28.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Josef Beranek, LW, 31; Marc Bergevin, D, 35; Bob Boughner, D, 30; Garth Snow, G, 31; Kevin Stevens, LW, 36.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0380/7656368-1-eng-US/f0055-032.jpg" title="f0055-03" width="772" height="1835"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0454/7656361-1-eng-US/f0055-042.jpg" title="f0055-04" width="699" height="175"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0055-0536/7656354-1-eng-US/f0055-052.jpg" title="f0055-05" width="150" height="200"></div>Chosen: 15th overallStrong minor pro forward failed to make big impact with Pens over parts of four seasons before finishing NHL career with California. &#9632;

f0055-01

NHL TEAMS

Blockbuster in the works?

<div class="byline">By Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-01142/7656441-1-eng-US/f0056-012.jpg" title="f0056-01" width="266" height="213"></div>When the St. Louis Blues hired Larry Pleau as GM in 1997, his mission was to collect players in the New Jersey mold of drafting and player development.The strategy has been paid dividends to date. Seven players on the Blues&rsquo; Western Conference final roster were either drafted by the Blues, or matriculated with their minor pro farm team in Worcester.Jamal Mayers, Jochen Hecht, Alexander Khavanov, Marty Reasoner and Dan Corso were Blues&rsquo; draftees, while Bryce Salvador, Brett Johnson and Tyson Nash gained valuable experience in the American League.In addition, Pleau had enough young talent in the minors to deal at the trade deadline to position the team for a Stanley Cup run that fell one round short. The Blues acquired Keith Tkachuk for Michal Handzus, Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe and a first round pick. Pleau also sent prospect David Morisset to Florida for Scott Mellanby and dealt defenseman Peter Smrek to the New York Rangers for Alexei Gusarov.CALLING THE SHOTS Director of scouting Ted Hampson has been the Blues&rsquo; boss at the draft table since 1984. For most of his tenure, he has endured the management philosophy of trading young players and draft picks for immediate help.Hampson has had as many No. 1 picks in the last five years as he had in the previous 12: Four. Hampson and his staff have specialized in finding gems in the mid-to-late rounds. Defenseman Alexander Khavanov, the Blues&rsquo; No. 3 defenseman this year, was the 232nd pick two years ago. Hampson has also drafted solid NHLers such as Bret Hedican (198th overall, 1988) and Mike Grier (219th, 1993) in the late rounds.DRAFT TENDENCY As opposed to the early years of Hampson&rsquo;s tenure when the organization drafted college-bound players to cut development costs, the Blues in the Pleau era focus on selecting junior-aged players with an eye toward positioning them in the minors when their junior eligibility expires. They still draft some collegians in the later rounds, but are just as apt to select an older player from Europe who could either step directly into the NHL or need no more than one season in the minors before joining St. Louis.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0297/7656434-1-eng-US/f0056-022.jpg" title="f0056-02" width="1027" height="1541"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Pierre Turgeon Drafted: first overall by Buffalo, 1987 (BBS)</figcaption></div>IMMEDIATE NEED The Blues unloaded much of their young depth at forward to get Tkachuk and Mellanby giving up a total of four forwards in the two deals. They replenished the stock somewhat by signing free agents Robert Davis, Jeff Panzer and Blake Evans, but the organization&rsquo;s depth chart is still thin up front.It&rsquo;s especially important that the Blues add depth up the middle. Late in the playoffs, they used basically three natural centers in Pierre Turgeon, Marty Reasoner and Mike Eastwood, with either wingers Jochen Hecht or Jamal Mayers playing out of position. The Blues have several young promising defensemen in Mike Van Ryn, Barret Jackman, Christian Backman, Dale Clarke, Matt Walker, Jaroslav Obsut and Jan Horacek.LONG-TERM NEED St. Louis needs some depth in the crease. If the Blues don&rsquo;t pick up Roman Turek&rsquo;s option, their No. 1 goalie will be rookie Brent Johnson, who has all of one playoff game under his belt. Their only other goalie under contract is Cody Rudkowsky, who backed up veteran Dwayne Roloson in Worcester this season.READY TO STEP IN Jackman, the Blues&rsquo; No. 1 pick (17th overall) in 1999, nearly made the club out of training camp two seasons ago. He might have made it this year, but a broken finger sidelined him for much of camp and he was sent back to the Western League&rsquo;s Regina Pats.The Blues love Jackman&rsquo;s poise and intensity. He makes smart, direct passes and has the patience that is so crucial to the Blues&rsquo; puck-control system.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS 1. Barret Jackman, D, Regina (WHL); 2. Mike Van Ryn, D, Worcester (AHL); 3. Daniel Corso, C, Worcester (AHL); 4. Dale Clarke, D, Worcester (AHL); 5. Cody Rudkowsky, G, Worcester (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Lubos Bartecko, LW, 24; Daniel Corso, C, 23; Pavol Demitra, RW, 26; Jochen Hecht, LW, 21; Cory Stillman, LW, 27; Keith Tkachuk, LW, 29; Marty Reasoner, C, 24; Pascal Rheaume, LW, 21.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Pierre Turgeon, C, 31; Scott Mellanby, RW, 35.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0353/7656427-1-eng-US/f0056-032.jpg" title="f0056-03" width="786" height="1856"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0443/7656420-1-eng-US/f0056-042.jpg" title="f0056-04" width="731" height="183"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0056-0530/7656413-1-eng-US/f0056-052.jpg" title="f0056-05" width="157" height="201"></div>Chosen: 19th overallDrafted out of Montreal&rsquo;s Loyola University, the left winger played just one minor pro season with the Blues&rsquo; affiliate in Kansas City. &#9632;

f0056-01

St. Louis to stay the course

An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-03516/7655238-1-eng-US/f0038-032.jpg" title="f0038-03" width="782" height="1852"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-04404/7655231-1-eng-US/f0038-042.jpg" title="f0038-04" width="708" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-05316/7655224-1-eng-US/f0038-052.jpg" title="f0038-05" width="158" height="201"></div>Chosen: 13th overall Winger spent entire 10-year NHL career with the Hawks, topping out at 15 goals on four separate occasions. &#9632;

f0038-03

DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011849/7652797-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Two of 2001 &lsquo;s top draft prospects meet face-to-face at the World Junior Championship in Moscow as Canada&rsquo;s Jason Spezza fires on Russian goalie Andrei Medvedev.</figcaption></div><h2>Your Essential Draft Guide</h2>This is your guide to the 2001 Draft Odyssey, two days in Sunrise, Fla., (June 23-24) when the NHL gathers to choose its next generation of players. The 16th annual Draft Preview special issue provides an exclusive ranking that reflects consensus NHL team thinking on the Hot 100 Prospects entering the draft. The Hockey News&rsquo; list was compiled by Editor-in-Chief Steve Dryden. &#9632;

f0003-01

IN THIS ISSUE

draft 2001 preview

Weather warning: A little draft will sweep through Florida in late June.The NHL will descend upon South Florida for the annual entry draft June 2324. For the second consecutive year, the event is to be held over two days. The first three rounds are at the National Car Rental Center beginning at noon (EST) Saturday, June 23. Doors open at 10 a.m. and the event is free to the public. The final six rounds take place at the Panthers&rsquo; practice facility June 24 beginning at 9 a.m.Internet Real-time updates of selections will be available on <a href="http://NHL.com">.</a> Also available will be behind-the-scenes video and interviews throughout the entire proceedings. Check <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> for up-to-the-minute coverage of the first three rounds complete with bios of players picked in the first two rounds.Ask the Draft Guru E-mail any questions you have regarding the draft to THN&rsquo;s senior writer Mike Brophy at <a href="mailto:brophym@transcontinental.ca">brophym@transcontinental.ca</a> by June 15. Answers to selected questions will then be posted on <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> on June 22.Television Day 1 coverage on Sportsnet in Canada goes from noon to 3 p.m. (EST). ESPN2 in the United States will have coverage from noon to 2:30 p.m. RDS will show highlights of the first round in prime time from 8-10 p.m. &#9632;

It’s summertime in Florida…so why is everybody going to the rink?

Welcome to our 16th annual Draft Preview. Below is all the information you need to understand the statistics in this special issue.The following legend lists abbreviations for statistics and leagues that are found in player prospect and update sections as well as the Central Scouting Service listing.Special notes: European players are identified by team and country or level of hockey. Europeans playing in divisions below the elite leagues are denoted with a .2 or .3. American high school players are identified by USHS. Other abbreviations are: bantam (Ban.), midget (Mid.), junior (Jr., Jr. A or Jr. B), independent (Ind.), USA Hockey national under-17 (U17) or under-18 programs (U18), World Junior Championship (WJC), Four Nations tournament (4-Nat.), Five Nations tournament (5-Nat.), World Under-18 tournament (WU18). Capdela-Madeleine is shortened to Madeleine.<h2>STATISTICS</h2>LEA-league; GP-games played; G-goals; A-assists; P-points; PIM-penalty minutes; W-L-T-wins-losses-ties; MIN-minutes; GA-goals against; SV%-save percentage; SO-shutouts; GAA-goals-against average.<h2>MINOR PRO</h2>American League (AHL): Albany. Cincinnati, Hamilton, Hartford, Hershey, Kentucky, Louisville, Lowell, Norfolk, Philadelphia, Portland, Providence, Quebec, Rochester, Saint John, St. John&rsquo;s, Springfield, Syracuse, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Worcester.International League (IHL): Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Houston, Kansas City, Manitoba, Milwaukee, Orlando, Utah.<h2>MAJOR JUNIOR</h2>Ontario League (OHL): Barrie, Belleville, Brampton, Erie, Guelph, Kingston, Kitchener, London, Mississauga, North Bay, Oshawa, Ottawa, Owen Sound, Peterborough, Plymouth, Toronto St. Michael&rsquo;s, Sarnia, Sault Ste. Marie. Sudbury, Windsor.Quebec League (QMJHL): Acadie-Bathurst, Baie-Comeau, Cape Breton, Chicoutimi, Drummondville, Halifax, Hull, Moncton, Montreal, Quebec, Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Shawinigan, Sherbrooke, Val d&rsquo;Or, Victoriaville.Western League (WHL): Brandon, Calgary, Kamloops, Kelowna, Kootenay, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Moose Jaw, Portland, Prince Albert, Prince George, Red Deer, Regina, Saskatoon, Seattle, Spokane, Swift Current, Tri-City.<h2>JUNIOR</h2>Alberta Junior League (AJHL), British Columbia League (BCHL), Central Junior League (CJHL), United States League (USHL), Eastern Junior League (EJHL), North American League (NAHL), Western Ontario Junior B League (WOJHL).<h2>U.S. COLLEGE</h2>Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA): Alaska-Fairbanks, Bowling Green, Ferris State, Lake Superior. Miami, Michigan, Michigan State. Northern Michigan. Nebraska-Omaha, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Western Michigan.Eastern College Athletic Association (ECAC): Brown, Clarkson, Colgate, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Renssalaer, St. Lawrence, Union, Vermont, Yale.Hockey East (HE): Boston College. Boston University. UMass.-Amherst, UMass.-Lowell, Maine, Merrimack. New Hampshire, Northeastern, Providence.Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA): Alaska-Anchorage, Colorado College, Denver, Michigan Tech, Minnesota, Minnesota-Duluth, Minnesota State-Mankato, North Dakota, St. Cloud, Wisconsin.<h2>EUROPE</h2>Czech Republic (Cze.), Finland (Fin.), Germany (Ger.), Kazakhstan (Kaz.), Latvia (Lat.), Norway (Nor.), Russia (Rus.), Slovakia (Slo.), Sweden (Swe.), Switzerland (Swi.), Ukraine (Ukr.). &#9632;

Your guide to players, teams, leagues, numbers and more numbers

<div class="byline">By Alan Adams</div>1 Somehow it seems right that Ilya Kovalchuk has been seen tearing around Moscow in his own car the last couple of months.Driving in the Russian capital is truly an unfiltered experience. There are poor roads, inadequate signage, low-quality fuel and a cutthroat, lane-changing attitude which makes North American road rage seem like a serene Sunday afternoon drive.When he&rsquo;s on the ice, Kovalchuk runs roughshod over his opponents just like he was late heading to the Moscow Spartak arena for a practice. He&rsquo;s big (6-foot-2,207 pounds), tough and a stickhandling wizard. You can&rsquo;t help but notice him because it seems he always has the puck. He has the potential to be an NHL superstar, along the lines of a Pavel Bure, and has been tabbed as being &ldquo;special,&rdquo; the type of prospect that only comes along every few years, like Vincent Lecavalier (1998) and Joe Thornton (1997) in recent drafts.Kovalchuk is heads and shoulders above the rest of the 2001 pack. The NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service pegs him as the top-rated European and THN&rsquo;s Draft Preview ranks him No. 1 on the Hot 100 listing of prospects. (See table below.)&ldquo;Kovalchuk will go over you, around you, through you and he&rsquo;ll cross-check you,&rdquo; said Calgary Flames&rsquo; GM Craig Button. &ldquo;He has that fiery determination.&rdquo;But the fact Kovalchuk has his own wheels as an 18-year-old in a country where policemen make $25 (U.S.) a week and Survivor is a game millions play daily makes you wonder whether too much has been handed to him too soon.This is where the Bure comparison comes in. There&rsquo;s no doubt there&rsquo;s a certain amount of emotional and psychological maintenance that comes with the Russian Rocket and people wonder whether Kovalchuk is cut from the same cloth.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very strong and aggressive and he&rsquo;s focussed when he plays, but he&rsquo;s a typical modern hockey player,&rdquo; said Igor Tuzik, Russia&rsquo;s GM at the 2001 World Championship in Germany. &ldquo;He thinks of himself more than the team. That&rsquo;s what we call a modern player. He was born in Russia and he was developed in Russia, but he plays a more Canadian style, very individualistic. He&rsquo;s a modern Russian player.&rdquo;The feeling in NHL circles is there is absolutely no doubt Kovalchuk is the top pick by a wide margin. There&rsquo;s also near-unanimous agreement he seems to be a natural-born coach-killer and the player most likely to be hated by his teammates. Kovalchuk could go through three coaches and three GMs before either he figures things out for himself or someone straightens him out. He can be a storm cloud as much as he is a lightning strike on offense.&ldquo;We talk about players not having enough temperament and we talk about will he ever have the temperament and now we are talking about a guy who has temperament and we are saying he has too much,&rdquo; Button said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re never satisfied. I think a lot of maturing will go on in the next few years. I think a big part will be how he&rsquo;s handled.&rdquo;But the bottom line is this: Young players have to learn and if the Atlanta Thrashers think Kovalchuk&rsquo;s heart is in the right place, all they can do is hope he matures and becomes the franchise player he&rsquo;s projected to be. Atlanta GM Don Waddell isn&rsquo;t the least bit concerned about the wunderkind&rsquo;s temperament.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-011979/7652952-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="716" height="934"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ilya Kovalchuk has size, speed and attitude.</figcaption></div>&ldquo;I would much rather have a player who plays with his emotion and his desire to succeed,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s easier to pull those guys back than it is to instill that in someone. It doesn&rsquo;t happen. I have spent some time with this kid and he&rsquo;s a good kid.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s no doubt Kovalchuk has everything a team would want. His explosive skating has been compared to the likes of Bure. He&rsquo;s a fierce competitor who does not hesitate to get involved physically He led his team, Spartak, in penalty minutes this season with 98.&ldquo;One-on-one he can be pretty dazzling,&rdquo; said Mark Kelley, Pittsburgh&rsquo;s European scout.&ldquo;When he plays for Spartak, by the end of the period, by the end of he game, even his teammates are up off the bench watching. Guys on the other team get up and watch him and he&rsquo;s only 18.&rdquo;But first things first. Waddell has a &lsquo;For Sale&rsquo; sign up for the coveted No. 1 pick and he wants a young goalie along with a top prospect in return.&ldquo;It will go right down to the moments before the draft,&rdquo; Waddell said.Kovalchuk was born in Krasnoyarsk (near Moscow) and when he was five his father enrolled him in hockey school; in hindsight, it was a great decision.Kovalchuk played his first hockey with HC Tver, the farm team of Moscow Dynamo, but transferred to Moscow Spartak in the Second Division, where he flourished under Spartak&rsquo;s offensive style.He scored 70 goals in league, exhibition and tournament play in 1999-2000. NHL scouts took notice of him at the World Under-17 tournament in January of 2000 in Timmins, Ont., where he scored 10 goals and had 14 points in six games. The Hockey Hall of Fame asked for one of his sticks after that performance.Kovalchuk suffered a slow start to the 2000-01 season and had a lackluster performance at the World Junior Championship (four goals and six points in seven games), but went on a tear in the second half of the season with 25 goals and 43 points in the final 39 games. Overall, he finished &bull; third in team scoring with 35 goals and 56 points-and was plus-34-in 47 games.But it was at the World Under-18 Championship in April in Finland where Kovalchuk dominated and left scouts drooling. He scored 11 goals and finished with 15 points in six games.Russian hockey writer Igor Rabiner, who watched Kovalchuk play in a relegation round-robin between the top teams in the Second Division and the Superleague basement-dwellers, reported the youngster has &ldquo;the speed and drive of Pavel Bure, the enthusiasm of a young Valeri Kamensky, the stickhandling skills of (legendary Russian) Alexander Maltsev and the strength and courage of Phil Esposito.&rdquo;Even former Soviet national team coach Viktor Tikhonov was impressed, saying, &ldquo;He must work much more, but the raw material is there. Somebody says Kovalchuk doesn&rsquo;t pass enough, but you also could say that about Pavel Bure&hellip;what&rsquo;s important now is that a (young) lad learns to manage himself when he&rsquo;s in the limelight.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-011794/7652945-1-eng-US/f0007-012.jpg" title="f0007-01" width="3085" height="1839"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ilya Kovalchuk&rsquo;s temperament has been debated, but there&rsquo;s no question the super-skilled Russian is a lock to be the first overall pick in this year&rsquo;s NHL draft in Sunrise, Fla., June 23-24.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0006-01

HOT 100 PROSPECTS

‘Fiery’ Kovalchuk rockets to No. 1

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0007-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0007-021183/7652983-1-eng-US/f0007-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Two-way forward Jiri Novotny is the nth-rated prospect. (Top & Bottom:IHA)</figcaption></div>1. Ilya KovalchukLW, Spartak, Russia2. Jason SpezzaC, Windsor, OHL3. Stanislav ChistovRW, Omsk, Russia4. Alexander SvitovC, Omsk, Russia5. Stephen WeissC, Plymouth, OHL6. Dan BlackburnG, Kootenay, WHL7. Fredrik SjostromRW, Frolunda, Sweden8. Mikko KoivuC, TPS Turku, Finland9. Pascal LeclaireG, Halifax, QMJHL10. Mike KomisarekD, Michigan, CCHA11. Tuomo RuutuC, Jokerit, Finland12. Dan HamhuisD, Prince George, WHL13. Carlo ColaiacovoD, Erie, OHL14. RJ. UmbergerC, Ohio State, CCHA15. Jeff WoywitkaD, Red Deer, WHL16. Colby ArmstrongRW, Red Deer, WHL17. Jiri NovotnyC, Budejovice, Czech18. Tim GleasonD, Windsor, 0HL19. Mark PopovicD, St. Michael&rsquo;s, OHL20. Igor KnyazevD, Spartak, Russia21. Lukas KrajicekD, Peterborough, OHL22. Ales HemskyRW, Hull, QMJHL23. Chuck KobasewRW, Boston College, HE24. Alexander PerezhoginLW, Omsk 2, Russia25. Alexander PolushinRW, Tver, Russia26. Fedor TyutinD, St. Petersburg., Rus.27. Duncan MilroyRW, Swift Current, WHL28. Jens KarlssonRW, Frolunda, Sweden29. David SteckelC, Ohio State, CCHA30. Greg WatsonC, Prince Albert, WHL31. Doug LynchD, Red Deer, WHL32. Jay HarrisonD, Brampton, OHL33. Kiel McLeodC, Kelowna, WHL34. Tim JackmanRW, MSU-Mankato, WCHA35. Timofei ShishkanovLW, Spartak, Russia36. Chris ThorburnC, North Bay, OHL37. Andrei MedvedevG, Spartak, Russia38. Martin PodlesakC, Lethbridge, WHL39. Evgeni ArtyukhinRW, Podolsk, Russia40. Cory StillmanC, Kingston, OHL41. Marcel GocC, Schwenninger., Ger.42. Jay McClementC, Brampton, OHL43. Brendan BellD, Ottawa, OHL44. Matthew SpillerD, Seattle, WHL45. Eddie CaronC, Phillips-Exeter, USHS46. Yared HagosC, AIK Jr., Sweden47. Shaone MorrisonnD, Kamloops, WHL48. Aaron JohnsonD, Rimouski, QMJHL49. Andrei TaratukhinC, Omsk 2, Russia50. Egor ShastinLW, Omsk, Russia51. Nathan PaetschD, Moose Jaw, WHL52. Vladimir KorsunovD, Spartak, Russia53. Igor PohankaC, Prince Albert, WHL54. Michael GarnettG, Saskatoon, WHL55. Viktor UchevatovD, Yaroslavl 2, Russia56. Tomas MalecD, Rimouski, QMJHL57. Colt KingLW, Guelph, OHL58. Drew FataD, St. Michael&rsquo;s, OHL59. Derek RoyC, Kitchener, OHL60. Jason BacashihuaG, Chicago, NAHL61. Matt KeithRW, Spokane, WHL62. Igor GrigorenkoRW, Samara, Russia63. Joel SteppC, Red Deer, WHL64. Tuomas PihlmanRW, Jyvaskyla, Finland65. Adam MunroG, Erie, OHL66. Jeff LuckyRW, Spokane, WHL67. Chris HeidSpokane, WHL68. Daniel BoisclairG, Cape Breton, QMJHL69. Jason PominvilleRW, Shawinigan, QMJHL70. Tomas DubaG, Sparta Jr., Czech71. Darren McLachlanLW, Seattle, WHL72. Tomas SlovakD, Kosice, Slovakia73. Mike CammalleriC, Michigan, CCHA74. Garth MurrayC, Regina, WHL75. Brent MacLellanD, Rimouski, QMJHL76. Noah WelchD, St. Sebastian&rsquo;s, USHS77. Drew MacIntyreG, Sherbrooke, QMJHL78. Andreas HolmqvistD, Hammarby, Sweden79. Jordin TootooRW, Brandon, WHL80. Robin LeblancRW, B. Comeau, QMJHL81. Jiri JakesRW, Brandon, WHL82. Cole JarrettD, Plymouth, OHL83. Anthony AquinoRW, Merrimack, HE84. Shawn CollymoreRW, Quebec, QMJHL85. Grant McNeillD, Prince Albert, WHL86. Johan AguD, MoDo Jr., Sweden87. Paul LynchD, Valley Jr., EJHL88. Beat Schiess-ForsterD, Davos Jr., Switz.89. Peter BudajG, St. Michael&rsquo;s, OHL90. Tomas PlekanecRW, Kladno, Czech91. Henrik JuntunenLW, Oulu Jr,, Finland92. Brandon NolanC, Oshawa, OHL93. Artem TernavskiD, Sherbrooke, QMJHL94. Tomas PlihalRW, Liberec Jr., Czech95. Oliver SetzingerC, Ilves Jr., Finland96. Tuomas NissinenG, Kuopio Jr., Finland97. Tommi JaminkiLW, Espoo Jr., Fin I an d98. Severin BlindenbacherD, Kloten, Switz.99. Petr PuncocharD, Karlovy Jr., Czech100. Petr DorninC, Karlovy Jr., Czech &#9632;

f0007-02

THN’S HOT 100

<div class="byline">By Bob Duff</div>2 From the moment Jason Spezza arrived in Windsor, his teammates were amazed at how seamlessly he fit in, astonished by his creativity, the unique fashion through which he combined all sorts of meats and vegetables, regardless of taste or caloric content.Tuesday was pita night for the Spitfires, when players assembled all sorts of gas-tronomic concoctions for filling a pocket. Slicing and dicing, Spezza proved as skillful at making things happen with a spatula as he is with a hockey stick.&ldquo;You&rsquo;d think he&rsquo;d be this cocky guy, you know, &lsquo;I&rsquo;ve got the world by the hand,&rsquo; but he&rsquo;s really down to earth,&rdquo; said teammate Steve Ott of Spezza, the top-rated North American prospect for the NHL entry draft according to the league&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service, and No. 2 on THN&rsquo;s Hot 100.&ldquo;He likes to be with the boys, a real team guy. It&rsquo;s rare not to see him with that smile on his face. It&rsquo;s good to have a guy on your team who enjoys life that much.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-011871/7653014-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="468" height="574"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Spezza</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s also good to have a guy on your team who can bring so much to the table-and we&rsquo;re not just talking slicing and dicing. That said, NHL teams seeking to fill their order for a future superstar face a difficult decision on draft day Do they go for Spezza, the creative center, or bigtime scoring left winger Ilya Kovalchuk, the top-rated European prospect?&ldquo;Offensively, Spezza is a very creative player who knows how to dish the puck off and has great instincts,&rdquo; said Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; GM Don Waddell, winner of the NHL draft lottery &ldquo;Kovalchuk is a much more individual player, but he has the best individual skills in the draft.&rdquo;Waddell is said to be leaning towards Kovalchuk, Draft Preview&rsquo;s No. 1-rated prospect whom NHL executives feel is more ready to make an instant impact.&ldquo;If it were my choice, I&rsquo;d take Kovalchuk,&rdquo; suggested one NHL GM. &ldquo;The kid&rsquo;s a nut-he&rsquo;ll throw his arms up in the air in disgust if you don&rsquo;t put the pass on his tape-but he&rsquo;s a tremendous talent.&rdquo;Checking the menu, scouts see in Spezza superior puck skills, a tremendous talent for beating players 1-on-l, an unparalleled vision of the ice, a powerful shot and the ability to turn those around him into better players. All that in a 6-foot-2,214-pound package.&ldquo;He has great vision,&rdquo; said Windsor coach Tom Webster, who inherited Spezza following a November trade with Mississauga. &ldquo;He passes the puck hard and the majority of the time, it&rsquo;s right on the stick. From there, he&rsquo;s looking to go to the holes and get it back.&rdquo;On the flip side, scouts also see someone requiring more consistent intensity, sounder defensive skills and stronger skating. An ordinary effort in the second round of the Ontario League playoffs is proof Spezza still has some work to do. He managed just two goals and three points as the Spitfires were swept by Plymouth and he was outplayed in the series by Whalers&rsquo; center Stephen Weiss, the fifth-ranked prospect in Draft Preview.&ldquo;If you look at Stephen Weiss, his game is more NHL-ready at this point in time,&rdquo; said one scout.&ldquo;Spezza&rsquo;s work ethic isn&rsquo;t at an NHL level, but if you look at it over the long term, Spezza&rsquo;s upside is tremendous. He&rsquo;s the guy you&rsquo;ll want on your team three years from now.&rdquo;Spezza, who had 43 goals and 116 points in 56 games for Windsor and Mississauga, acknowledges he&rsquo;s a work in progress, but sees evidence of progression.&ldquo;Going to the prospects game was good for me,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;When they did the skills testing, I finished in the top 10 in pretty much every category. I think I moved some people to my side of the battle.&rdquo;There&rsquo;s still plenty of work ahead for Spezza, but, as one scout said: &ldquo;If you take your time with this kid, in a few years, you&rsquo;re going to be very happy.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

Spezza has offensive tools, but defense skills lacking

<div class="byline">By Alan Adams</div>3 Scouts like to joke that when they see someone as small, but as magical as left winger Stanislav Chistov, they want to meet the parents to see whether there might be a major growth spurt.But there&rsquo;s virtually no chance the supremely skilled Chistov will get much taller. At 5-foot-9, the 169-pound dynamo is already the giant, of the family.And while he may be one of the smallest players in the draft, he&rsquo;s also one of the top prospects, if not the best pure talent available in the class of 2001. The NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service rates him No. 3 among European skaters and he&rsquo;s third on THN&rsquo;s Hot 100.Some scouts call him the Russian Paul Kariya, while other bloodhounds feel he&rsquo;s a notch above Sergei Samsonov. Maybe he&rsquo;s a mix of the two&hellip;and try to find an NHL GM who wouldn&rsquo;t want a hybrid of these aforementioned stars.Igor Tuzik, the GM of Russia&rsquo;s entry at the World Championship in Germany, took the hyperbole one step further. He said the way his teenaged countryman handles the puck reminds him of Wayne Gretzky, as well as Russian legends Boris Mikhailov and Valeri Kharlamov, who is considered one of the greatest Soviets ever.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021408/7653045-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="466" height="572"><figcaption class="caption-body">Stanislav Chistov</figcaption></div>&ldquo;He (Chistov) has a good hockey mind,&rdquo; Tuzik said. &ldquo;Good players use their minds and he has a good feel for the game. Nobody can question his character and it should not matter that he isn&rsquo;t the biggest guy on the ice. He just has a great mind for hockey&rdquo;Chistov has exceptional puck control and is very creative when he kicks his game into high gear and goes on the attack. He has an immense array of offensive skills, the instincts of a marksman and is as competitive as they come.&ldquo;He has great, great hands and outstanding vision,&rdquo; said Anaheim GM Pierre Gauthier after he saw the Russian light up the world under-18 championship in Finland in early April. &ldquo;He has great lateral movement, which creates tons of great scoring chances. But he is small and the way he plays, he&rsquo;ll have to adapt because he cuts through the middle.&rdquo;Since nobody will argue whether Chistov has the skill to prosper in the NHL, the issue of who picks him might come down to this: Does the team which has the first crack at him have enough big bodies to support the pint-sized prospect?Tampa Bay, for example, picks third, but the Lightning already have a few undersized players, including 5-foot-9 wingers Alex Kharitonov and Martin St. Louis.Chistov, who is from Chelyabinsk, one of Russia&rsquo;s true hockey hotbeds, took an unorthodox route to get to where he is today. He decided at eight that he wanted to be a hockey player and four years later, with the approval of his parents, he moved to Magnitogorsk to further his career.Two years later, while on a tour of California, he accepted an invitation from a club team owner to remain behind when the Russians returned home. Later, he played Jr. A in Ontario, but he was homesick and returned to Russia after the season ended.It was on the world stage where he turned heads. He led Russia&rsquo;s under-18 team to a gold medal at the Five Nations Tournament last November in Salt Lake City. Chistov was named the tournament MVP and had seven goals and 12 points in four games. He played for Russia at the World Junior Championship in December and his offensive capabilities came through in the form of five goals, plus another in a shootout.Then at the world under-18 championship, he had four goals and six points in six games.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a great player and he reminds me of Samsonov,&rdquo; said Detroit GM Ken Holland. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s not as flashy, but he&rsquo;s every bit as effective and dangerous.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-02

Little Chistov could make huge impression at draft

f0009-01

Trade winds & draft collide

Centers and defensemen are dominant on THN&rsquo;s Top 60 draft prospect list. A breakdown by nationality, right, shows Canada is still tops.<h2>Breakdown by Position</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1372/7654388-1-eng-US/f0024-132.jpg" title="f0024-13" width="654" height="348"></div>Canada&rsquo;s results in recent international play might be disappointing, but the motherland of hockey continues to be the major source of quality talent for the NHL.Twenty-seven of the top 60 prospects (45 per cent) in THN&rsquo;s Draft Preview are Canadian, most of them playing in the Canadian Hockey League. Russia is second with 13 (22 per cent).Twelve of the 13 Russians come from the country&rsquo;s outstanding under-18 national team, which won every competition it entered this season, including the World Championship in Finland in April.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1463/7654381-1-eng-US/f0024-142.jpg" title="f0024-14" width="316" height="154"></div>Scouts say it is probably the best national under-18 squad ever assembled.But David Conte, director of scouting for the New Jersey Devils, said it&rsquo;s not wise to get too nationalistic about breaking down the list of draft prospects.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s reasonable to assume only about 30 of (the top 60 prospects) are going to play in the NHL,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Ten years from now there&rsquo;ll be 10 players you don&rsquo;t have on your list who will be playing.&ldquo;What you&rsquo;re doing is going into the sixth grade and trying to tell me who&rsquo;s going to be the best doctor.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s a big year for centers and defensemen, with 20 each making THN&rsquo;s top 60. There are 10 right wingers, five left wingers and five goalies in THN&rsquo;s top 60.<h2>Breakdown by Nationality</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-1555/7654374-1-eng-US/f0024-152.jpg" title="f0024-15" width="655" height="568"></div> &#9632;

f0024-13

Canada still No. 1 talent producer, but draft an international affair

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-13128/7654419-1-eng-US/f0026-132.jpg" title="f0026-13" width="336" height="446"><figcaption class="caption-body">Theoren Fleury</figcaption></div>Just because a team fails to come to contract terms with its first round draft choice doesn&rsquo;t mean it will walk away empty-handed.In such cases, those teams are eligible for compensatory picks, as are some teams that lose Group III (unrestricted) free agents.Teams have one year to make a qualifying offer to their first round pick and two years to sign the player. If they are unable to sign them and the player re-enters the draft, the team is assigned an additional pick in the next entry draft at the same number position it originally chose the player, except that the awarded pick comes in the second round. In last year&rsquo;s draft, three teams-the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils-were given compensatory picks because they were unable to sign their first-rounders from 1998.The Isles were awarded the 39th pick after not signing Michael Rupp; the Sens the 45th pick because they couldn&rsquo;t sign Mathieu Chouinard (they re drafted him with the pick and came to terms) and the Devils the 56th pick because they couldn&rsquo;t hammer out a deal with Mike Van Ryn.As well, some teams that lose unrestricted free agents are awarded compensatory draft choices. Compensatory picks for the loss of free agents can be awarded in any round of the draft.Unrestricted free agents are assigned a point value based on a range of factors, including salary, production, age, experience, all-star games, if they are a team captain, etc. The more &ldquo;points&rdquo; a player amasses, the higher the compensatory pick.If a team loses an unrestricted free agent, but signs one of equal or similar value, it is not eligible for compensation. If, however, a team loses an unrestricted free agent and doesn&rsquo;t sign another, it gets an extra pick.The NHL&rsquo;s Central Registry decides which teams are eligible for compensatory picks; this year&rsquo;s announcement will be made after the NHL awards are handed out June. 14. Last year a total of 19 compensatory picks were awarded to teams that lost unrestricted free agents. The highest, 50th overall, went to Colorado, which didn&rsquo;t resign Theoren Fleury after the 1998-99 season. &#9632;

f0026-13

Compensatory picks ease pain of contract impasses and free agent exits

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div>Of all the strengths of Kootenay Ice netminder Dan Blackburn-his quickness, his mobility, his willingness to challenge shooters-the one people always come back to is his unshakable concentration. To hear them talk, the 6-foot-2,177-pounder is a heavyweight champ of mental toughness.&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t get rattled,&rdquo; Central Scouting Service director Frank Bonello said emphatically.&ldquo;His mental preparation for games and practices,&rdquo; said Kootenay coach Ryan McGill, &ldquo;is something you just don&rsquo;t see in young goalies.&rdquo;Mike Comrie certainly had never seen anything quite like this: Blackburn, in a trance-like state, acting out his saves in the dressing room before games.&ldquo;The first time I saw him,&rdquo; said Comrie, the Edmonton Oilers&rsquo; center who played the first half of the season in Kootenay, &ldquo;I was kind of wondering what he was doing.&rdquo;Blackburn is THN&rsquo;s sixth-ranked prospect for the entry draft and the top-rated goalie, a potential franchise stopper in the making. The Central Scouting Bureau lists him as the second-ranked goalie in the draft behind Pascal Leclaire of the Halifax Mooseheads. THN has Leclaire ranked ninth overall, No. 2 in net.Blackburn, born in Montreal, but raised in Canmore, Alta., posted a 33-14-2 record, 2.77 goals-against average and .907 save percentage this season while battling through two groin injuries. The Ice fell to Swift Current in the first round of the Western League playoffs. &ldquo;It wasn&rsquo;t because of him we lost,&rdquo; McGill said. &ldquo;I thought he had a great year.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011028/7654450-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="740" height="563"><figcaption class="caption-body">Dan Blackburn learned early how to relax.</figcaption></div>In 1999-2000, Blackburn was the WHL&rsquo;s rookie of the year. He was named playoff MVP as a 16-year-old who led Kootenay to the league title and a berth in the Memorial Cup.Some players might learn to concentrate with such earnestness only after their pro careers fall upon hard times. Blackburn, who turned 18 May 20, is a grizzled veteran of the head games. Turns out at 12 he was fortunate to have a mother who was seeking a way to cope with her own high stress job-high school teacher for troubled kids-and found it in yoga-style relaxation techniques.Blackburn said he &ldquo;just kind of picked it up,&rdquo; and here he is six years later, on the cusp of stardom.To say that nothing bothers Blackburn is not to give him enough credit. He starts putting on his game face 15 minutes before he leaves for the rink. He goes through the same routine every time-relaxation techniques, visualization, imagining himself in game situations making all the saves.&ldquo;If he&rsquo;s not playing you can have a conversation with him,&rdquo; Comrie said. &ldquo;If he&rsquo;s going to be playing that night, you don&rsquo;t want to get in his way.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0027-01

Unique mental toughness makes Blackburn special

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div>Looking back, Pascal Leclaire thinks he was five or six when he fell in love. It changed his life. He&rsquo;s 18 now and they&rsquo;re still together. The best part is that no one has ever said he started too young.Yessir, right from that first time Pascal caught sight of his older cousin&rsquo;s goalie equipment growing up in Montreal, he knew he was hooked. He had eyes for nothing else.Together he and his gear can weave masterpieces. At the 1999 Four Nations under-18 tournament in the Czech Republic, Leclaire led Canada to gold, posting a .969 save percentage in his two victories. The next year he was the starting goaltender for the Halifax Mooseheads in the Memorial Cup as a 17-year-old, going 2-1-0 with a 3.14 GAA and .915 SP.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02671/7654481-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="742" height="559"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pascal Leclaire won&rsquo;t whine about his year. (Dan Hamilton/BBS)</figcaption></div>And now, he&rsquo;s sure to be one of the first two goalies, along with Kootenay&rsquo;s Dan Blackburn, chosen for the 2001 draft. Leclaire is THN&rsquo;s No. 2-rated goalie and ninth overall on the Hot 100.&ldquo;He has always had the ability,&rdquo; said Halifax coach Shawn MacKenzie, &ldquo;to rise up to the big challenges.&rdquo;At first, his father disapproved of his son tending goal. Gerard Leclaire wanted his son to become a better skater before donning the pads. So for a while Pascal had two sets of gear; one used to shoot and pass the puck and the other to stop it.Leclaire&rsquo;s stock fell a touch this season in some eyes. Watching from the bench as the Mooseheads lost in the first round of the Quebec League playoffs was a fitting end to a trying season. He also dealt with a lingering groin injury, the pain of being the last goalie cut from Canada&rsquo;s national junior team, mononucleosis, an end-of-season bout with the flu, and then the disappointment of being passed as post-season starter because would-be back-up Dany Dallaire was playing too well.&ldquo;A lot of guys have faced disappointment,&rdquo; Leclaire said. &ldquo;With hockey, not every-thing will always go your way. You&rsquo;ve got to deal with it and bounce back. I&rsquo;m kind of glad I&rsquo;m able to learn to deal with it in my junior career so later I&rsquo;ll know how to do these things.&rdquo;Leclaire had a 3.58 goals-against average, .892 save percentage, a 14-16-5 record and zero penalty minutes for whining in the regular season.He knows he can play better and so do the scouts who are unlikely to shy away from the mature 6-foot-l, 180-pounder with a big-game reputation.At 6-foot-l and 180 pounds, he plays a conservative game and rarely hurts his own cause by getting caught out of position. He reads the play well and likes to stand up on shots from sharp angles while using the butterfly from shots in front and in tight.Leclaire credits his parents for his balanced approach to sport and life.&ldquo;They taught me hockey is only a part of life,&rdquo; Leclaire said. &#9632;

f0027-02

Leclaire still hot prospect following trying season

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03456/7654526-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="338" height="389"><figcaption class="caption-body">Pat Karns Medical Trainer Colorado Avalanche</figcaption></div>Lots of hockey players play the game on a leg and a prayer. Tear a ligament in a knee? They want to be out there next game. They have a high tolerance to pain and a low tolerance to patience, unlike some ball players who get a blister on their foot and can&rsquo;t take somebody out at second base.Hockey trainers know how tough-minded players are. They always want to play.&ldquo;You have to educate the players. They may only have a grade one sprain of their knee but if they can&rsquo;t protect themselves on the ice, it could turn into a complete tear. We try to educate them to the severity of an injury and if they can take time out now, it&rsquo;ll pay big dividends in a week or 10 days,&rdquo; said Karns. &ldquo;Our management has always said &ldquo;It&rsquo;s always in the presentation of the facts to the player&rdquo;. Once you&rsquo;ve done that, then the player can make the appropriate decision.&rdquo;&ldquo;We do allow some players to play through pain if there&rsquo;s no risk of further injury, but these hockey players-their pain tolerance is so much higher than the other three major professional sports. Your body produces something called endogynous opiates. If you were to take a blood sample of hockey players, it&rsquo;s higher than guys in other sports. These guys will go through a wall.&rdquo;Karns has a feeling when players are badly hurt, even if they&rsquo;re trying to mask it. If he&rsquo;s not sure, he counts on other guys on the team to help him out. &ldquo;When I&rsquo;m on the bench and I know players for a whole year, I can see it (pain) in their eyes. I can tell they&rsquo;re not ready to play or I rely a lot of their teammates. When it comes time to put a player back into competition, I ask a teammate-how does he look-how is he shooting the puck, is he able to take and give a hit?.&rdquo; said Karns.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04308/7654519-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="491" height="178"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-05201/7654512-1-eng-US/f0027-052.jpg" title="f0027-05" width="237" height="191"></div> &#9632;

f0027-03

FROM COLORADO AVALANCHE’S LOCKER ROOM:

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0028-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011064/7654557-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">Carlo Colaiacovo, Erie Otters, CSS Rank: 10thJeff Woywitka, Red Deer Rebels, CSS Rank: 13th</figcaption></div> &#9632;

f0028-01

CENTRAL SCOUTING NORTH AMERICA RANKING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0029-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-01943/7654588-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0029-01

CENTRAL SCOUTING EUROPE RANKING

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011058/7654619-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

f0030-01

CENTRAL SCOUTING POSITIONAL RANKING

<div class="byline">By Alan Adams</div>HANNOVER, Germany-Call it a natural hat trick.The Czech Republic captured its third straight World Championship with a 3-2 overtime win over Finland May 13 in Germany, completing a rite of spring that has become second nature for the international hockey kings.With a collective attitude that borders on arrogance, the Czechs don&rsquo;t just strive to capture gold at world tournaments now, they expect it.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think anybody can beat us now,&rdquo; said David Moravec, who scored at 10:38 of overtime to give the Czechs the title. &ldquo;We have three gold medals in a row. It&rsquo;s simple. We&rsquo;re the best.&rdquo;Fair comment, but why? How do the Czechs do it?It is obvious the recipe for success is more than skating, passing, shooting and checking. It&rsquo;s intelligence and a coaching system that stresses skill development from an early age. It&rsquo;s a system that also gets players to buy into the team concept at all costs.The &ldquo;sports-school model&rdquo; from the communist days survived better in the Czech Republic than in Russia after the sweeping changes of the 1990s. The Czech system patiently develops skill at the youth level without pushing too many games too soon. Later, the team concept is instilled in a big way&ldquo;They use their players to the best of their ability within a team concept,&rdquo; said Anders Hedberg, GM of Sweden&rsquo;s national team. &ldquo;When they are kids, they look at each player as one individual, from whatever he looks like, his physical advantages, what he is built like, his skills, they let him develop as an individual. When they get older, they buy into a team concept.&rdquo;Wayne Gretzky, executive director of Canada&rsquo;s 2002 Olympic team, believes it&rsquo;s about an entire nation being on the same page.&ldquo;They can plug people in (from NHL teams) and still play a system that everyone knows and understands and play at a high level,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;(In Canada) we throw together a team that comes from a whole bunch of different systems and when we try to have them play under one system, sometimes it is a change for a lot of guys.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-01975/7654650-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="924" height="1303"><figcaption class="caption-body">Finnish goalie Pasi Nurminen lies on the ice as the Czechs celebrate their gold medal overtime win. (Canapress)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;Look at the Czechs. I can&rsquo;t imagine how many guys from that (World Championship) team will be at the Olympics, but they still play at a high level with guys&hellip;I am not sure how many of those guys can play in the NHL.&rdquo;Moravec, the 2001 overtime hero, is Exhibit A. Except for one NHL game with the Buffalo Sabres in the 1999-2000 season, he has spent his entire career in the Czech League. Yet, in the system the Czechs have developed and perfected, it&rsquo;s not surprising a player of his ilk should emerge as the golden boy.Of course, he had plenty of help. The Czechs rallied from a 2-0 deficit on goals by Martin Prochazka and Jiri Dopita to tie the game and set up Moravec&rsquo;s heroics. And the club needed a dramatic shootout victory to down Sweden-the eventual bronze medal winners-in the semifinal.Still, there&rsquo;s no denying the Czechs&rsquo; lofty status in the hockey universe. They became the first country to win three straight world titles since the former Soviet Union claimed five in a row, starting in 1978. The difference is, the Soviet domination came during the Cold War when there were no Russians in the NHL. The Czechs, like everyone else these days, cull together their team from all corners of the hockey map for the world tournament.Overall, the Czechs have won a medal in the past six straight world tournaments, the only country to accomplish that feat. They are the defending Olympic champs and they&rsquo;ve won the past two World Junior Championships.Yes, the Czechs are on a roll, one they&rsquo;re hoping-no, expecting-to continue on to the 2002 Olympics. &#9632;

f0031-01

‘Unbeatable’ Czechs do it again

<div class="byline">By Dan Wood</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-011042/7654688-1-eng-US/f0032-012.jpg" title="f0032-01" width="264" height="239"></div>In the wake of a 25-41-11-5 disaster that relegated them to last place in the NHL&rsquo;s Western Conference, it&rsquo;s safe to say the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim need help just about everywhere.Of course, the NHL entry draft is not designed to provide immediate infusions of talent, but GM Pierre Gauthier will have some cards to play, if he chooses, when teams gather in Sunrise, Fla., June 23-24.The Ducks, who must add at least two quality forwards and two sound defensemen to compete for a playoff berth, own an extra second round selection and two extra fourth round picks in this year&rsquo;s draft.Including the fifth overall choice in the first round, the Ducks have seven picks in the opening four rounds, giving Gauthier some ammunition to trade for an established player or two if he chooses to do so.CALLING THE SHOTS Gauthier, who doubles as team president, maintains the final word on virtually all decisions in Anaheim, certainly those in the hockey department. Alain Chainey, director of scouting for the Ducks, supervises Anaheim&rsquo;s amateur scouting department and player development program.DRAFT TENDENCY The Stated philosophy of the Ducks is similar to that of just about everybody else. &ldquo;We draft the best player,&rdquo; Gauthier said. &ldquo;It doesn&rsquo;t matter what round or the origin of the player, because the projection is four or five years.&rdquo;In the two drafts since Gauthier returned to Anaheim from Ottawa, the Ducks have drafted nine players from Europe, including four from Russia and three from Sweden, only three from the United States and none from Canada.IMMEDIATE NEED While much of the reason for Anaheim&rsquo;s sorry 2000-01 season can be attributed to injuries-a total of 257 man-games lost that ranked 11th in the NHL-another glaring weakness helped do in the Mighty Ducks-a lack of leadership.While team captain Paul Kariya is widely respected and is an outstanding leader by example, Anaheim came up lacking in terms of overall leadership and character. The Ducks are woefully short of the gritty players who win battles for loose pucks and battle for position in front of the net. It&rsquo;s unlikely that Anaheim will draft players who can transfer those traits to the NHL immediately, but the Ducks should strongly consider such intangibles when picking prospects.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-02704/7654681-1-eng-US/f0032-022.jpg" title="f0032-02" width="1017" height="1535"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Paul Kariya Drafted: fourth overall by Anaheim, 1993 (Dale MacMillan/BBS)</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED With Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Steve Shields figuring to share time in Anaheim and 2000 second round selection Ilja Bryzgalov considered an outstanding prospect, the Ducks feel very good about the goaltending depth within the organization. The same cannot be said up front and on defense. Oleg Tverdovsky is the kingpin on the blueline, but beyond him, it gets a little shaky.READY TO STEP IN Decimated by injuries, the Ducks called upon virtually every legitimate prospect in the organization. Among those who had significant stints in Anaheim were Giguere, defenseman Antti-Jussi Niemi, right winger Jonas Ronnqvist and centers Marc Chouinard and Andy McDonald.Of those five, only Ronnqvist was a Ducks&rsquo; selection, chosen in the fourth round last year. Giguere, Niemi and Chouinard arrived via trade, while Anaheim signed McDonald last year as a free agent out of Colgate University. Among players drafted by the Ducks, right winger Petr Tenkrat, 24, probably has the best chance to make a significant impact. A native of the Czech Republic chosen in the eighth round in 1999, Tenkrat played in 46 games with Anaheim this season, collecting five goals and 14 points.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Anaheim&rsquo;s system: 1. Ilja Bryzgalov, G, Togliatti (Rus.); 2. Alexei Smirnov, LW, THC Tver (Rus.); 3. Gregg Naumenko, G, Cincinnati (AHL); 4. Alexei Tezikov, D, Cincinnati (AHL); 5. Andy McDonald, C, Cincinnati (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Antti Aalto, C, 26; Marc Chouinard, C, 24; Matt Cullen, C, 24; Jeff Friesen, LW, 25; Jean-Sebastien Giguere, G, 24; Niclas Havelid, D, 28; Mike Leclerc, LW, 24; Gregg Naumenko, G, 24; Pascal Trepanier, D, 27.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Dan Bylsma, LW, 30; Mike Crowley, D, 25; Jim Cummins, RW, 31; Tony Hrkac, C, 34. &#9632;

f0032-01

Long list of Ducks’ needs

An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-03501/7654733-1-eng-US/f0032-032.jpg" title="f0032-03" width="782" height="1855"><figcaption class="caption-body">Ruslan SaleiNiclas Havelid</figcaption></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-04347/7654726-1-eng-US/f0032-042.jpg" title="f0032-04" width="702" height="178"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0032-05263/7654719-1-eng-US/f0032-052.jpg" title="f0032-05" width="156" height="201"></div>Chosen: 4th overallThe 26-year-old Ducks&rsquo; winger is one of the NHL&rsquo;s top five players and will represent Canada at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. &#9632;

f0032-03

DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1993 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL

<div class="byline">By Jeff Schultz</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-01946/7654792-1-eng-US/f0033-012.jpg" title="f0033-01" width="311" height="259"></div>Some of the mystery was taken out of draft day when Atlanta won the lottery for the first time in three years. The question now is, will the Thrashers keep the first overall pick?While the team appears to have identified Russian right winger Ilya Kovalchuk as the best prospect, there is a chance the Thrashers will trade the selection and instead go after a goalie.GM Don Waddell has been upgrading the roster for the past two years, but knows this might be his best chance to improve in the one area the team needs it most.Goalie Damian Rhodes has been injury-prone and inadequate in his first two seasons and no other netminder in the organization is ready for the No. 1 job.CALLING THE SHOTS Waddell has the first and last call on all personnel matters and has been active on the trade front in his first two drafts. Waddell does a lot of scouting himself, but relies heavily on his staff, which is led by director of player development Bob Owen and chief scout Dan Marr.DRAFT TENDENCY The Thrashers have taken forwards with their first two No. 1 picks (Patrik Stefan and Dany Heatley) and defensemen with their second round selections (Luke Sellars in 1999 and Ilja Nikulin and Libor Ustrnul in 2000). They&rsquo;ll again take a forward first this year if they don&rsquo;t trade away the No. 1 overall pick. But this hardly constitutes a &ldquo;tendency&rdquo;-with the franchise entering only its third draft, it needs players and depth at every position.IMMEDIATE NEED Atlanta desperately needs a reliable starting goalie, but they&rsquo;re not going to get one who can step right in on draft day. The club could also use help at center.Despite allowing 289 goals this season, second-most in the NHL, Atlanta has more depth on defense than in goal or up front.LONG-TERM NEED The Thrashers&rsquo; long-term needs arethe same as in the short term: Goaltending and center. Rob Zepp, a fifth-rounder (99th overall) in 1999, has developed nicely in junior. But the organizational depth pretty much ends there.Patrik Stefan, Atlanta&rsquo;s first-ever draft pick in 1998, played better at left wing than center this season. If he stays on the wing, that means Atlanta has one less playmaker in the pivot position. Simon Gamache, the 290th overall pick in 2000, has piled up points in the Quebec League and could end up being quite a find as the fourth-last player taken.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-04375/7654785-1-eng-US/f0033-042.jpg" title="f0033-04" width="896" height="1343"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Ray Ferraro Drafted: 88th overall by Hartford, 1982 (Len Redkules/BBS)</figcaption></div>Going into their third draft, the Thrashers lack depth at every position. But they have bolstered themselves on defense the last two years with Sellars, Ustrnul and Nikulin and Swedish prospect Daniel Tjarnqvist.READY TO STEP INHeatley, last year&rsquo;s second overall pick behind goalie Rick DiPietro, can play all three forward positions. The hope and expectation in Atlanta is he&rsquo;ll have a greater and more immediate impact than Patrik Stefan has had in his first two NHL seasons.Heatley is a scorer in the John LeClair mode, a power forward who needs to get stronger physically. At Wisconsin he displayed the tools and instincts to convince scouts he&rsquo;ll be an NHL standout. When former Badgers&rsquo; linemate Steven Reinprecht jumped to the NHL this season, Heatley became a target, but he matured as the season went along.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five in Atlanta&rsquo;s system. 1. Dany Heatley, RW, Wisconsin (WCHA); 2. Zdenek Blatny, LW, Kootenay (WHL); 3. Libor Ustrnul, D, Plymouth (OHL); 4. Brad Tapper, RW, Orlando (IHL); 5. Daniel Tjarnqvist, D, Djurgarden (Swe.).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Bryan Adams, LW, 24; Andrew Brunette, LW, 27; Brett Clark, D, 24; Hnat Domenichelli, LW, 25; Shean Donovan, RW, 26; Steve Guolla, C, 28; Frantisek Kaberle, D, 27; Ladislav Kohn, RW, 26; Norm Maracle, G, 26; Rumun Ndur, D, 25; Jiri Slegr, D, 30; Steve Staios, D, 27; Per Svartvadet, C, 26; Dean Sylvester, RW, 28; Herbert Vasiljevs, RW, 25.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Chris Joseph, D, 31; Gord Murphy, D, 34; Jeff Odgers, RW, 32.<h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-02639/7654778-1-eng-US/f0033-022.jpg" title="f0033-02" width="707" height="178"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-03484/7654771-1-eng-US/f0033-032.jpg" title="f0033-03" width="159" height="202"></div>Chosen: 1st overallHas yet to meet high hopes, but skilled forward did double goal total to 10 in his sophomore season and is still just 20.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1999 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces. We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0033-05312/7654764-1-eng-US/f0033-052.jpg" title="f0033-05" width="611" height="317"></div> &#9632;

f0033-01

Will team deal No. 1 for net gain?

<div class="byline">By Mike Loftus</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-011066/7654830-1-eng-US/f0034-012.jpg" title="f0034-01" width="240" height="235"></div>It took a while for Boston to recover from a nine-draft stretch (1988-96) that resulted in few bona fide NHLers, but the Bruins seem to be back on the right track. The last four drafts produced four skaters who played for Boston full-time in 2000-01, as well as nine of their 10 top prospects listed in the 2001 The Hockey News Future Watch.Improved drafting, combined with trades that reaped younger talent in exchange for veterans Ray Bourque, Adam Oates, Rick Tocchet and Bill Ranford, gives Boston a core dominated by players in the early stages of their careers, such as Jason Allison, Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, Kyle McLaren and Brian Rolston.The top of the draft, then, will likely see the Bruins select prospects with whom they can be patient. Meanwhile, an increased presence in Europe has resulted in late picks, such as P.J. Axelsson, Mikko Eloranta and Jarno Kultanen, who have been able to immediately step into NHL roles.CALLING THE SHOTS GM Mike O&rsquo;Connell has gradually gained the authority to make the final call on any draft-day disagreements, but rarely exercises it. O&rsquo;Connell has faith in director of scouting Scott Bradley, who, at 37, will run his fifth draft for Boston.DRAFT TENDENCY Boston generally selects the best player available, as evidenced by the fact that five of their last six first round picks (including Swedish prospect Lars Jonsson last year) have been used to select defensemen. The B&rsquo;s will deviate from that strategy, though, if they feel a need can be filled by a prospect they like, but planned on drafting in a later round. As well, the Bruins believe an organization can never have enough defense and goaltending.IMMEDIATE NEED A trade could solve this, but Boston&rsquo;s goaltending depth has dwindled a bit. Furthermore, No. 1 Byron Dafoe is coming off his third knee operation in just over a year and is also one season away from unrestricted free agency.The B&rsquo;s think backup John Grahame has re-emerged as a potential No. 1 after a chaotic year in which an off-ice, preseason injury and a stick-throwing incident in the American League resulted in team suspensions. Peter Skudra, if resigned, adds depth, while Andrew Raycroft, despite a trying year that saw him start his first pro season as Boston&rsquo;s only viable No. 1 goalie and end it as a healthy scratch in the AHL playoffs, remains an NHL prospect.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-02727/7654823-1-eng-US/f0034-022.jpg" title="f0034-02" width="1023" height="1607"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Jason Allison Drafted: 17th overall by Washington, 1993 (S.Horodyski/BBS)</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED Bradley hopes Boston will be able to find a big winger-preferably on the left side-who can score. The Bruins completed 2000-01 with only one player-right winger Bill Guerin-who truly fit that description and he can become unrestricted next summer.There&rsquo;s offensive talent, but not much physicality, on the left side in Samsonov and Rolston and there&rsquo;s depth on the wings. Prospects Lee Goren, a right winger, and left winger Kyle Wanvig may grow into power forward roles, but the B&rsquo;s need more.Another long-term concern is at center. The B&rsquo;s have two of the best young pivots in the NHL in Allison and Thornton, but would like to add another skilled prospect.READY TO STEP IN The need and the opportunity may finally be there for defenseman Jonathan Girard, who turns 21 next season.The Bruins&rsquo; first pick in 1998 (48th overall), Girard has spent time in Boston in each of the past three seasons. And with veteran Peter Popovic not returning and Eric Weinrich a potential departure via unrestricted free agency, there&rsquo;ll be roster spots available and a definite need for Girard&rsquo;s puck-moving skills. Though he played just 31 games for Boston this season, his 16 points ranked second to McLaren&rsquo;s 17 among Bruin defensemen.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Boston&rsquo;s system: 1. Lars Jonsson, D, Leksand (Swe.); 2, Lee Goren, RW, Providence (AHL); 3. Andy Hilbert, C, Michigan (CCHA); 4. Martin Samuelsson, RW, Hammarby (Swe.); 5. Andrew Raycroft, G, Providence (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Jason Allison, C, 26; P.J. Axelsson, LW, 26; Shawn Bates, C, 26; Ken Belanger, LW, 27; Mikko Eloranta, LW, 28; Hal Gill, D, 26; Bill Guerin, RW, 30; Mike Knuble, RW, 28; Jarno Kultanen, D, 28; Cameron Mann, RW, 24; Kyle McLaren, D, 24; Brian Rolston, LW, 28; Peter Skudra, G, 28.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Joe Hulbig, LW, 27; Andrei Kovalenko, RW, 31; Dixon Ward, RW, 32, Eric Weinrich, D, 34. &#9632;

f0034-01

Goals, goalies on wish list

An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces. We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-03571/7654875-1-eng-US/f0034-032.jpg" title="f0034-03" width="781" height="1852"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-04443/7654868-1-eng-US/f0034-042.jpg" title="f0034-04" width="709" height="177"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0034-05356/7654861-1-eng-US/f0034-052.jpg" title="f0034-05" width="158" height="200"></div>Chosen: 3rd overallNever caught on with the Bruins, but winger had one productive year with Vancouver (22 goals, 1972-73) before joining the WHA. &#9632;

f0034-03

<div class="byline">By Bucky Gleason</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-011003/7654913-1-eng-US/f0035-012.jpg" title="f0035-01" width="287" height="245"></div>For the past several years Buffalo has relied on four lines and a few stars for their success. Their one true superstar is Dominik Hasek and the Sabres have attempted to build a strong team around him.Buffalo will likely continue building around strong goaltending and good defense for the next several years. Even if the team decides against exercising its option with Hasek, the future is bright with young backstops Martin Biron and Mika Noronen.The Sabres seem to be following the game plan necessary for survival in a small market. Basically, it&rsquo;s easier to pay for an efficient defense than offensive superstars. It also puts immense pressure on finding the right players because Buffalo isn&rsquo;t in a financial position to shop around.CALLING THE SHOTS Don Luce, the director of player personnel, is the man GM Darcy Regier will look to the most on draft day. Luce watched about 150 games this season and has shown a knack for finding the right players in the later rounds. Gifted winger Maxim Afinogenov (69th overall, 1997), Hobey Baker Award-winning goalie Ryan Miller (138th, 1999) and defenseman Brian Campbell (156th, 1997) are among those taken in the third round or lower in the last four drafts. He also grabbed Biron (16th, 1995) and Noronen (21st, 1997) in the first round.DRAFT TENDENCY Hasek&rsquo;s success over the last nine seasons has rippled through the organization. The Sabres enter the draft with the idea they can&rsquo;t get enough goaltenders in the system. Biron was a backup this season. Noronen was the No. 1 goalie in Rochester. Miller, a fifth-rounder in 1999, has two years left at Michigan State and is already being called a can&rsquo;t-miss prospect. Players must have strong character and competitive traits or the Sabres will overlook them.IMMEDIATE NEED The Sabres concentrate so much on finding players who are willing to play defense that they lack skill among their forwards. The Sabres haven&rsquo;t had a true sniper since Alexander Mogilny was traded for Michael Peca in 1995. The Sabres didn&rsquo;t have a player who was on the roster all season score 30 goals this year. Miroslav Satan had 29. He has averaged 34 goals the last three years, but still isn&rsquo;t considered a great scorer and failed to finish in the top 60 this season. Afinogenov is a great talent, but he&rsquo;s not yet a finisher. The lack of a proven scorer has forced the Sabres to rent them for the playoffs the last three years.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-02705/7654906-1-eng-US/f0035-022.jpg" title="f0035-02" width="1016" height="1535"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Donald Audette Drafted: 183rd overall by Buffalo, 1989 (BBS)</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED The Sabres have been sound along the blueline for years, but they can expect to run into problems by 2004. Richard Smehlik will be eligible for unrestricted free agency after next season. Alexei Zhitnik, 28, has three years left on his current deal, but will command a big salary on his next contract. Jason Woolley, 31, is signed for two more years, but was used sparingly at times this season. Also, the Sabres worry that Jay McKee may run into concussion problems. He was knocked out of the playoffs after cracking heads with Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Mario Lemieux and couldn&rsquo;t pass routine medical tests a week later.READY TO STEP IN Once considered just an offensive defenseman, Campbell has spent almost two full seasons learning how to play defense in Rochester of the American League. He has been a great skater and puckhandler for years, but he now has a grasp on how to get into the right positions and better use the players around him. Campbell will run the power play before long if he continues to improve. He appeared in eight games this season and did not record a point, but was plus-5. He had seven goals and 32 points in 65 games with Rochester.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Buffalo&rsquo;s system: 1. Mika Noronen, G, Rochester (AHL); 2. Ryan Miller, G, Michigan State (CCHA); 3. Brian Campbell, D, Rochester (AHL); 4. Henrik Tallinder, D, TPS Turku (Fin.); 5. Barrett Heisten, LW, Seattle (WHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Eric Boulton, LW, 24; J-P Dumont, RW, 23; Michael Peca, C, 27; Erik Rasmussen, LW, 24; Miroslav Satan, RW, 26; Rhett Warrener, D, 25; Alexei Zhitnik, D, 28.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Donald Audette, RW, 32; Doug Gilmour, C, 37; Steve Heinze, RW, 31; James Patrick, D, 37; Rob Ray, RW, 33; Vladimir Tsyplakov, LW, 32. &#9632;

f0035-01

Life revolves around crease

An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting ail players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-03576/7654958-1-eng-US/f0035-032.jpg" title="f0035-03" width="775" height="1845"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-04456/7654951-1-eng-US/f0035-042.jpg" title="f0035-04" width="707" height="179"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0035-05382/7654944-1-eng-US/f0035-052.jpg" title="f0035-05" width="156" height="204"></div>Chosen: 1st overallGifted center spent entire Hall of Fame career with the Sabres and ranks 20th all-time in points with 1,326. &#9632;

f0035-03

<div class="byline">By Eric Duhatschek</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-01966/7654996-1-eng-US/f0036-012.jpg" title="f0036-01" width="264" height="226"></div>Even though Craig Button had been appointed GM of the Calgary Flames by the time the 2000 entry draft had rolled around, he wasn&rsquo;t officially in a position to take charge of the organization until early July.Accordingly, the 2001 draft will be Button&rsquo;s first with his own staff in place. The primary change is that Ian McKenzie, who has worked for the team in a number of scouting capacities since the early 1970s, is no longer with the organization. McKenzie, perhaps the most effective scout in franchise history-he uncovered late-round gems such as Theoren Fleury, Brett Hull and Gary Suter-received a buyout last summer.Button has changed the scouting staff significantly and with his background in player development, he retains a primary role in the process. He watched enough junior games this season to get a sense of the upcoming draft class.CALLING THE SHOTS Button will rely on two voices in compiling his draft list, former NHL goaltender Mike Sands and his brother, Tod, one of the few holdovers from the previous regime. Sands&rsquo; focus is primarily on junior scouting, with Tod Button mostly on the professional side, but they do switch occasionally. &ldquo;Their input will be heavily relied upon,&rdquo; Button said.DRAFT TENDENCY Size mattered to many of the front-office people who&rsquo;ve passed through Calgary, from Cliff Fletcher to Doug Risebrough, but Button brings his own philosophies. Button says he believes primarily in foot speed.&ldquo;We want to focus on skating,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;We want skating ability, guys that are quick. The game is built on skating. Everything stems from there. When you draft a player, you want to people to say, &lsquo;That&rsquo;s a Calgary Flames&rsquo; player.&rsquo; It&rsquo;s easy to say, &lsquo;Draft the best player,&rsquo; but I think you draft the best player for your circumstance.IMMEDIATE NEED Some GMs would identify a commodity, but Button seizes upon an intangible. In his mind, Calgary&rsquo;s most immediate need is not a heavy-hitting defenseman or a scoring center, but a player around whom they can build the team.&ldquo;We need somebody who becomes the heartbeat of our team. To me, Scott Stevens, Martin Brodeur and Randy McKay are the heartbeat of the New Jersey Devils. They&rsquo;re the ones who really kick it into gear. When you look at Colorado, the heartbeat is Adam Foote, Joe Sakic and (Patrick Roy). In Dallas, it&rsquo;s Mike Modano and Derian Hatcher. I think the team needs an identifiable heartbeat. Who is their guy? What is their rallying point? If it&rsquo;s a star player, that&rsquo;s great.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-02639/7654989-1-eng-US/f0036-022.jpg" title="f0036-02" width="1024" height="1539"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Jarome Iginla Drafted: 11th overall by Dallas, 1995 (Dale MacMillan/BBS)</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED The Flames need to upgrade their talent level up front. After trading Cory Stillman in March and facing some uncertainty with Valeri Bure, who is on the block, the team has just two blue-chip NHL scorers (Marc Savard and Jarome Iginla) and only one with scoring upside coming through the system (Oleg Saprykin). Calgary&rsquo;s identity will revolve around defense, but somebody still needs to score the goals.Otherwise, they look OK in other key positions. The Flames may not draft a netminder for a long time after grabbing the Calgary Hitmen&rsquo;s Brent Krahn and the Ottawa 67&rsquo;s Levente Szuper last season, both of whom figure prominently in the long-term plans. Defense is also a strong suit, with four young rearguards on the NHL roster and a fifth, Jordan Leopold, on the way.READY TO STEP IN Calgary moved Bill Lindsay at the trade deadline to open up a spot for Chris Clark, who played a few NHL games this season, but finished the year in Saint John of the American League. Clark is a prototypical third-liner who plays hard every night and goes up and down his wing. He&rsquo;ll finish his checks, he&rsquo;ll fight if he has to and he&rsquo;ll score more than Lindsay In short, he&rsquo;s an old-school player with decent size at 6-foot-l, 195 pounds. He&rsquo;s not heavyweight, but is an honest player who meshes with a defense-first team game.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Calgary&rsquo;s system: 1. Daniel Tkaczuk, C, Saint John (AHL); 2. Brent Krahn, G, Calgary (WHL); 3. Jordan Leopold, D, Minnesota, (WCHA); 4. Rico Fata, RW, Saint John (AHL); 5. Miika Elomo, LW, Saint John (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Valeri Bure, RW, 27; Craig Conroy, C, 29.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Tommy Albelin, D, 37. &#9632;

f0036-01

Button seeks speed, heart

An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-03528/7655041-1-eng-US/f0036-032.jpg" title="f0036-03" width="788" height="1854"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-04403/7655034-1-eng-US/f0036-042.jpg" title="f0036-04" width="716" height="179"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0036-05335/7655027-1-eng-US/f0036-052.jpg" title="f0036-05" width="160" height="204"></div>Chosen: 2nd overall (by Atlanta) Journeyman forward broke through with 52-goal season in Quebec (1980-81); did prison time after career on drug offense. &#9632;

f0036-03

<div class="byline">By Luke DeCock</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-01863/7655079-1-eng-US/f0037-012.jpg" title="f0037-01" width="296" height="177"></div>After years of neglect, Carolina&rsquo;s farm system produced some useful players this season. Recent draft picks Shane Willis, Josef Vasicek, David Tanabe and Niclas Wallin all shined in their first full NHL campaign.That was the plan, as the Canes dumped a host of veterans last offseason to give their youngsters a chance. They plan to do the same, to a lesser degree, this season.But Carolina is still feeling the effects of the 1994 trade that sent three first round picks to Boston for defenseman Glen Wesley. While Wesley is still plugging along, it left a developmental hole that is just now being filled.The question is, can Carolina get better while they continue to get younger?CALLING THE SHOTS Owner Peter Karmanos doesn&rsquo;t have much of a say when it comes to draft strategy, but his influence is felt at all times, especially in the later rounds.The Canes have shown a distinct predilection to take players from the Karmanos &ldquo;family&rdquo; of hockey teams-his Compuware youth system in Michigan and the Ontario League&rsquo;s Plymouth Whalers.Last year, Carolina took Plymouth center Tomas Kurka in the second round, Plymouth defenseman Jared Newman in the fourth and Northern Michigan-bound Compuware goaltender Craig Kowalski in the eighth.And sometimes it really is a family affair. With their ninth round pick in 2000, the Canes took Troy Ferguson, a Michigan State forward and son of Sheldon Ferguson, Carolina&rsquo;s chief amateur scout.DRAFT TENDENCY The Canes have had only four first round picks since GM Jim Rutherford took over in 1994. Their best came in 1999, when they reached for Wisconsin defenseman Tanabe. The smooth-skating blueliner was an NHL mainstay in 2000-01.First-rounders Jeff Heerema (11th overall, 1998), a right winger, and defenseman Nikos Tselios (22nd overall, 1997) have yet to crack the NHL roster. Carolina doesn&rsquo;t have much to show for their other early picks, either, but their mid-round selections have been solid. Erik Cole, Willis and Vasicek all came in the third or fourth round.Carolina also has had good luck in the later going with older foreign players Tommy Westlund (fourth round, 1998) and Wallin (fourth round, 2000) were both playoff contributors this season.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-02584/7655072-1-eng-US/f0037-022.jpg" title="f0037-02" width="1028" height="1533"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Jeff O&rsquo;Neill Drafted: Fifth overall by Hartford, 1994 (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div>IMMEDIATE NEED The Hurricanes were exposed in the playoffs for not having the power forwards to match up with a team like the Devils. With most of Carolina&rsquo;s scoring coming from the right wing (O&rsquo;Neill, Sami Kapanen, Willis), upgrading the left side is imperative. Martin Gelinas was solid, but Scott Pellerin is an unrestricted free agent and Bates Battaglia&rsquo;s growth stagnated.Prospects Cole and Brad DeFauw will be given a shot in training camp, but don&rsquo;t be surprised to see Carolina probe the margins of the free agent market as well.LONG-TERM NEED Carolina urgently needs depth on defense and in goal. After Tselios, the Hurricanes don&rsquo;t have anything beyond marginal blueline prospects in the minors and the team has doubts about goalie prospect JeanMarc Pelletier for the long term.While the Hurricanes will look for the best available player with the 15th overall pick, expect them to take a goalie in the first half of the draft, along with a few defensemen.READY TO STEP IN With the Hurricanes looking to upgrade at left wing, the 22-year-old Cole will get every chance to make the team.A 1998 third round pick (71st overall), the 6-foot, 185-pounder turned pro after his junior year at Clarkson. He had 23 goals for Cincinnati of the International League this season and led the team with a plus-11.He plays bigger than his size and the Hurricanes like his poise and scoring ability.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Carolina&rsquo;s system: 1. Erik Cole, LW, Cincinnati (IHL); 2. Jean-Marc Pelletier, G, Cincinnati (IHL); 3. Jaroslav Svoboda, LW, Cincinnati (IHL); 4. Brett Lysak, C, Regina (WHL); 5. Brad DeFauw, LW, Cincinnati (IHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Bates Battaglia, LW, 25; Rod Brind&rsquo;Amour, C, 30; Marek Malik, D, 26; Shane Willis, RW, 24.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Jeff Daniels, LW, 33; Rob DiMaio, RW, 33; Dave Karpa, D, 30; Scott Pellerin, LW, 31. &#9632;

f0037-01

Finally, Canes’ picks able

An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-03454/7655124-1-eng-US/f0037-032.jpg" title="f0037-03" width="784" height="1833"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-04375/7655117-1-eng-US/f0037-042.jpg" title="f0037-04" width="706" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-05331/7655110-1-eng-US/f0037-052.jpg" title="f0037-05" width="151" height="206"></div>Chosen: 18th overall (by Hartford) Junior whiz played two seasons with Whalers before being sent to Philadelphia in 1982 trade that involved 10 players and/or picks. &#9632;

f0037-03

Dozens of 1999 NHL draft picks will re-enter the 2001 selection as unsigned prospects. However, none are expected to be taken in the first two rounds.It&rsquo;s not uncommon for NHL teams not to sign picks from the major junior ranks within the two-year window. Even some first and second round picks re-enter the draft for reasons ranging from fruitless contract talks to stagnant development.For NHL teams to retain rights to major junior draft picks, they must submit a qualifying offer by 5 p.m. on June 1 of the following year and have them signed by June 1 of the second year. NCAA players are exempt until their college eligibility runs out, while Europeans remain property until they&rsquo;re taken off a team&rsquo;s protected-player list.Of 1998 early draft picks, Michael Rupp, Mathieu Chouinard and Justin Papineau re-entered the 2000 draft. Chouinard was re-selected by Ottawa in the second round, while Rupp and Papineau went in the third.Teams unable to sign a pick are given an additional pick in the next draft, one round later (See pg. 26 for more on compensatory picks).<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0037-06293/7655155-1-eng-US/f0037-062.jpg" title="f0037-06" width="338" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scott Kelman</figcaption></div>Of the 28 players selected in the first round of 1999, five remained unsigned in the week before the June 1 deadline. They are Jani Rita of Finland, Konstantin Koltsov of Belarus, Mikhail Kuleshov of Russia, and major junior players Barrett Heisten and Scott Kelman.But Kelman, the 15th overall pick by Phoenix, is the lone first-rounder destined to re-enter the 2001 draft. His production has dropped from 73 points in his draft year to 55 last season and 44 this year with Seattle and Moose Jaw of the Western League.The Coyotes have opted to let him go and try their luck with the 15th pick in the second round of 2001.Heisten, the 20th overall pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 1999, is following the Mike Van Ryn route by leaving college for junior (Seattle), rendering himself an unrestricted free agent June 1 if he&rsquo;s still unsigned.Van Ryn, the 26th overall pick of New Jersey in 1998, signed a lucrative free agent deal with St. Louis last season. Heisten was fifth on Buffalo&rsquo;s Future Watch list.Eleven major junior players drafted in the second round of 1999 were unsigned in the week before June 1. &#9632;

f0037-06

No 1999 draft gems waiting in the wings for re-entry selection

<div class="byline">By Tim Sassone</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-01939/7655193-1-eng-US/f0038-012.jpg" title="f0038-01" width="270" height="233"></div>For the second year in a row, Chicago GM Mike Smith is going to the draft with two No. 1 picks in his pocket-the ninth and 28th or 29th selections.But unlike in 2000 when Smith collected as many selections as possible in order to start rebuilding, this year he&rsquo;s willing to swap draft picks for immediate help. Chicago has seven picks in the first four rounds.&ldquo;I&rsquo;d be very surprised if we traded the ninth pick,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;We think the draft is so deep that with (our other first round) pick we&rsquo;ll have a chance at a player, but we&rsquo;re also looking at&hellip;(trading) a player and maybe that pick for a player.&ldquo;Fans want to hear you had a good draft, but they&rsquo;ll be more enthusiastic if we can make a trade with a draft pick for a guy who comes in and plays.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS Bill Lesuk was hired last October as the director of amateur scouting and he&rsquo;ll make the key calls at the draft table, with input from director of player personnel Dale Tallon and chief scout Mike Dumas.Lesuk worked previously as the director of scouting in Phoenix and Winnipeg and Smith credits him for unearthing players such as Keith Tkachuk, Nikolai Khabibulin, Teppo Numminen and Alex Zhamnov during their days together with the Jets.DRAFT TENDENCY This is Smith&rsquo;s second draft with Chicago. Last year, the goal was to draft as many prospects as possible and the Hawks ended up with 15 picks.Smith believes in taking the most talented player available in the first round, regardless of position. After that, areas of weakness enter the picture a bit more.Smith, of course, has a reputation for favoring Europeans. He disputes the label, though nine of his 15 picks last year were Euros, including the first four.IMMEDIATE NEED Too Soft and too slow pretty much sums up Chicago&rsquo;s defense. Where once Chris Chelios and Steve Smith made opponents think twice about going to the net, the Hawk defenders all but laid out the welcome mat in front of goalie Jocelyn Thibault this past season.Steve McCarthy, a first round pick (23rd overall) in 1999, will be a regular next sea-son, but there&rsquo;s not much after him and 2000 fifth-rounder Alexander Barkunov.&ldquo;Defense is a priority in our draft,&rdquo; Smith said. &ldquo;That doesn&rsquo;t mean in the first round we won&rsquo;t take the best player, but&hellip;(later on) we&rsquo;d probably take the defenseman if it came down to three forwards and a defenseman who were equal.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0038-02643/7655186-1-eng-US/f0038-022.jpg" title="f0038-02" width="1019" height="1538"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Steve Sullivan Drafted: 233rd overall by New Jersey, 1994 (John Russell/BBS)</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED Not since signing Ed Belfour as a free agent out of college in 1987 have the Hawks developed their own No. 1 goalie.Smith liked Rick DiPietro last season, but so did everyone else and he was long gone by the time it was the Hawks&rsquo; turn. This year, Smith sent goalie consultant Vladislav Tretiak to scout Kootenay&rsquo;s Dan Blackburn, but he, too, figures to be gone when the Hawks draft ninth overall.Chicago has several prospects they like in Jeff Maund, Michel Larocque and Michael Leighton, but aren&rsquo;t convinced any of them will develop into elite goalies.Toughness on the wings is also a concern. Bob Probert, at 36 with diminishing skills, has maybe one season left in him. There&rsquo;s nobody on the horizon with his size, toughness and presence.READY TO STEP IN He appeared in 44 games, but McCarthy&rsquo;s rookie season was bumpy That&rsquo;ll change in 2001-02 when he moves up the Hawks&rsquo; depth chart on the blueline.McCarthy, 20, was in and out of the lineup early, played for Canada at the World Junior Championship, had a stint in the American League, was recalled and finally got some serious NHL minutes late in the season when he showed flashes of being something special.McCarthy is hockey-smart, offensively gifted and the way he reads the play is mindful of Doug Wilson.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Chicago&rsquo;s system: 1. Pavel Vorobiev, RW, Yaroslavl (Rus.); 2. Mark Bell, C, Norfolk (AHL); 3. Mikhail Yakubov, C, Togliatti (Rus.); 4. Jonas Nordqvist, C, Leksand (Swe.); 5. Alexander Barkunov, D, Yaroslavl (Rus.).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Eric Daze, RW, 25; Josef Marha, C, 25; Jaroslav Spacek, D, 27; Jocelyn Thibault, G, 26; Alex Zhamnov, C, 30.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Blair Atcheynum, RW, 32; Steve Dubinsky, C; 30; Mark Janssens, C, 33; Bob Probert, LW, 36; Robbie Tallas, G, 28. &#9632;

f0038-01

Hawks hope for tough picks

<div class="byline">By Jim Benton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-01892/7655276-1-eng-US/f0039-012.jpg" title="f0039-01" width="291" height="234"></div>Colorado&rsquo;s draft success the past several seasons has allowed the Avalanche to remain among the NHL&rsquo;s elite.The current Avs&rsquo; roster includes eight players-Alex Tanguay (1998), Martin Skoula (&rsquo;98), Scott Parker (&rsquo;98), Ville Nieminen (&rsquo;97), David Aebischer (&rsquo;97), Dan Hinote (&rsquo;96), Chris Drury (&rsquo;94) and Milan Hejduk (&rsquo;94)-that are aged 25 or under and were drafted by Colorado.The Avalanche has also used its depth of prospects to help complete the blockbuster trades that brought in Theoren Fleury, Ray Bourque and Rob Blake.This year Colorado doesn&rsquo;t have a first round selection, but the club has eight picks and hopes to continue to stockpile future NHL players.&ldquo;I still think there is a lot of depth (in Colorado&rsquo;s system),&rdquo; said assistant GM Brian MacDonald.CALLING THE SHOTS Chief scout Jim Hammett makes most of the final decisions on draft day.Hammett has been with the Avalanche for three years after helping Nashville launch its franchise.DRAFT TENDENCY Colorado has adopted the proverbial &ldquo;best player available&rdquo; draft philosophy.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not trying to improve the needs of our organization at the draft table because we find our needs change from year to year,&rdquo; MacDonald said.&ldquo;If you go on that basis you might overlook some really good players. So our philosophy is to take the best player available. The needs can be filled through trades and (free agent signings).&rdquo;In the past eight drafts, the Avs have selected two goalies, two defensemen and four forwards with their first pick. In 1998 when they had four first round picks, the Avs took two forwards (Tanguay and Parker) and two defensemen (Skoula and Robyn Regehr).Colorado also hasn&rsquo;t been afraid to draft Europeans; they account for 10 of the 24 players picked by the Avs in the past two drafts. Their top picks the past two years have been Vaclav Nedorost (14th overall), who&rsquo;s from the Czech Republic, and Mikhail Kuleshov (25th overall), a Russian.IMMEDIATE NEEDS Colorado management is reluctant to identify areas of concern, but the organization could use some gritty players with offensive skills and more size.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-02583/7655269-1-eng-US/f0039-022.jpg" title="f0039-02" width="1020" height="1529"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Joe Sakic Drafted: 15th overall by Quebec, 1987 (Dale MacMillan/BBS)</figcaption></div>&ldquo;You always want to go on the premise you need everyone,&rdquo; MacDonald said. &ldquo;Then when you go (to the draft), you are always trying to find the best available player.&rdquo;LONG-TERM NEEDS The pending unrestricted free agency of center Joe Sakic, goalie Patrick Roy and defensemen Rob Blake and Jon Klemm gives the Avs plenty of reasons to ponder their future.The organization has a wealth of players who have experience at center, but they could use quality and depth on defense and in goal. &ldquo;We don&rsquo;t go to the draft and say we need a defenseman or center, goalie or left winger,&rdquo; MacDonald said. &ldquo;What you do is take the best available player and if he is a centerman and you have lots of depth at center, that&rsquo;s going to give the general manager an option.&rdquo;READY TO STEP IN Defenseman Rick Berry, a third round pick (55th overall) in 1997, played 19 games with the Avalanche this season and could be in the lineup on a full-time basis next year. He&rsquo;s physical, a good skater and has an excellent shot.Also, there&rsquo;s Russian defenseman Alexander Riazantsev, who was the 167th pick in 1998. He played a lot this season in Hershey and could push for an NHL job. He&rsquo;s an offensive blueliner with a great shot from the point.Last year&rsquo;s first pick, Nedorost, a playmaking center, could challenge for an NHL spot depending on how quickly he adjusts to North American hockey and the lifestyle.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Colorado&rsquo;s system: 1. Vaclav Nedorost, C, Budejovice (Cze.); 2. Jordan Krestanovich, LW, Calgary (WHL); 3. Rick Berry, D, Hershey (AHL); 4. Alexander Riazantsev, D, Hershey (AHL); 5. Mikhail Kuleshov, LW, Cherepovets (Rus).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Greg deVries, D, 28; Nolan Pratt, D, 31.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Rob Blake, D, 31; Jon Klemm, D, 31; Patrick Roy, G, 35; Joe Sakic, C, 31. &#9632;

f0039-01

Draft mastery powers Avs

An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-03444/7655321-1-eng-US/f0039-032.jpg" title="f0039-03" width="782" height="1838"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-04363/7655314-1-eng-US/f0039-042.jpg" title="f0039-04" width="709" height="182"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0039-05308/7655307-1-eng-US/f0039-052.jpg" title="f0039-05" width="160" height="201"></div>Chosen: 20th overall (by Quebec) Scoring machine had four consecutive seasons of 50 or more goals for Quebec and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1998. &#9632;

f0039-03

<div class="byline">By Aaron Portzline</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-01592/7655380-1-eng-US/f0040-012.jpg" title="f0040-01" width="288" height="250"></div>Only now does the success of the Columbus Blue Jackets&rsquo; inaugural season seem the least bit negative. If they hadn&rsquo;t finished ahead of seven other teams with 71 points, they&rsquo;d be much higher in the draft order, like most second year franchises.Instead, they are slotted to pick pick No. 8.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t even think about it after the fact, I just wanted to win as many games as we could,&rdquo; said GM Doug MacLean. &ldquo;I certainly don&rsquo;t regret it. Lots of times picking three or four is no better than picking seven or eight. When I was (with the Florida Panthers), we picked Radek Dvorak with the 10th pick (in 1995) and he made the team out of training camp.&rdquo;MacLean admits the Blue Jackets chances of picking a player who can help them in 2001-02 is &ldquo;less likely,&rdquo; now that they&rsquo;re farther down the pecking order.Still, the Blue Jackets have a busy day ahead of them. They have 12 picks, the most of any team. Five are in the first three rounds and nine are in the first six.CALLING THE SHOTS MacLean has the final word on every move the franchise makes. His right hand man, though, the guy he trusts more than anybody else to ferret out young talent is Don Boyd, the Blue Jackets&rsquo; director of amateur scouting. Boyd travels extensively, both throughout North America and abroad, in hopes of seeing each top-level player a minimum of three or four times.MacLean puts a lot of stock in Boyd&rsquo;s evaluations, especially in the mid-to late rounds when an organization&rsquo;s preparedness really comes through.DRAFT TENDENCY MacLean has made no secret that he&rsquo;d love to add a gifted forward to the roster, but says the Blue Jackets are still stuck in &ldquo;best-available-player&rdquo; mode. &ldquo;Ideally, we&rsquo;d like a guy that can help us up front,&rdquo; MacLean said. &ldquo;But I&rsquo;m not going to let that influence me too much. If we&rsquo;re up and the guy that&rsquo;s clearly the best player is a defenseman or a goalie, we&rsquo;ll take him. I wouldn&rsquo;t be opposed to that at all.&rdquo; Last season, Columbus spent four of its top six picks on either defensemen or goalies.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-03269/7655373-1-eng-US/f0040-032.jpg" title="f0040-03" width="806" height="1263"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Geoff Sanderson Drafted: 36th overall by Hartford, 1990 (Andy Marlin/BBS)</figcaption></div>IMMEDIATE NEED Columbus would love to land a center who could step in right now and give them two effective scoring lines. Last season, the top line of Geoff Sanderson-Espen Knutsen-Robert Kron was decent and the hope is Kron can make up for last season&rsquo;s extended drought. A second-line center would give Columbus a player to anchor a line with left wing Ray Whitney and right winger David Vyborny, giving opponents twice as much to worry about.LONG-TERM NEED As with any expansion team, it&rsquo;s the highly skilled, 30-plus goal scorers who are hard to come by, although Sanderson gives them a leg up on most franchises heading into their second season. With Whitney, Knutsen and Vyborny, the building blocks for a potentially solid offense are in place. Still, the Blue Jackets need elite forwards, players who can create their own space, carry the puck and beat a goalie 1-on-l.READY TO STEP IN The Blue Jackets faced a tough decision early last season-to keep defenseman Rostislav Klesla in the NHL or ship him back to junior for more fine-tuning. After nine games with Columbus, they went the conservative route and sent him back to Brampton where he had 18 goals and 54 points in 45 games and was named THN&rsquo;s best prospect outside the NHL. Next season, the Blue Jackets will face no such quandary. Barring a horrible training camp and preseason, Klesla will see plenty of ice time next season. If all goes well, he&rsquo;ll also man the point on the power play.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Columbus&rsquo; system: 1. Rostislav Klesla, D, Brampton (OHL); 2. Chris Nielsen, C, Syracuse (AHL); 3. Mathieu Darche, LW, Syracuse (AHL); 4. Radim Bicanek, D, Syracuse (AHL); 5. Martin Spanhel, LW, Syracuse (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Bruce Gardiner, RW, 29; Mike Maneluk, RW, 27; Petteri Nummelin, D, 28; Jamie Pushor, D, 28; Deron Quint, D, 25; Mattias Timander, D, 27; Geoff Sanderson, LW, 29; Alex Selivanov, RW, 30; Blake Sloan, RW, 25; Tyier Wright, C, 28.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENT Kevin Dineen, RW, 37.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 2000 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces. We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-02371/7655366-1-eng-US/f0040-022.jpg" title="f0040-02" width="598" height="188"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-04215/7655359-1-eng-US/f0040-042.jpg" title="f0040-04" width="705" height="181"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0040-05187/7655352-1-eng-US/f0040-052.jpg" title="f0040-05" width="161" height="205"></div>Chosen: 4th overallFuture Watch&rsquo;s top-ranked player in 2001, Klesla is expected to crack-and have an impact on-Columbus&rsquo; blueline next season. &#9632;

f0040-01

Jackets pay for early success

<div class="byline">By Chuck Carlton</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-01494/7655439-1-eng-US/f0041-012.jpg" title="f0041-01" width="291" height="185"></div>The draft brought Mike Modano, Derian Hatcher, Richard Matvichuk and Jere Lehtinen, setting the stage for the Dallas Stars&rsquo; success.Despite several shrewd trades-and the thickness of owner Tom Hicks&rsquo; wallet-the Stars realize the entry draft is vital in sustaining their success.Management also understands the better the Stars perform, the more difficult job they face on draft day. They&rsquo;re picking 26th overall in the first round June 23. &ldquo;The system isn&rsquo;t built to keep you (on top),&rdquo; said GM Bob Gainey. &ldquo;The system is built to get you out of there once you&rsquo;ve been there. There&rsquo;s our challenge. We&rsquo;ll be judged by how well we do.&rdquo;The Stars are still waiting from a payoff from recent drafts. Brenden Morrow is the only player taken in the past seven years to have played more than one game for the Stars in this year&rsquo;s post-season. Yeah, Jarome Iginla was sent to Calgary for Joe Nieuwendyk, but a long list of prospects have been slow to develop.CALLING THE SHOTS The Stars use a two-pronged approach, with amateur scouting director Tim Bernhardt and director of hockey operations Les Jackson running the draft table. &ldquo;We call it drafting from the back of the room. (We) have to find ways to maximize the position,&rdquo; said Gainey, who eschews dealing draft picks at the trade deadline. &ldquo;I put more emphasis on the picks we have available and the decision-makers to make the right choices.&rdquo;DRAFT TENDENCY Dallas takes the best player available, with one important proviso: the player must fit their idea of what a Star is.Jackson lists Morrow as the type of player the team would like to clone. &ldquo;We like guys who are relentless and competitive,&rdquo; Jackson said. &ldquo;We want to be a team that&rsquo;s respected&hellip;and that shows up every night regardless of the circumstances. And is very difficult to play against.&rdquo;IMMEDIATE NEED Youth up front must be served. Look at the &lsquo;Grumpy Old Men,&rsquo; a veteran line that came to personify the Stars. All three members-Mike Keane (33), Kirk Muller (35) and John MacLean (36)-are unrestricted free agents. And despite his 39 goals, Brett Hull, 36, will join them if Dallas doesn&rsquo;t exercise its option.Last season, the Stars went for shift disturber Steve Ott with their first pick. Another forward with combativeness and skill is a possibility in the first round, though the pick likely won&rsquo;t contribute right away<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-02308/7655432-1-eng-US/f0041-022.jpg" title="f0041-02" width="1016" height="1530"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Mike Modano Drafted: first overall by Minnesota, 1988 (Bhan Winkier/BBS)</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED Just three years ago, the Stars were as deep and strong in goal as any team. Ed Belfour was the starter and Roman Turek the backup, with Manny Fernandez developing in the International League and Marty Turco had just won an NCAA title at Michigan. Then came expansion. Turek and Fernandez turned into starters elsewhere, leaving Belfour (36) and Turco (25).The goalies on the farm team, the Utah Grizzlies, are veterans Rick Tabaracci and Mike Bales. Even if Belfour has a couple good years left and even if Turco can follow up a tantalizing rookie season, the Stars need depth. They used a second round pick in 2000 to take Dan Ellis, who had just completed his freshman season at Nebraska-Omaha.READY TO STEP IN Like Lehtinen before him, Niko Kapanen could be a European revelation. Or he could be the next Jarrko Varvio. But based on his play in Finland with TPS Turku and at the World Championship, the Stars are hope ful the skilled, gritty center can have an impact as early as next season. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a kid who understands both sides of the puck,&rdquo; said Jackson, who is cautious about hyping a player taken 173rd overall in 1998. &ldquo;He competes and knows how to play&rdquo;The knock on Kapanen is his size; he&rsquo;s 5-foot-9 and 180 pounds. But the Stars point to smallish players-such as Chris Drury, Scott Gomez and Martin Straka-who have had success in this year&rsquo;s playoffs.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Dallas&rsquo; system: 1. Steve Ott, C, Windsor (OHL); 2. Richard Jackman, D, Utah (IHL); 3. John Erskine, D, Utah (IHL); 4. Mathias Tjarnqvist, C, Djurgarden (Swe.); 5. Steve Gainey, LW, Utah (IHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Sami Helenius, D, 27; Jamie Langenbrunner, 25, RW; Brad Lukowich, D, 24; Brenden Morrow, LW, 21.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Mike Keane, LW, 33; Kirk Muller, C, 35; John MacLean, RW, 36; Ted Donato, LW, 32.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-03237/7655425-1-eng-US/f0041-032.jpg" title="f0041-03" width="779" height="1847"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-04203/7655418-1-eng-US/f0041-042.jpg" title="f0041-04" width="715" height="179"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0041-05183/7655411-1-eng-US/f0041-052.jpg" title="f0041-05" width="159" height="204"></div>Chosen: 5th overall (by Minnesota) Offensive defenseman failed to score with the North Stars, but topped the 20-goal mark with Chicago in 1976-77. &#9632;

f0041-01

What makes a Star? Desire

<div class="byline">By Nick Cotsonika</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-01501/7655491-1-eng-US/f0042-012.jpg" title="f0042-01" width="280" height="208"></div>As usual, the Detroit Red Wings aren&rsquo;t in a good draft position.&ldquo;That&rsquo;s the price you pay for trying to win the Cup,&rdquo; said assistant GM Jim Nill.Thanks to Detroit&rsquo;s regular season success and various trades, their average first pick the the past nine years has been 38th overall-deep into the second round. They haven&rsquo;t picked higher than 22nd overall since 1991, when they took Martin Lapointe 10th.This year, they don&rsquo;t have a first or third round pick. (They traded the first-rounder to Chicago in 1999 in the Chris Chelios deal.)&ldquo;When you&rsquo;ve got lots of picks, you can roll the dice on some guys,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to try to hit with our second round pick. We&rsquo;ve got to get one real player out of this draft.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS Nill is the boss on draft day Although GM Ken Holland is an experienced scout, he has given the authority to Nill for the past three years.But the Wings have what Nill describes as a &ldquo;very close&rdquo; staff and since most of the Wings&rsquo; picks are in the later rounds, Nill relies on his scouts more than a lot of GMs might. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve got to make the final call,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;(But) I have a lot of confidence in my staff.&rdquo;DRAFT TENDENCY The Wings aren&rsquo;t going to get any of the top prospects. They simply pick too late. So they look for diamonds in the rough, which has often meant looking overseas. &ldquo;We feel if you&rsquo;re going to get lucky for the most part in the draft, you&rsquo;re going to get lucky with Europeans, because they&rsquo;re not seen as much,&rdquo; Holland said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re playing in little, out-of-the-way places. You hope one or two surprise you.&rdquo;IMMEDIATE NEED The Red Wings want a goalie or three. &ldquo;Depth-wise, we&rsquo;re starting to get to that point where we&rsquo;re running out now,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;d like to get another (Stefan) Liv this year.&rdquo;Liv, a Swedish netminder picked 102nd overall last year, will be one of only four goalies in the organization if minor-leaguers Aren Miller and Ken Wregget aren&rsquo;t re-signed. The others are minor-leaguer Jason Elliott, backup Manny Legace and starter Chris Osgood. Legace and Osgood are both 28 and could be NHLers for a long time. But as well as Osgood has played in the playoffs the past two years, he hasn&rsquo;t been consistent in the regular season. Elliott, 25, has spent three seasons in the minors. He has dressed for a handful of NHL games, but has never seen action.LONG-TERM NEED You name it.&ldquo;Every position,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re wide open.&rdquo;The Wings were the oldest team in the league this past season. Down the line, they&rsquo;ll need fresh faces in every role.Considering how late they pick, there&rsquo;s little hope of adding the next Steve Yzerman, who was the fourth overall pick in 1983. Finding a player like that-a leader, a captain, an all-time great-would be a miracle. But there is a chance the Wings can find good-to-excellent players. The best-case scenario would be for a player-better yet, players-they expect to be good to break through into NHL stardom. &ldquo;We need to get a surprise from one of these guys,&rdquo; Nill said. &ldquo;We need to get lucky&rdquo;READY TO STEP IN Pavel Datsyuk, a sixth round pick (171st overall) in 1998, impressed the Wings&rsquo; brass at the World Championship, where he played for Russia.Detroit would like to sign him and bring him to North America this fall. The question is whether Datsyuk, who is paid well in Russia, will risk playing for pennies in the minors if he doesn&rsquo;t make the NHL.At 5-foot-10 and 167 pounds, the 22-year-old center needs to bulk up. Occasionally, he shows flashes of brilliance-a sneaky pass, a heady move-that are reminiscent of Igor Larionov.Detroit plans to leave top prospects Niklas Kron wall and Henrik Zetterberg in Sweden next season.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Detroit&rsquo;s system: 1. Niklas Kronwall, D, Djurgarden (Swe.); 2. Henrik Zetterberg, LW, Timra(Swe.); 3. Yuri Butsayev, C, Cincinnati (AHL); 4. Jesse Wallin, D, Cincinnati (AHL); 5. Pavel Datsyuk, C, AK Bars Kazan (Rus.).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Mathieu Dandenault, D, 25; Tomas Holmstrom, RW, 28; Aaron Ward, D, 28.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Doug Brown, RW, 37; Todd Gill, D, 35; Igor Larionov, C, 40; Martin Lapointe, RW, 27; Larry Murphy, D, 40; Pat Verbeek, RW, 37.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-02310/7655484-1-eng-US/f0042-022.jpg" title="f0042-02" width="780" height="1855"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-03246/7655477-1-eng-US/f0042-032.jpg" title="f0042-03" width="712" height="179"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0042-04195/7655470-1-eng-US/f0042-042.jpg" title="f0042-04" width="159" height="203"></div>Chosen: 10th overallSmall, steady goalie had three stints with the Wings over 13-year career; had brief stops in Pittsburgh, Toronto and Los Angeles. &#9632;

f0042-01

Wings paying for past success

<div class="byline">By Rob Tychkowski</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0043-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-02351/7655543-1-eng-US/f0043-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Doug Weight Drafted: 34th overall by New York Rangers, 1990</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-01523/7655550-1-eng-US/f0043-012.jpg" title="f0043-01" width="229" height="227"></div>For a small-market team playing with Canadian money, the Oilers have made tremendous progress over the past few years. After missing the playoffs four straight seasons, they&rsquo;ve attended the spring dance five years in a row and are one of the NHL&rsquo;s most entertaining and economical teams.But they have to take the next step. Like they said after losing out to Dallas: A feisty first round exit isn&rsquo;t good enough anymore.The future of Doug Weight, who is a restricted free agent this summer, will have a huge impact on the club. The Oilers will either sign him to a multi-year contract or maximize their return in a trade. But, at the end of the day, Edmonton can&rsquo;t afford to raid the free agent market and must live and die by the draft. That&rsquo;s what made the Oilers a dynasty in the early 1980s and that&rsquo;s the only way they can contend again.CALLING THE SHOTS Vice-president of hockey operations Kevin Prendergast is the Oilers&rsquo; premier assessor of talent. A contender for the GM job when Kevin Lowe was on the fence, Prendergast has been with the Oilers for 11 years and oversees the scouting staffs, both pro and amateur. Before joining the Oilers, he spent seven years as the NHL Central Scouting Service&rsquo;s assistant director of scouting.Lowe will also be very hands-on in this draft. He accompanied Prendergast to Europe earlier this year on a two-week scouting trip to see some of the top prospects.DRAFT TENDENCY Edmonton has always gravitated toward players with speed and it has often paid off. They&rsquo;ll still favor good skaters this year, but it&rsquo;s clear they covet grit and reliability, too. Unless somebody is a natural scorer, the Oilers will lean toward players with toughness, heart and who know how to look after their own end of the ice.IMMEDIATE NEED Strong forwards. Once you get past Mike Grier and Georges Laraque, the Oilers don&rsquo;t have much muscle up front. They have guys who don&rsquo;t back down, such as Ryan Smyth, Ethan Moreau and Todd Marchant, but they&rsquo;re not exactly power forwards. They have a lot of small skilled players, such as Mike Comrie, Dan Cleary, Shawn Horcoff and Domenic Pittis, but they need bangers who can play. Those players are invaluable in the playoffs, a lesson the Oilers learned against Dallas (again).They also need a troublemaker. Too many times the Oilers allowed themselves to be lulled to sleep. They could use a Darcy Tucker-type player to stir things up and get the blood boiling because that&rsquo;s when Edmonton plays its best hockey.LONG-TERM NEED There&rsquo;s no goaltending depth behind Tommy Salo. He&rsquo;s signed through at least the next three years, but the team has always had an elite goalie (Andy Moog, Grant Fuhr, Bill Ranford, Curtis Joseph) and there isn&rsquo;t anyone on the horizon to take the torch.Also, Weight could leave via unrestricted free agency next summer (depending on his next contract), which would leave a huge hole. The Oilers can&rsquo;t just draft another Weight, so they&rsquo;ll need to stock the shelves with skill players and hope two or three future stars can step in and pick up the slack.READY TO STEP IN Center Jason Chimera turned in an excellent season in Hamilton (29 goals, 54 points) and should crack the lineup this fall. He was good enough to make the team last October, but fell victim to his two-way contract. He&rsquo;s durable (78 games), feisty (93 penalty minutes) and doesn&rsquo;t disappear in the clutch (eight gamewinners).In a mid-season evaluation report, Lowe called Chimera the organization&rsquo;s best prospect and nothing happened to change his mind. He won&rsquo;t get lots of ice time in Edmonton, but the 180-pounder will bring speed, energy and emotion. It has been a while since he was drafted (121st overall in 1997), but the 22-year-old Edmonton native appears readyTOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Edmonton&rsquo;s system: 1. Jani Rita, RW, Jokerit (Fin.); 2. Alexei Semenov D, Sudbury (OHL); 3. Jason Chimera, C, Hamilton (AHL); 4. Tony Salmelainen, LW, Helsinki (Fin.); 5. Brad Winchester, C/LW, Wisconsin (WCHA).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Eric Brewer, D, 21; Dan Cleary, RW, 22; Janne Niinimaa, D, 26; Tom Poti, D, 24; Doug Weight, C, 30; Sergei Zholtok, C, 29.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Igor Ulanov, D, 31.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-03285/7655536-1-eng-US/f0043-032.jpg" title="f0043-03" width="778" height="1849"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-04203/7655529-1-eng-US/f0043-042.jpg" title="f0043-04" width="713" height="178"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-05173/7655522-1-eng-US/f0043-052.jpg" title="f0043-05" width="155" height="203"></div>Chosen: 21stFirst of three consecutive home runs hit by the Oilers in &rsquo;79; Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson were taken in the next two rounds. &#9632;

f0043-02

Time to get bigger, meaner

In his 13 years in charge of the NHL&rsquo;s Central Scouting Service, Frank Bonello has seen some wicked fights-on the ice and in the boardroom.&ldquo;Yes, some of our exchanges can get a little heated,&rdquo; said Bonello, who is in charge of the CSS&rsquo;s seven fulltime and nine part-time scouts.That&rsquo;s the way it is when scouts who take pride in their individual evaluations gather to piece together player rankings for the annual NHL entry draft.If you think compiling the final list is a piece of cake, think again.The entire procedure takes nearly two weeks&rsquo; worth of 10-hour days. The group writes out detailed descriptions of each player rated in the first four rounds, as well as the 12 highest-ranked goaltenders. That alone takes about five days.&ldquo;We really, really try to provide an accurate description of the players,&rdquo; Bonello said. &ldquo;It can be very taxing.&rdquo; The CSS puts out three lists per year. The preliminary one comes out in October and identifies the better draft-eligible players in North American leagues, as well as those in Europe. The second list is a midterm report released in January and the final listing comes out in April. Each list has four categories: North American skaters and goalies and European skaters and goalies.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0043-06142/7655581-1-eng-US/f0043-062.jpg" title="f0043-06" width="337" height="443"><figcaption class="caption-body">Frank Bonello</figcaption></div>To determine the order, the entire CSS staff gathers in a boardroom at the NHL offices in Toronto, where they&rsquo;re provided with individual cards with every ranked player&rsquo;s name.To get started, each scout turns in two cards with the players they think should be ranked No. 1 and 2.Next, each scout turns in their cards in groups of seven or eight in their preferred order and the results are tallied by a computer. The computer then ranks each grouping of players according to the scouts&rsquo; combined rankings.Once the overall list is completed, it is reviewed. This is when some of the &ldquo;heated&rdquo; discussions often take place.&ldquo;We have disagreements, but we work them out,&rdquo; Bonello said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s really interesting when we get two veteran guys who disagree on a certain player. When that happens, it&rsquo;s up to me to make the final decision (on the ranking). They always joke that I hold the hammer.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0043-06

Central Scouting Service’s final list no picnic for Bonello and staff

<div class="byline">By David J. Neal</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-01407/7655640-1-eng-US/f0044-012.jpg" title="f0044-01" width="255" height="247"></div>When the Florida Panthers were awarded the 2001 draft last year, the immediate question asked loudly outside the organization and quietly inside of it was: &ldquo;How can you get South Florida&rsquo;s NHL fans and media interested in an event featuring players they don&rsquo;t know?&rdquo;Nobody envisioned the Panthers following a playoff year with the worst season in franchise history They have the fourth overall pick going into draft weekend, but don&rsquo;t be surprised if they make a big splash by pulling off a major trade.A deal involving right winger Pavel Bure isn&rsquo;t out of the question. Bure&rsquo;s $10-million stipend is a lot on a payroll that, sources say, the most likely prospective new ownership group may limit to $29 million.CALLING THE SHOTS After Dec. 28, the last Murray left standing in the Panthers&rsquo; organization was director of amateur scouting Tim Murray, nephew of ex-GM Bryan Murray and ex-coach Terry Murray. This will be Tim&rsquo;s third year running the draft table. In 1998, he shared the duties with then-director of player development Paul Henry.DRAFT TENDENCY The Panthers give the usual blah, blah, blah about taking &ldquo;the best player available.&rdquo; But, with Florida, bet on that best player available in the first or second round being a talented European-that has been the case for five of nine such picks by this scouting group, including three of their four first round picks (wingers Radek Dvorak, 1995; Marcus Nilson, 1996; and Denis Shvidki, 1999). Twice, they&rsquo;ve taken goalies in the second round, missing with Aaron MacDonald (1995) and getting a possible hit with Alexander Auld (1999).IMMEDIATE NEED It was said late in 1999-2000. It was said during the 2000 offseason. It was obvious throughout 200001: The Panthers need at least one defenseman and at least one forward with both brute strength and a hint of a scoring touch.Being neither punishing physically nor crisp passers as a group, the defense is neither fish nor fowl, usually just foul in getting the transition started. There&rsquo;s little edge to most of the forwards on the top two lines, which helps explain the team&rsquo;s overall character deficiency.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-02222/7655633-1-eng-US/f0044-022.jpg" title="f0044-02" width="1024" height="1650"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Pavel Bure Drafted: 113th overall by Vancouver, 1989</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED When looking a tew years into the future, defense comes up as a depleted area. Robert Svehla, 32, is already getting worn down. It wouldn&rsquo;t be a surprise if he retired back to Slovakia after this contract. Bret Hedican, 31 in August, likely will have sailed away on unrestricted free agency waters. And the rest of the veteran Panther defenders should be gone by then, too.The odds say Lance Ward, Kyle Rossiter, Brad Ference and Vladimir Sapozhnikov aren&rsquo;t all going to develop into quality NHL defensemen, at least not all in Florida. And even if they do, you need six or seven blueliners to be a real contender. Free agency only brings so much and, until the talent pool catches up with expansion, defensemen will be hard to get via trades.READY TO STEP IN Kristian Huselius, 22, thought he needed one more year before coming to the NHL. The rest of the Swedish Elite League wishes he had made the jump last season after Huselius dominated the league, leading in goals, assists, points, power play goals, shorthanded goals and game-winners.With friend Marcus Nilson on the Panthers, the off-ice adjustment should be easier for the highly skilled Huselius. The lone question is his ability to handle life on the 85-foot wide rink. There isn&rsquo;t a physical side to Huselius&rsquo; game.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Florida&rsquo;s system: 1. Kristian Huselius, LW, Frolunda (Swe.); 2. Ivan Novoseltsev, RW, Louisville (AHL); 3. Brad Ference, D, Louisville (AHL); 4. Alex Auld, G, North Bay (OHL); 5. Niklas Hagman, LW, Karpat (Fin.).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Dan Boyle, D, 24; Anders Eriksson, D, 26; John Jakopin, D, 26; Olli Jokinen, C/LW, 22; Roberto Luongo, G, 22; Rob Niedermayer, C, 26; Marcus Nilson, LW/C, 23; Joey Tetarenko, D/RW, 23; Lance Ward, D, 23; Mike Wilson, D, 26.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Len Barrie, C, 32; Greg Adams, LW, 37.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1993 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces. We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-03164/7655626-1-eng-US/f0044-032.jpg" title="f0044-03" width="788" height="1816"><figcaption class="caption-body">ShvidkiNovoseltsev</figcaption></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-04127/7655619-1-eng-US/f0044-042.jpg" title="f0044-04" width="709" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0044-05107/7655612-1-eng-US/f0044-052.jpg" title="f0044-05" width="157" height="202"></div>Chosen: 5th overallHasn&rsquo;t met the high expectations placed on him since being drafted, but is still a key cog for the Panthers. &#9632;

f0044-01

Defense, gut check needed

<div class="byline">By Matt McHale</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-01334/7655699-1-eng-US/f0045-012.jpg" title="f0045-01" width="243" height="247"></div>Coming off their best playoff show ing in eight years, the Kings hope to keep the momentum going at the June entry draft, where they have four of the first 50 picks.Unlike last season, when they focused on selecting older European defensive players who could help right away, the Kings do not have a specific agenda.But on a team that notoriously has selected poorly during its 34year history, the Kings recognize just how critical this year&rsquo;s draft can be.&ldquo;The organization has taken a step forward with our showing in the playoffs and we need to keep that going,&rdquo; said GM Dave Taylor, whose club got within one game of the Western Conference final.&ldquo;We have a chance to add depth and we have a chance to make trades. We are in a good position.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS Taylor scouts junior tournaments during the NHL season and will attend a combine of the top 100 amateur players at the end of May in Toronto.But the Kings&rsquo; GM only makes suggestions on draft decisions. Director of amateur scouting Al Murray and his staff will have the final call. Murray, 43, is in his 12th season with the Kings and seventh as amateur scouting director. The only No. 1 pick still with the club is Jamie Storr (1994), but in the fourth round last year, the Kings landed Lubomir Visnovsky who led rookie defensemen in scoring.Last year is considered the Kings&rsquo; best draft since 1980, when they selected defenseman Larry Murphy and forwards Jim Fox and Bernie Nicholls.&ldquo;I have seen some of these players, but the (scouting staff) has been all over the world looking at talent,&rdquo; Taylor said. &ldquo;They did a great job last year.&rdquo; DRAFT TENDENCY With Storr and veter an Stephane Fiset backing up Felix Potvin, the club could package an early pick with one of the reserve goaltenders in a draft-day trade. Storr, who is eligible for salary arbitration, will be easier to move than Fiset, who has two years left on his contract and played just seven games this season due to knee injuries.IMMEDIATE NEED A power forward, as Glen Murray and Jozef Stumpel have been unable to fill that role. Murray had a great playoff, but a disappointing season. Stumpel was out of sync all year after missing camp in a contract dispute.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-02183/7655692-1-eng-US/f0045-022.jpg" title="f0045-02" width="1025" height="1542"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Ziggy Palffy Drafted: 26th overall by New York Islanders, 1991</figcaption></div>It&rsquo;s unlikely the Kings will be able to fill that hole-there are more teams than legitimate power forwards in the NHL-but they&rsquo;ll explore trades and free agency during the off-season. Their playoff performance proved they have the defense and goaltending to compete.LONG-TERM NEED A leader. Captain Rob Blake is gone. If veteran Luc Robitaille, an unrestricted free agent, doesn&rsquo;t return, he&rsquo;ll take his experience and annual contribution of 30-plus goals with him. Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller should help in the leadership department as they brought a winning attitude from Colorado, but will it carry over next season?A young defense continues to be a strong point, but if Mathieu Schneider leaves via unrestricted free agency, the Kings will be scrambling to replace his scoring and intangibles. The team needs to maintain a comfort zone for Potvin, who was awful in Vancouver but flourished in L.A. That will begin this summer with a contract extension for the restricted free agent.READY TO STEP IN In addition to getting Deadmarsh and Miller for Blake, the Kings received Colorado&rsquo;s No. 1 pick this season and top junior prospect Jared Aulin.Aulin, a center taken 47th overall last season, has a good chance of making the Kings. He averaged two points per game in the Western League and was expected to make the Avs in 2001-02 if unrestricted free agent Joe Sakic did not return.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in L.A.&rsquo;s system: 1. Yanick Lehoux, C, Baie-Comeau (QMJHL); 2. Adam Mair, C, Los Angeles (NHL); 3. Andreas Lilja, D, Lowell (AHL); 4. Alexander Frolov, LW, Yaroslavl (Rus.); 5. Joe Corvo, D, Lowell (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Eric Belanger, LW, 23; Philippe Boucher, D, 28; Aaron Miller, D, 29; Jaroslav Modry, D, 30; Felix Potvin, G, 29; Bryan Smolinski, RW, 29; Jamie Storr, G, 25; Marko Tuomainen, D, 29; Lubomir Visnovsky, D, 24.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Stu Grimson, RW, 36; Luc Robitaille, LW, 35; Mathieu Schneider, D, 35.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-03140/7655685-1-eng-US/f0045-032.jpg" title="f0045-03" width="768" height="1853"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-04114/7655678-1-eng-US/f0045-042.jpg" title="f0045-04" width="704" height="178"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0597/7655671-1-eng-US/f0045-052.jpg" title="f0045-05" width="160" height="206"></div>Chosen: 16th overall Defenseman spent 2-1/2 seasons with the Kings before being packaged in the deal that netted Rogie Vachon from Montreal. &#9632;

f0045-01

Kings ride wave into Florida

The key to older Europeans making the grade in the NHL after being passed over in previous drafts, according to Minnesota Wild GM Doug Risebrough, is finding those who can play the same way in North America as they do at home.&ldquo;A lot of the scouts in Europe don&rsquo;t see enough NHL games to get a good feel for how players will do if they come to North America,&rdquo; Risebrough said.So when former NHL coach Pierre Page insisted last June that Lubomir Sekeras of Slovakia could make the grade in North America, Risebrough took him 232nd overall, even though the defenseman was 31 years old.The selection paid off as Sekeras finished second in team scoring with 11 goals and 34 points in 80 games.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s very composed, he has good hockey sense and he loves to move the puck,&rdquo; Risebrough said. &ldquo;In late January (assistant coach) Mike Ramsey said to me, &lsquo;I haven&rsquo;t seen him rim the puck (around the boards) yet.&rsquo;&rdquo;Minnesota also drafted 26-year-old Russian Maxim Sushinsky and 27-year-old Slovak Peter Bartos, a pair of wingers who saw NHL action.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0045-0684/7655730-1-eng-US/f0045-062.jpg" title="f0045-06" width="337" height="445"><figcaption class="caption-body">Lubomir Sekeras</figcaption></div>The St. Louis Blues enjoyed similar success drafting an older European when they took 28-year-old Alexander Khavanov 232nd overall in 1999. He developed into a trusty No. 3 defenseman this season.Here are some older undrafted Europeans (listed alphabetically) who might be picked this year:&#9633; Pasi Nurminen, 25, G. Took Finland to gold medal game at World Championship, had knee surgery after season ended. Played for Jokerit in Finnish League.&#9633; Ales Pisa, 24, D. Medium-sized rearguard has skill. A right shot from the point, which is hockey&rsquo;s equivalent to a left-handed pitcher in baseball. Good ones are very hard to find. Scored 10 goals, 23 points with Pardubice in Czech League.&#9633; Peter Pucher, 26, LW. Point-producing Slovak, who had 22 goals and 56 points in 52 games with Znojmo in Czech League this year.&#9633; Marek Zidlicky, 23, D. Czech, who was rated fairly high in his draft years, but never selected. Has continued to develop, but some shy away because of his size (5-foot-ll, 180 pounds). &#9632;

f0045-06

NHL teams look to older Europeans for ready-to-step-in ‘prospects’

<div class="byline">By Tom Jones</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-01325/7655789-1-eng-US/f0046-012.jpg" title="f0046-01" width="301" height="195"></div>When Minnesota GM Doug Risebrough stepped to the podium to announce the first-ever pick in franchise history last summer in Calgary, he thought he was taking a player who eventually would become the team&rsquo;s franchise player.Little did he know Marian Gaborik, the No. 3 pick overall, would become the team&rsquo;s best player immediately.Gaborik, just 18 this season, led the Wild with 36 points and tied for the lead with 18 goals despite missing nine games with injuries.Risebrough&rsquo;s goal now is to build around the talented Slovakian and goalie Manny Fernandez. Unfortunately for Risebrough, his task becomes more difficult because of the Wild&rsquo;s better-than-expected first season. Instead of getting a crack at another franchise player, the Wild will pick sixth in the first round. Risebrough believes a solid player will be available at No. 6 and that player will join Gaborik and Fernandez as the future, if not current, nucleus of the franchise.CALLING THE SHOTS Tom Thompson spent 16 years as a scout working for Calgary and Edmonton before becoming the Wild&rsquo;s scouting director last season. Few GMs, though, are more involved than Risebrough in the scouting process and draft-day doings. He spends as much time scouting during the season as watching his own team. Risebrough&rsquo;s favorite tactic is scouring Europe for older players who can play immediately Last season, the Wild took 32-year-old Lubomir Sekeras, 26-year-old Maxim Sushinsky and 27-year-old Peter Bartos, all of whom saw action in Minnesota.DRAFT TENDENCY Besides Risebrough&rsquo;s European experiments, the Wild&rsquo;s philosophy is simple: Take the best player available regardless of position. Being an expansion team, the Wild has holes everywhere and hardly any depth anywhere.The Wild could just as easily take a goalie in the first round or no goalies at all. It could take six defensemen or maybe one. It all depends on who&rsquo;s available when the Wild goes on the clock.IMMEDIATE NEED Before its debut season, Risebrough said the biggest obstacle facing an expansion team is finding players who can score goals. Boy, was he right. No team scored fewer goals than Minnesota&rsquo;s 168 and no team was shut out more often (14 times). The Wild didn&rsquo;t have a 20-goal scorer and Gaborik appears to be the only one on the NHL roster with the potential of developing into a 30-plus goal-scorer.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-02187/7655782-1-eng-US/f0046-022.jpg" title="f0046-02" width="1015" height="1529"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Marian Gaborik Drafted: third overall by Minnesota, 2000</figcaption></div>Risebrough&rsquo;s other theory is the only way expansion teams can acquire elite offensive players is to draft and develop them. So while Minnesota still is in the mode of taking the best player available, it is aware it needs to add players with scoring potential to the organization.LONG-TERM NEED Last season, the Wild&rsquo;s strength was in goal with Fernandez, 26, and Jamie McLennan, 29. The two combined for a sparkling 2.52 goals-against average, but don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Wild considers taking a goalie high in this year&rsquo;s draft.READY TO STEP IN Defenseman Nick Schultz, the Wild&rsquo;s second round pick last summer, has a good shot at making the team next season. In fact, he was so impressive in the Wild&rsquo;s inaugural camp, the team flirted with keeping him.But not wanting to rush the teenager, the Wild sent Schultz back to junior and it appears to have been the smart move. Schultz added size and had a solid season with Prince Albert, scoring 17 goals and 47 points in 59 games. He also played for Team Canada in the World Junior Championship.Risebrough says he won&rsquo;t rush Schultz next season either, but if the defenseman is even slightly better than he was a year ago, he likely will see time in a Wild uniform in 2001-02.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Minnesota&rsquo;s system: 1. Willie Mitchell, D, Minnesota (NHL); 2. Nick Schultz, D, Prince Albert (WHL); 3. Marc Cavosie, LW, RPI (ECAC); 4. Dan Cavanaugh, C, Boston University (HE); 5. Richard Wallin, LW, Farjestad (Swe.).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Brad Bombardir, D, 29; Manny Fernandez, G, 26; Aaron Gavey, C, 27; Darby Hendrickson, C, 29; Matt Johnson, LW, 25; Sergei Krivokrasov, RW, 27; Filip Kuba, D, 24; Stacy Roest, C, 27. Roman Simicek, 29. Cam Stewart, LW, 29.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS None.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 2000 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-03131/7655775-1-eng-US/f0046-032.jpg" title="f0046-03" width="776" height="1846"><figcaption class="caption-body">Peter Bartos Drafted: 214th overall</figcaption></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-04109/7655768-1-eng-US/f0046-042.jpg" title="f0046-04" width="705" height="176"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0585/7655761-1-eng-US/f0046-052.jpg" title="f0046-05" width="158" height="205"></div>Chosen: 3rd overallFlashy teenager impressed team brass by scoring 18 goals this season and his offensive upside gives Wild hope for the future. &#9632;

f0046-01

Wild on lookout for goals

A lot of people thought the New York Islanders already had their goalie of the future.Mike Milbury didn&rsquo;t. So the Islanders&rsquo; GM traded Roberto Luongo in a package deal to the Florida Panthers and then made Rick DiPietro the first goalie ever selected first overall in the modern-day draft.Here&rsquo;s a look at last year&rsquo;s first round:1. Rick DiPietro, G, Islanders Controversial top pick handles the puck well, as advertised. The question is, can he stop it? (3-15-1,3.49)2. Dany Heatley, LW, Atlanta Shooter played center most of this season with Wisconsin (WCHA). (3924-33-57-74)3. Marian Gaborik, LW, Minnesota Teenage Slovak led Wild in scoring with 36 points. (71-18-18-36-32)4. Rostislav Klesla, D, Columbus Starred with Brampton (OHL) after eight-game NHL stint. (45-18-3654-59)5. Raffi Torres, LW, Islanders Aggressive Brampton (OHL) winger reminds some of Wendel Clark (5533-37-70-76)6. Scott Hartnell, RW, Nashville Eighteen-year-old&rsquo;s ice time increased dramatically in the second half of the season. (75-2-14-16-48)<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0046-0677/7655820-1-eng-US/f0046-062.jpg" title="f0046-06" width="338" height="442"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Milbury</figcaption></div>7. Lars Jonsson, D, Boston Thumb injury derailed Jonsson&rsquo;s development with Leksand in Swedish League. (31-2-1-3-12)8. Nikita Alexeev, RW, Tampa Bay Size (6-foot-5, 215 pounds), scoring punch with Erie (OHL) and confidence should get him to Tampa Bay next season. (64-31-41-72-45)9. Brent Krahn, G, Calgary A season-ending knee injury halted what was just a so-so campaign with Calgary (WHL). (22-10-3, 2.99)10. Mikhail Yakubov, C, Chicago Didn&rsquo;t get sufficient playing time with Togliatti in Russian Superleague. (24-0-0-0-8)11. Pavel Vorobiev, RW, Chicago Played with skill and grit at WJC and Yaroslavl in Russia. (36-8-8-16-28)12. Alexei Smirnov, LW, Anaheim Performance with Dynamo Moscow picked up as playing time increased. (28-2-0-2-16)13. Ron Hainsey, D, Montreal Displayed great offensive instincts with UMass-Lowell (HE) before signing with Habs. Needs seasoning in minors. (33-10-26-36-51)14. Vaclav Nedorost, C, Colorado Ceske Budejovice sophomore placed second in scoring at WJC to help Czech Republic mine gold. (36-3-12-15-14)15. Artem Kryukov, C, Buffalo Lanky center handles the puck well, but couldn&rsquo;t score with Yaroslavl and St. Petersburg (Rus.). (21-0-2-2-18)16. Marcel Hossa, C, Montreal Marian&rsquo;s brother didn&rsquo;t progress as hoped with Portland (WHL), but still put up decent numbers. (58-34-56-90-58)17. Alexei Mikhnov, LW, Edmonton The Oilers hope the 6-foot-5, 200-pounder from Tver in Russia&rsquo;s second league can develop into a skilled power forward. (stats not available)18. Brooks Orpik, D, Pittsburgh Solid in his own zone with Boston College (HE) and has a nasty streak. (40-0-20-20-124)19. Krys Kolanos, C, Phoenix Slick pivot turned on offense with Boston College (HE). (41-25-25-50-54)20. Alexander Frolov, LW, Los Angeles Scored plenty with Soviet Wings in Russia&rsquo;s second league. (57-2827-55-12)21. Anton Volchenkov, D, Ottawa Powerful defenseman with Soviet Wings expected to challenge for a spot on Ottawa blueline next year. (47-3-5-8-60)22. David Hale, D, New Jersey North Dakota (WCHA) defender can punish forwards. (44-4-5-9-79)23. Nathan Smith, C, Vancouver Picked for solid two-way play, he improved offensively with Swift Current (WHL). (67-28-62-90-78)24. Brad Boyes, C, Toronto Slick scorer named OHL&rsquo;s player of the year with Erie. (59-45-45-90-42)25. Steve Ott, C, Dallas Agitating checker exhibited a scoring touch this season with Windsor (OHL); played with Jason Spezza. (55-50-37-87-164)26. Brian Sutherby, C, Washington After nearly making the Caps, rugged center scored well for Moose Jaw (WHL). (59-34-43-77-138)27. Martin Samuelsson, RW, Boston Improved with Hammarby in Sweden&rsquo;s second league, but must get stronger. (3815-6-21-18)28. Justin Williams, RW, Philadelphia Speedster cracked Flyers&rsquo; lineup and performed admirably (63-12-1325-22)29. Niklas Kronwall, D, Detroit Nagging injuries slowed his development with Djurgarden (Swe.), but he&rsquo;s the top Red Wings&rsquo; prospect. (31-1-9-10-32)30. Jeff Taffe, C, Phoenix Minnesota (WCHA) pivot key part of Tkachuk deal; overall game needs work. (38-12-23-35-56) &#9632;

f0046-06

Milbury steals spotlight at 2000 draft by picking goalie DiPietro No. 1

<div class="byline">By Herb Zurkowsky</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-01363/7655879-1-eng-US/f0047-012.jpg" title="f0047-01" width="276" height="187"></div>Although he has spent only a year with the organization, Martin Madden realizes the Montreal Canadiens, who have missed the playoffs for three straight seasons, must improve dramatically before they can be considered one of the NHL&rsquo;s elite teams.&ldquo;Frankly, everyone is aware (the system) isn&rsquo;t very deep,&rdquo; said the assistant GM, who does extensive scouting at the amateur and pro levels. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s work to be done.&rdquo;Madden believes there are prospects in the organization who can make the jump to the NHL, but added that when a team doesn&rsquo;t win, even more pressure is placed upon the young newcomers.CALLING THE SHOTS The Habs are no different than most teams. The GM has the final say, especially in the first few rounds, based on input he has received from scouts.Andre Savard might be a rookie GM, but he cut his teeth with the Ottawa Senators, spending four years as head scout. There, he gained a reputation for finding diamonds in the rough, selecting Marian Hossa 12th overall in 1997, Mike Fisher 44th in 1998 and Martin Havlat 26th in 1999.DRAFT TENDENCY Standard answer here. All together now: The Canadiens will draft the best player available, regardless of position, or so they say.The organization sometimes appeared to lack a philosophy under previous GM Rejean Houle, but the feeling is that will change with the erudite Savard in charge.If there&rsquo;s any trend, it&rsquo;s this: After years of avoiding Europeans, the Habs are attempting to make up for the sins of previous regimes. Their first pick in 1999, right winger Alexander Buturlin, is Russian, while five of their 11 picks last year were European-born.IMMEDIATE NEED You don&rsquo;t have to be a rocket scientist to figure this one out.The Canadiens scored only 206 goals this season (23rd in the league), placing tremendous pressure on their defense and goaltenders. Montreal had only one player, Brian Savage, surpass the 20-goal plateau.&ldquo;We need a scorer,&rdquo; Madden said. &ldquo;But when you put yourself in that situation, sometimes&hellip;you restrict yourself. You may overlook a player who could be a scorer, but isn&rsquo;t at this stage of his career.&rdquo;LONG-TERM NEED Savage, the team&rsquo;s leading goal-scorer last season, is 30 years old. So is Czech left winger Martin Rucinsky. As well as diminutive Russian right winger Oleg Petrov, who had a career season with 17 goals and 47 points. And Patrice Brisebois, one of the few Montreal defensemen capable of scoring, is the same age. In other words, many of the Habs&rsquo; skilled players will be getting old at the same time.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-02240/7655872-1-eng-US/f0047-022.jpg" title="f0047-02" width="1019" height="1529"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Saku Koivu Drafted: 21st overall by Montreal, 1993</figcaption></div>On the other hand, Benoit Brunet, the team&rsquo;s best penalty-killer, turns 33 this summer and has a history of injuries. And rugged Gino Odjick, who keeps opposing players honest, is approaching his 31st birthday.So the Canadiens must find both skill and muscle for down the road.READY TO STEP IN Montreal has always been reluctant to identify a prospect, figuring if they do and the player doesn&rsquo;t crack the roster, they&rsquo;ve exposed themselves to media scrutiny.Needless to say, when a team misses the playoffs, there are spots available. The most likely candidates are a pair of centers from the team&rsquo;s American League affiliate in Quebec, Eric Chouinard and Mike Ribeiro. Chouinard was Montreal&rsquo;s first choice (16th overall) in 1998, while Ribeiro went 45th that same year.The Canadiens hope Chouinard develops into the scorer the organization lacks, while Ribeiro is more of a playmaker and pest who management hopes grows into a Darcy Tucker clone. But it would be surprising if either has much of an impact as rookies.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Montreal&rsquo;s organization: 1. Ron Hainsey, D, UMass-Lowell (HE); 2. Mathieu Garon, G, Quebec (AHL); 3. Marcel Hossa, C, Portland (WHL); 4. Eric Chouinard, C, Quebec (AHL); 5. Jozef Balej, RW, Portland (WHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Arron Asham, RW, 23; Francis Bouillon, D, 25; Patrice Brisebois, D, 30; Craig Darby, C, 28; Mathieu Garon, G, 23; Chad Kilger, C, 24; Saku Koivu, C, 26; Juha Lind, LW, 27; Stephane Robidas, D, 24; Brian Savage, LW, 30; Patrick Traverse, D, 27; Johan Witehall, LW, 29.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Jim Campbell, RW, 28.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-03186/7655865-1-eng-US/f0047-032.jpg" title="f0047-03" width="778" height="1841"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-04136/7655858-1-eng-US/f0047-042.jpg" title="f0047-04" width="703" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0047-05104/7655851-1-eng-US/f0047-052.jpg" title="f0047-05" width="158" height="202"></div>Chosen: 1st overallA brilliant junior, Houle&rsquo;s decent 10-year career with the Habs was sandwiched around three years with Quebec in the WHA. &#9632;

f0047-01

Goal-scorers apply within

<div class="byline">By Jeff Leg wold</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-01231/7655938-1-eng-US/f0048-012.jpg" title="f0048-01" width="314" height="183"></div>There comes a point in any and all conversations about the franchise&rsquo;s future when Predators&rsquo; GM David Poile will utter the phrase &ldquo;the plan.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s a lock. A given. Fully guaranteed.&ldquo;And as we move forward-and I hope people aren&rsquo;t tired of hearing me say it-but we do have a plan,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re committed to our plan, we believe in our plan&hellip;we think it&rsquo;s the right way to do it.&rdquo;And at the hub of the wheel in the Predators&rsquo; plan is the entry draft. It is where a small-market franchise that is always mindful of the bottom line has to find most of its treasure.Which is why a franchise that just completed its third season already had three of its own draft picks-David Legwand, Denis Arkhipov and Scott Hartnell-in the lineup at season&rsquo;s end. It is why so many of their rookies were given so much ice time all year long, including the 18-year-old Hartnell-the youngest player in the NHL in 2000-01.&ldquo;And we feel good about our drafting,&rdquo; Poile said. &ldquo;The cupboard that was bare a few years ago is starting to fill up now.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS While he listens to his employees, there&rsquo;s no question Poile has the final word in this affair. Assistant GM Ray Shero and chief amateur scout Craig Channell each has a huge impact on what the team does in the draft, but the close-to-the-vest Poile has the wheel and he will quickly break any ties.DRAFT TENDENCY While all three of their first round selections have been players from North America, the Predators have scoured Europe. Last year eight of their 12 picks were Europeans and they also selected eight Euros in 1999.IMMEDIATE NEED The Predators need some more pop up front. While an 80-point season was a franchise record and something that showed some improvement in their third year on the ice, this team needs goals and they need them now. &ldquo;We have to increase the offense,&rdquo; said coach Barry Trotz. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve got to raise the bar a little bit there. We have some young players who will be good pros when they mature a little bit, but we need to be harder to play against.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-02147/7655931-1-eng-US/f0048-022.jpg" title="f0048-02" width="1029" height="1545"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Cliff Ronnmg Drafted: 134th overall by St. Louis, 1984</figcaption></div>Nashville had just one 20-goal scorer this season-Scott Walker, with 25- and just two 50-point players.LONG-TERM NEED There were times this season when the Predators had five rookies who were not only on the roster, but were getting regular ice time as well.But one of their most reliable defensemen was Bill Houlder, who is 34 years old. And Cliff Ronning, who has led the team in scoring in the last three seasons, is 35. That&rsquo;s a lot of productive ice time that will need to be filled down the road.Overall the organization is probably thinnest along the blueline, as evidenced by Richard Lintner&rsquo;s struggles at times this past season. Lintner has shown flashes of offensive ability, but has also often battled to maintain any semblance of consistency. He still spent most of the season on the Predators&rsquo; roster, however, playing 50 games.Nashville is hopeful Pavel Skrbek can play more next season and is also encouraged by the upside of defenders Bubba Berenzweig, who spent the year with Milwaukee in the International League, and Andrew Hutchinson from Michigan State.READY TO STEP IN He&rsquo;s Still learning the North American game, but Poile has said he would be disappointed if Jonas Andersson isn&rsquo;t in the Predators&rsquo; lineup at some point next season.Andersson, the 33rd pick in 1999, has the kind of speed the Predators covet. He just hasn&rsquo;t always been as efficient as he could be with that speed, especially when it comes to manufacturing scoring chances. He has also battled some nagging injuries over the last two years.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Nashville&rsquo;s system: 1. Brian Finley, G, Brampton (OHL); 2. Jan Lasak, G, Milwaukee (IHL); 3. Martin Erat, LW, Red Deer (WHL); 4. Jonas Andersson, RW, Milwaukee (IHL); 5. Pavel Skrbek, D, Milwaukee (IHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS MarianCisar, RW, 23; Mike Dunham, G, 29; Mark Eaton, D, 24; Cale Hulse, D, 27; Randy Robitaille, C, 25; Pavel Skrbek, D, 22; Jeremy Stevenson, RW, 26; Scott Walker, 27.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS None.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1998 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-03103/7655924-1-eng-US/f0048-032.jpg" title="f0048-03" width="784" height="1854"><figcaption class="caption-body">Scott HartnellBrian Finley</figcaption></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0483/7655917-1-eng-US/f0048-042.jpg" title="f0048-04" width="707" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0048-0564/7655910-1-eng-US/f0048-052.jpg" title="f0048-05" width="160" height="204"></div>Chosen: 2nd overallThe gifted forward improved last season, his second in the NHL, but the Predators are still waiting for him to break through. &#9632;

f0048-01

Predators sticking to plan

<div class="byline">By Rich Chere</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0049-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-02141/7655990-1-eng-US/f0049-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Patrik Elias Drafted: 51st overall by New Jersey, 1994 (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-01204/7655997-1-eng-US/f0049-012.jpg" title="f0049-01" width="231" height="239"></div>If Lou Lamoriello were playing poker with his fellow GMs, it would surprise no one if the New Jersey Devils&rsquo; chief somehow wound up with more cards than his opponents.That is how it may seem to the rest of the NHL when Lamoriello sits down at the Devils&rsquo; draft table with eight picks in the first four rounds.&ldquo;We have a very positive feeling going into this draft,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;Will we keep all our picks? Will we do something (like a trade)? Until we see what other people are thinking and what is available out there, we won&rsquo;t make that decision.&rdquo;Clearly, Lamoriello is in a strong position again this year. The Devils will have two first round picks (their own and one from St. Louis as part of the compensation for the Scott Stevens tampering case). Although he traded the team&rsquo;s second round selection to Montreal with Sheldon Souray, Lamoriello has a second round compensatory pick for losing free agent Vladimir Malakhov.Then there&rsquo;s the third round, where the Devils have four picks-their own, a compensatory pick for losing free agent Claude Lemieux and picks from Columbus (for Krzysztof Oliwa) and Phoenix (for Lyle Odelein). The Devils retained their fourth round pick.CALLING THE SHOTS Lamoriello has the final word on each selection, but he relies heavily on director of scouting David Conte. In his 17th season with the franchise, Conte may be destined to become a GM. He interviewed with Calgary last year, but remained committed to the Devils.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m very happy with what I have,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;I really like the people I work for. I&rsquo;ve been with this franchise a long time and I&rsquo;m proud of what I&rsquo;ve done. Winning is what matters.&rdquo;DRAFT TENDENCY The most important aspect of New Jersey&rsquo;s interview process is determining the character of a potential pick.The Devils will always pass over a player with more talent for a prospect they believe will be willing to adjust to the team concept and not rock the boat. There is no star treatment among the Devils&rsquo; prospects, a philosophy that comes directly from Lamoriello. With that in mind, the Devils have long drafted for size and strength, as they showed again last year by taking 6-foot-2, 205-pound defenseman David Hale with their first pick.IMMEDIATE NEED Cracks may be showing in the team&rsquo;s defense corps. Although the organization has solid prospects who could be the next generation of Scott Stevens or Ken Daneykos, the Devils need to shore up the blueline now. Along with a backup goalie, reinforcements in this area may come via a trade or free agency.&ldquo;Our team is at the level now where very few holes can be filled with draft picks,&rdquo; Lamoriello said. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re not afraid to look at players we know will take two or three years to develop.&rdquo;LONG-TERM NEED Martin Brodeur could become an unrestricted free agent after the 2002-03 season and the Devils need to have a goalie in place if they can&rsquo;t re-sign Brodeur to a longterm deal.Finnish prospect Ari Ahonen is the heir apparent, but the Devils need to restock a system that was once filled with future NHL goalies.Management also sees a need to add some size up front to carry on when Bobby Holik and Randy McKay are no longer productive.READY TO STEP IN Defenseman Mike Commodore, who played 20 games for the Devils, should earn a regular spot on the team next season. Commodore, 21, has the size (6-foot-4, 230 pounds) and a long reach to make him one of coach Larry Robinson&rsquo;s favorites. Since Willie Mitchell was traded to Minnesota, Commodore will get the longest look in training camp if the Devils don&rsquo;t re-sign Sean O&rsquo;Donnell.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in New Jersey&rsquo;s system: 1. Ari Ahonen, G, IFK Helsinki (Fin.); 2. Christian Berglund, C, Farjestad (Swe.); 3. David Hale, D, North Dakota (WCHA); 4. Brian Gionta, RW, Boston College (HE); 5. Mike Commodore, D, Albany (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Sergei Brylin, LW, 27; Scott Gomez, C, 21; Bobby Holik, C, 30; Petr Sykora, RW, 24.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Bob Corkum, C, 33; Alexander Mogilny, RW, 32; Sean O&rsquo;Donnell, D, 29; Ken Sutton, D, 31; John Vanbiesbrouck, G, 37.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0393/7655983-1-eng-US/f0049-032.jpg" title="f0049-03" width="776" height="1833"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0480/7655976-1-eng-US/f0049-042.jpg" title="f0049-04" width="697" height="174"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0049-0553/7655969-1-eng-US/f0049-052.jpg" title="f0049-05" width="157" height="201"></div>Chosen: 2nd overall (by K.C.) Rugged winger played a power forward&rsquo;s game before the term was widely used and wore No. 99 before The Great One&rsquo;s arrival. &#9632;

f0049-02

Devils stockpile draft picks

<div class="byline">By Peter Botte</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0050-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-02130/7656049-1-eng-US/f0050-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Mariusz Czerkawski Drafted: 106th overall by Boston, 1991 (Bruce Bennett/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-01202/7656056-1-eng-US/f0050-012.jpg" title="f0050-01" width="229" height="215"></div>Islanders&rsquo; GM Mike Milbury would prefer that his most important annual duty had less to do with the NHL entry draft each June than it has throughout his tenure with the team.But that certainly has been the case for Milbury since he took over the NHL&rsquo;s laughingstock club in the middle of the 1996-97 season.Milbury heads into his fifth draft as GM with a top-10 selection after the Islanders missed the playoffs for an NHL-high seventh consecutive season in 2000-01.With one of the best prospect pools in the NHL-and with a mandate from ownership to do whatever it takes to improve next season-Milbury would gladly part with this year&rsquo;s No. 2 overall selection for immediate help. And with marquee names such as Jaromir Jagr, Michael Peca, Eric Lindros and Alexei Yashin possibly available via trade this summer, Milbury hopes his days of preparing for little more than draft position finally are coming to an end.CALLING THE SHOTS Milbury has been the first to give &ldquo;credit&rdquo; to assistant GM Gord Clark and the Isles&rsquo; scouts for pushing for a certain draft choice, especially if that player doesn&rsquo;t pan out, such as top pick Michael Rupp in 1998.Milbury remains the overriding voice at the draft table, even if his impetuous style has resulted in some surprise selections and wild roster overhauls. Good or bad, Milbury was the star of the 2000 draft when he traded promising netminders Roberto Luongo and Kevin Weekes and made goalie Rick DiPietro the first overall pick.DRAFT TENDENCY Expect the unexpected. The choices of left winger J-P Dumont (1996) and goalie Roberto Luongo and blueliner Eric Brewer (both in 1997) with top-five picks were surprises, based on prospect rankings and team needs. All three are prospering elsewhere after Milbury traded them-and got less than expected in return.Last year&rsquo;s decision to draft DiPietro either will turn out to be a stroke of genius or ultimately cost Milbury his job, perhaps as early as next season.IMMEDIATE NEED Three straight seasons with fewer than 60 points suggest the Isles need help just about everywhere. In fact, they boast a competent defense corps, led by veterans Roman Hamrlik, Kenny Jonsson, Zdeno Chara and Kevin Haller and impressive youngster Branislav Mezei. But they&rsquo;ve been desperate for a No. 1 center since Pierre Turgeon was traded in 1995. They also need someone to take charge in the dressing room; their leadership was in question well before Jonsson rescinded the captaincy in November.LONG-TERM NEED This franchise has been looking down the road for so many years, there&rsquo;s a lot of skepticism about ownership&rsquo;s stated plan to accelerate the Isles&rsquo; perpetual rebuilding with immediate fixes.In any case, the team must address the annual issue of its anemic offense. Fortunately, this year&rsquo;s draft is front-end loaded with forward prospects, though they&rsquo;re all likely a few years away from any significant contributions. As well, the Islanders need someone who embodies the winning attitude the franchise exuded in its dynasty days of the early 1980s.Outside of defenseman Garry Galley, who may call it a career this summer, the Isles shouldn&rsquo;t lose any players to retirement in the near future.READY TO STEP IN The Isles typically haven&rsquo;t provided their prospects much developmental time, as evidenced by the presence on the NHL roster of college-aged kids such as DiPietro, Mezei, Tim Connolly and Taylor Pyatt.Left winger Raffi Torres, the team&rsquo;s first pick (fifth overall) last June, could make the jump next season. He&rsquo;s projected as a scrappy winger who could develop into a solid second-liner.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in the Islanders&rsquo; system: 1. Branislav Mezei, D, Islanders (NHL); 2. Raffi Torres, LW, Brampton (OHL). 3. Mathieu Biron, D, Springfield (AHL); 4. Juraj Kolnik, RW, Islanders (NHL); 5. Mattias Weinhandl, RW, MoDo (Swe.).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Aris Brimanis, D, 28; Zdeno Chara, D, 24; Mariusz Czerkawski, RW, 29; Brad Isbister, LW, 24; Kenny Jonsson, D, 26; Oleg Kvasha, C, 22; Mats Lindgren, C, 26; Mark Parrish, RW, 24; Steve Webb, RW, 26.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Craig Berube, LW, 35; Mark Lawrence, RW, 29; Chris Terreri, G, 36.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0375/7656042-1-eng-US/f0050-032.jpg" title="f0050-03" width="774" height="1837"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0463/7656035-1-eng-US/f0050-042.jpg" title="f0050-04" width="710" height="177"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0050-0542/7656028-1-eng-US/f0050-052.jpg" title="f0050-05" width="157" height="201"></div>Chosen: 1stAn original Islander, Harris was traded to Los Angeles for Butch Goring in 1980 and missed out on the Long Island dynasty. &#9632;

f0050-02

Long Island short on goals

<div class="byline">By Rick Carpiniello</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0051-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-02134/7656108-1-eng-US/f0051-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Brian Leetch Drafted: ninth overall by Rangers, 1986 (James Baker/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-01193/7656115-1-eng-US/f0051-012.jpg" title="f0051-01" width="214" height="205"></div>Bigger, stronger, faster, younger. Those are the four attributes the New York Rangers desire. They&rsquo;re also the same attributes every other NHL team desires.As the Rangers&rsquo; rebuilding process grows out of its infancy, GM-president Glen Sather has cited a need to gain &ldquo;assets.&rdquo; That&rsquo;s why, for example, while the Rangers&rsquo; top prospects are mostly on the blueline, the team won&rsquo;t hesitate to draft defensemen in the early rounds.&ldquo;The bottom line is, (defense) is the toughest position to grasp and learn, so you can never be too strong back there,&rdquo; said Tom Renney, in his first year as the team&rsquo;s director of player personnel. &ldquo;We have assets. What strength at a position does is give you assets.&rdquo;But the lack of valuable assets is something Sather often lamented during his first season in New York. Now he and his staff want to define the Rangers&rsquo; style of play, not only in 2001-02, but in 2005-06 and beyond.&ldquo;Philosophically, how we want them to play isn&rsquo;t how they play tomorrow, but three years from now,&rdquo; Renney said.CALLING THE SHOTS Renney will run the draft table, but calls the scene an &ldquo;interactive session.&rdquo; Of course it will be, but the final say will go to Sather, who was in office only a few weeks when he oversaw last year&rsquo;s draft. He surely will be more involved this time.Renney and Sather have plenty of help, from assistant GM Don Maloney to a veteran scouting staff.DRAFT TENDENCY The strategy of the current regime is similar to that of the previous front office: Take the best available athlete early on.&ldquo;Certainly we have a philosophy on how we want to play and what we want a Ranger to look like,&rdquo; Renney said.&ldquo;But I think our No. 1 priority is not position-specific. It&rsquo;s how this team needs to play in order to have success.&rdquo;He conceded it&rsquo;s crucial to build a team that can succeed in the East, but added, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not paint by numbers.&rdquo;IMMEDIATE NEED While the Rangers showed off a promising crop of four rookies and one sophomore on defense this season, the blueline is as much a priority as up front. &ldquo;The bottom line is, our team had the most goals scored against of any team in the NHL,&rdquo; Renney said. &ldquo;We want to, at some point, develop talent that will play responsibly at both ends of the rink.&rdquo;LONG-TERM NEED While the Rangers&rsquo; prospect list includes goalies Vitali Yeremeyev, Johan Hohnqvist and Jason LaBarbera, it&rsquo;s a position that needs to be addressed.&ldquo;I do believe Mike Richter will be all the way back (from a second major knee surgery), but having said that, we do want to make sure our goaltending is going to be strong,&rdquo; Renney said.And Mark Messier might retire some day, leaving a gaping hole that needs filling. But what are the chances of drafting a Messier?Also, the Rangers&rsquo; defense prospects are mostly of the skilled variety and they could use more bangers. &ldquo;There comes a point in time you&rsquo;re going to do things to address particular needs,&rdquo; Renney said.READY TO STEP IN There are the two blue-chippers everybody talks about, but neither one might make the team out of training camp.Sather and coach Ron Low have said that center Jamie Lundmark and right winger Pavel Brendl will have to earn their way onto the club. The popular thinking is that unless one of them exhibits stunning skills in the pre-season, they&rsquo;d be best served by starting the year in Hartford of the American League.Lundmark also faces a potential roadblock in that, barring off-season trades, the Rangers are set at No. 1, 2 and 3 centers with Messier, Petr Nedved and Mike York.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in the Rangers&rsquo; system: 1. Jamie Lundmark, C, Seattle (WHL); 2. Pavel Brendl, RW, Calgary (WHL); 3. Mike Mottau, D, Hartford (AHL); 4. Filip Novak, D, Regina (WHL); 5. Peter Smrek, D, Hartford (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Brad Brown, D, 25; Jan Hlavac, LW, 24; Kim Johnsson, D, 25; Manny Malhotra, LW, 21; Sandy McCarthy, RW, 29; Petr Nedved, C, 29.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Kirk McLean, G, 35; Rich Pilon, D, 31.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0391/7656101-1-eng-US/f0051-032.jpg" title="f0051-03" width="773" height="1845"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0471/7656094-1-eng-US/f0051-042.jpg" title="f0051-04" width="710" height="178"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0051-0552/7656087-1-eng-US/f0051-052.jpg" title="f0051-05" width="157" height="201"></div>Chosen: 8th overallRugged defenseman known as &lsquo;Moose&rsquo; played just seven games for Blueshirts; won two Stanley Cups with Philadelphia. &#9632;

f0051-02

Rangers making the mold

<div class="byline">By Bruce Garrioch</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-01187/7656174-1-eng-US/f0052-012.jpg" title="f0052-01" width="292" height="230"></div>It&rsquo;s the most important day of the year for the Ottawa Senators.As a small-market franchise in the ever-growing NHL, the Senators use draft day to stock their team and to say they&rsquo;ve done a good job at the draft table would be a massive understatement.Former Senators&rsquo; GM Pierre Gauthier used to point out the draft was important because it&rsquo;s the only opportunity to acquire assets without having to give up anything and that philosophy has been consistent under current GM Marshall Johnston.The reality is the Sens&rsquo; scouting staff has been outstanding and if they&rsquo;re going to continue to build from within to challenge for first place in the Eastern Conference, that trend must continue.While Alexandre Daigle, the first overall pick in 1993, was a bust, the Ottawa roster includes draftees Alexei Yashin, Mike Fisher Daniel Alfredsson, Marian Hossa, Martin Havlat, Radek Bonk, Chris Phillips and Sami Salo, to a name a few.&ldquo;If you look at the good teams in this league, they build through the draft and I think our team has done an excellent job in that area,&rdquo; said coach Jacques Martin. &ldquo;You look at our prospects&hellip;they&rsquo;re a credit to our scouting staff.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS A career scout, Johnston has turned over the draft-day duties to director of player personnel Jarmo Kekalainen, director of hockey operations Trevor Timmins and chief amateur scout Frank Jay.&ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going to hire these guys you have to let them make the decisions,&rdquo; Johnston said. Ultimately, he is responsible, but Kekalainen, Jay and Timmins compile the draft list.DRAFT TENDENCY Five of the Senators&rsquo; nine first round picks since 1992 have been European-including Russian defenseman Anton Volchenkov, last year&rsquo;s selection (21st overall). It&rsquo;s an old saying that teams generally take the &ldquo;best player available,&rdquo; but that has generally been the case with the Senators. In 1997, the Senators were criticized for selecting right winger Hossa ahead of Ottawa 67&rsquo;s product Matt Zultek. At last check, Zultek wasn&rsquo;t playing in the NHL and Hossa is a rising star.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-02105/7656167-1-eng-US/f0052-022.jpg" title="f0052-02" width="1016" height="1521"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Alexei Yashin Drafted: second overall by Ottawa, 1992 (JJason Pulver/BBS)</figcaption></div>IMMEDIATE NEED That could depend on Yashin&rsquo;s future with the team. After a bitter contract dispute and a poor playoff, the Senators have to decide if they&rsquo;re willing to give up an important piece of the puzzle to try to gain in the near future.The club&rsquo;s leading scorer with 88 points last season, Yashin was chastised for going scoreless in the playoffs and was saddled with much of the blame for the Senators&rsquo; first round exit, along with Martin.LONG-TERM NEED With the exception of 32-year-old left winger Shawn McEachern, they&rsquo;re still a young team and changes may only be forced if they can&rsquo;t afford to keep everybody.A look at their back end indicates Ottawa may need defensemen in the minors who are capable of being recalled. Karel Rachunek, 21, Chris Phillips, 23, and Wade Redden, 24, are all playing in Ottawa which means the prospects are pretty thin in Grand Rapids. They&rsquo;ll use one of their picks to select a goaltender, but they have Mathieu Chouinard and Simon Lajeunesse in the system. While Lajeunesse is completing his junior eligibility, Chouinard is coming off a standout season with the International League&rsquo;s Griffins. He should challenge for the No. 1 job in the next two years.READY TO STEP IN Left winger Petr Schastlivy will attend his third training camp with the Senators and it would seem like this may finally be his time to shine. Depending on what happens on the left side in the summer, Ottawa will give Schastlivy every opportunity to make the team.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Ottawa&rsquo;s system: 1. Anton Volchenkov, D, Yaroslavl (Rus.); 2. Petr Schastlivy, LW, Grand Rapids (IHL); 3. Antoine Vermette, C, Victoriaville (QMJHL); 4. Mathieu Chouinard, G, Grand Rapids (IHL); 5. Alexandre Giroux, C/LW, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Daniel Alfredsson, RW, 28; Magnus Arvedson, LW, 29; Marian Hossa, RW, 21; Patrick Lalime, G, 26; Eric Lacroix, LW, 29; Chris Phillips, D, 22; Wade Redden, D, 23; Alexei Yashin, C, 27.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Curtis Leschyshyn, D, 31; Mike Sillinger, C, 30; Jason York, D, 31; Rob Zamuner, LW, 32.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1992 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0366/7656160-1-eng-US/f0052-032.jpg" title="f0052-03" width="791" height="1832"><figcaption class="caption-body">Chris PhillipsMartin Havlat</figcaption></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0455/7656153-1-eng-US/f0052-042.jpg" title="f0052-04" width="712" height="171"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0541/7656146-1-eng-US/f0052-052.jpg" title="f0052-05" width="156" height="203"></div>Chosen: 2nd overallHighly skilled center earning a reputation for breaking contracts and breaking fans&rsquo; hearts at playoff time. &#9632;

f0052-01

Draft paramount for Sens

NHL teams hoping to take a flyer on Kirill Koltsov will have to wait at least another year.That&rsquo;s because the 18-year-old Russian defenseman didn&rsquo;t fill out the appropriate paperwork to make himself eligible for this year&rsquo;s entry draft. THN had him rated as the 18th-best prospect, but we&rsquo;ve removed him from our list. The 6-foot-l, 180-pounder, who was named top defenseman at the World Under-18 Tournament, automatically becomes a candidate to be a top pick next year&hellip;if he opts in. Here, in alphabetical order, are some other potential high picks in 2002:&#9633; Sean Bergenheim, RW, Jokerit (Fin.) Physical winger drives hard to the net, but isn&rsquo;t a great Finnisher.&#9633; Jay Bouwmeester, D, Medicine Hat (WHL) Big, skilled defender already has two World Junior Championship appearances under his belt.&#9633; Paul Brown, C/RW, Kamloops (WHL) Big, tough and mean. Oh yes, he&rsquo;s plenty skilled, too.&#9633; Steve Eminger, D, Kitchener (OHL) A right-shooting defenseman who moves the puck well.&#9633; Vladislav Evseev, RW, Dynamo (Rus.) Scored five goals in five games at World Under-17 Challenge.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0052-0634/7656205-1-eng-US/f0052-062.jpg" title="f0052-06" width="337" height="440"><figcaption class="caption-body">Kirill Koltsov</figcaption></div>&#9633; Denis Grebeshkov, D, Yaroslavl (Rus.) Mid-sized defender is fine skater and puckhandler, although some wonder about his upside.&#9633; Boyd Gordon, RW, Red Deer (WHL) Smallish (5-foot-ll, 180 pounds), but great wheels and better hands.&#9633; Jiri Hudler, C, Vsetin (Czech.) Smart and gifted offensively, but lack of size may hurt him.&#9633; Petr Kanko, RW, Sparta Prague (Czech.) Not a great skater, but tough as nails.&#9633; Kari Lehtonen, G, Jokerit (Fin.) Early favorite to be first netminder selected.&#9633; Rick Nash, LW, London (OHL) Power forward has good hands, but needs to add bulk to 6-foot-2,171-pound frame.&#9633; Joni Pitkanen, D, Karpat Oulu (Fin.) At 6-foot-3 and 195 pounds, he&rsquo;s considered the best Finnish defenseman available.&#9633; Scottie Upshall, C, Kamloops (WHL) All-around competitor plays with very high energy level. Good offensive instincts.&#9633; Ryan Whitney, D, U.S. Under-18 Unlimited potential, some think this 6-foot-4,195-pounder will become a poor man&rsquo;s Chris Pronger. &#9632;

f0052-06

Defender Koltsov blows off 2001 entry draft, could go high in 2002

<div class="byline">By Wayne Fish</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-01179/7656264-1-eng-US/f0053-012.jpg" title="f0053-01" width="280" height="196"></div>Stand in the middle of the Philadelphia Flyers&rsquo; dressing room and turn in any direction. You&rsquo;re certain to spot at least one or two young faces.And that number might even go up.There are several holes up front and on defense and the Flyers acknowledge they have some talented prospects who just might be ready to step in.This season saw the arrival of rookies Justin Williams, Ruslan Fedotenko and Todd Fedoruk. They joined second-year men Simon Gagne, Brian Boucher and Andy Dehnore. Now it appears the Flyers might tap their development program once again to meet their needs.At least two defense positions are up for grabs and depending on what happens with prospective unrestricted free agent John LeClair, several high-profile forward spots could also be available.Coach Bill Barber spent three seasons with the Philadelphia Phantoms, the Flyers&rsquo; American League affiliate, so he&rsquo;s well acquainted with who&rsquo;s waiting in the wings.CALLING THE SHOTS Assistant GM Paul Holmgren coordinates the scouting department, but GM Bob Clarke has the final say. In recent years, Clarke has taken fewer scouting trips, but he has bolstered his staff. That staff has come up with some gems, including goaltender Roman Cechmanek as a sixth-rounder out of the Czech Republic last year.DRAFT TENDENCY The Flyers were once pretty predictable with their high-end picks, usually going for big, physical players. But in recent years, they&rsquo;ve leaned more toward skill types and goalies. Their top choices in 1995 (Boucher), 1997 (Jean-Marc Pelletier) and 1999 (Maxime Ouellet) were goalies and the even years saw them take skill players (Dainius Zubrus, 1996; Gagne, 1998; Williams, 2000). Like just about everyone else, the Flyers are counting more on the European talent pool. Four of their top five rated prospects are from across the Atlantic.IMMEDIATE NEED Defense seems to be the Flyers&rsquo; first priority. Their top four defensemen-Eric Desjardins, Dan McGillis, Luke Richardson and Chris Therien-average over 30 years of age. After that, there are a lot of question marks. Michal Sykora and Andy Dehnore were inconsistent. Chris McAllister made progress, but must stay healthy.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-02111/7656257-1-eng-US/f0053-022.jpg" title="f0053-02" width="1013" height="1526"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Mark Recchi Drafted: 67th overall by Pittsburgh, 1988 (Jim Leary/BBS)</figcaption></div>Up front, the Flyers need a big center to complement Keith Primeau. Daymond Langkow is a versatile player, but the Flyers need more than 13 goals out of the No. 2 center spot. He might be better suited at No. 3.In goal, Ouellet should give Boucher a run for the No. 2 job behind Cechmanek, barring a trade of one of the two prospects in the off-season.LONG-TERM NEED Three years from now, the Flyers could have a much different roster. Rick Tocchet, 37, is heading into the final year of his contract and while he&rsquo;s still effective when healthy, injuries could catch up to him.If Langkow starts this season as the No. 2 center, the Flyers have to look at upgrading their No. 3 pivot and that might involve someone like prospect Tomas Divisek. Peter White and Derek Plante can&rsquo;t get the best out of skill players such as Fedotenko and Williams. The Flyers&rsquo; fourth line of Kent Manderville, Paul Ranheim and Jody Hull handles much of the checking and penalty killing, but they&rsquo;re all past 30.READY TO STEP IN Ouellet is the organization&rsquo;s No. 1 prospect. The Flyers plan to start him with the Phantoms next year, but that all could change if Boucher winds up elsewhere.Ouellet has opened eyes with his junior play, particularly at the World Junior Championship. A broken thumb late in the season hampered his progress, but he came back to defeat the top four Quebec League teams in succession. The Flyers like his quickness and competitive attitude. The only concern is whether his development would stall as a 20-year-old backup to Cechmanek.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS 1. Maxime Ouellet, G, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL); 2. Antero Nittymaki, G&rsquo;, TPS Turku (Fin.); 3. Vaclav Pletka, RW, Philadelphia (AHL); 4. Mikhail Chernov, D, Philadelphia (AHL); 5. Tomas Divisek, C, Philadelphia (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Daymond Langkow, C, 24; Dan McGillis, D, 29.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Jody Hull, RW, 32; John LeClair, LW, 31.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0370/7656250-1-eng-US/f0053-032.jpg" title="f0053-03" width="775" height="1833"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0461/7656243-1-eng-US/f0053-042.jpg" title="f0053-04" width="695" height="181"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0053-0543/7656236-1-eng-US/f0053-052.jpg" title="f0053-05" width="156" height="200"></div>Chosen: 6th overallThe Flyers missed with their first-ever pick as Currier, a center, never made it. Their second round pick, however, was Bobby Clarke. &#9632;

f0053-01

Flyers get younger, better

<div class="byline">By Bob McManaman</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0054-02" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0296/7656316-1-eng-US/f0054-022.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Jeremy Roenick Drafted: eighth overall by Chicago, 1988 (Jim Mclsaac/BBS)</figcaption></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-01182/7656323-1-eng-US/f0054-012.jpg" title="f0054-01" width="239" height="264"></div>It didn&rsquo;t take long after the Phoenix Coyotes ushered in the Wayne Gretzky era for the franchise to start rebuilding through youth, a blueprint from which the club isn&rsquo;t expected to waver.In trading away left winger Keith Tkachuk and goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin, the Coyotes picked up four prospects aged 21 or younger-defenseman Paul Mara and for-wards Ladislav Nagy, Jeff Taffe and Ruslan Zainullin-in addition to center Michal Handzus, 24, and a first round pick next year.And don&rsquo;t be surprised if the Coyotes work out a deal to move up from their 15th overall slot in an effort to land one of this year&rsquo;s prized prospects.&ldquo;This year&rsquo;s draft is pretty deep to begin with, but the top end, in particular, is incredibly strong,&rdquo; said Vaughn Karpan, the club&rsquo;s director of amateur scouting.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s always that chance of doing a deal, especially with (GM) Cliff Fletcher&rsquo;s experience.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen. Gretzky, who oversees the entire front office, will have input. So will Fletcher. Ditto with Dave Draper, Gretzky&rsquo;s hand-picked vice-president of scouting and player personnel.But Karpan, in his first season as director of scouting, will be charged with running the draft. He replaced long-time scouting guru Bill Lesuk, who resigned last year.DRAFT TENDENCY With all the new faces in the front office, you can throw Phoenix&rsquo;s drafting history out the window. But some things never change, like picking the best talent early and hoping countless hours of scouring the globe pays off in the middle and late rounds.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m a big believer in size,&rdquo; Gretzky said. &ldquo;We want to build a bigger team, we want to build a stronger team.&rdquo;IMMEDIATE NEED One word: Goals.&ldquo;How many ties did we have this year?&rdquo; Karpan asked, alluding to the franchise-record 17 draws. &ldquo;We need more offense, someone who can break the game open for us. We win one or two more games in overtime, we&rsquo;re in the playoffs.&rdquo;However, projected heavy financial losses the next two years-until the team moves to a new arena-will likely stop them from getting a sniper via free agency or a trade.LONG-TERM NEED Pick a card, any card. &ldquo;There really isn&rsquo;t an area we don&rsquo;t need to address,&rdquo; Karpan said. &ldquo;(But) we&rsquo;re a lot better off now than we were six months ago because of the prospects we acquired at the trading deadline.&rdquo;Considering Teppo Numminen will be 33 next season and Jyrki Lumme 35, Phoenix could definitely use a can&rsquo;t-miss, offense-minded defenseman who will be ready to play within three years. The Coyotes would also love to find another thick, aggressive winger, someone in the Shane Doan mold.Goaltending might be an issue as well, though the club has three prospects behind veteran Sean Burke in Robert Esche, Patrick DesRochers and the rights to Josh Blackburn of the University of Michigan.READY TO STEP IN There are a few possibilities here, but the top two are defenseman Kirill Safronov and left winger Ramzi Abid.Safronov almost won a roster spot last season fresh out of major junior, but instead spent a full year with Springfield of the American League. He&rsquo;s mature beyond his years and can make the quick, simple play.Abid, too, probably could have started this season in Phoenix, but ended up in Springfield. Unfortunately, he suffered injuries, twice breaking a bone in his right hand which limited him to just 17 games. He&rsquo;s a decent scorer and a shift disturber and his skating, once a concern, has improved.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Phoenix&rsquo;s system: 1. Krys Kolanos, C, Boston College (HE); 2. Kirill Safronov, D, Springfield (AHL); 3. Ruslan Zainullin, RW, AK Bars Kazan (Rus.); 4. Jeff Taffe, C, Minnesota (WCHA); 5. Ramzi Abid, LW, Springfield (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Mika Alatalo, LW, 29; Joel Bouchard, D, 27; Daniel Briere, C, 23; Shane Doan, RW, 24; Robert Esche, G, 23; Travis Green, C, 30; Mike Johnson, RW, 26; Trevor Letowski, C, 24; Robert Reichel, C, 30; Mikael Renberg, RW, 29; Todd Simpson, D, 28.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Louie DeBrusk, RW, 30; Joe Juneau, C, 33; Jeremy Roenick, C, 31; Mike Sullivan, C, 33.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0362/7656309-1-eng-US/f0054-032.jpg" title="f0054-03" width="772" height="1841"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0444/7656302-1-eng-US/f0054-042.jpg" title="f0054-04" width="699" height="177"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0054-0532/7656295-1-eng-US/f0054-052.jpg" title="f0054-05" width="158" height="201"></div>Chosen: 19th overallThe black sheep of the best first round ever, Mann recorded 10 goals, 30 points and 895 penalty minutes in 293 big league games. &#9632;

f0054-02

Team Gretzky lacks scoring

<div class="byline">By Ross McKeon</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-01131/7656493-1-eng-US/f0057-012.jpg" title="f0057-01" width="255" height="252"></div>When Dean Lombardi was named San Jose&rsquo;s GM in March of 1996, he said the Stanley Cup ultimately would be won at the draft table.With that philosophy in mind, the Sharks take the annual June amateur selection process very seriously. No less than eight of the 20 skaters who dressed for San Jose&rsquo;s final contest of the year-Game 6 of a first round series against the St. Louis Blues-were Shark draft picks. That group included both goalies-Evgeni Nabokov and Miikka Kiprusoff-and defensemen Mike Rathje, Marcus Ragnarsson, Brad Stuart and Scott Hannan and forwards Patrick Marleau and Marco Sturm.Another eight in the lineup that night were first round picks by other organizations, who came to San Jose via trade or free agency. That included key forwards Owen Nolan, Teemu Selanne, Vincent Damphousse, Mike Ricci, Scott Thornton, Niklas Sundstrom and Todd Harvey and hard-nosed defenseman Bryan Marchment.CALLING THE SHOTS Tim Burke, San Jose&rsquo;s director of amateur scouting, is in charge for a sixth straight draft. He has been with the Sharks since 1992 and was promoted to his current post in 1996.Lombardi considers Burke one of the unsung heroes behind San Jose&rsquo;s steady improvement. Burke is responsible for evaluating amateur talent at every level in all North American and European leagues and supervises the club&rsquo;s amateur scouting efforts.DRAFT TENDENCY Unlike early in franchise history when the Sharks delved heavily into the European talent pool, the club has gone the more traditional North American route under Burke. In a 30-team league, the Sharks believe depth on defense is key and when push comes to shove they tend to gravitate toward blueline prospects.IMMEDIATE NEED Size and scoring on the left side. The Sharks were overloaded last season with natural right wingers, including Nolan, Selanne, Sundstrom, Harvey, Alexander Korolyuk, Tony Granato and Matt Bradley.Thornton and Stephane Matteau provide muscle on the left side, but there&rsquo;s a lack of proven scoring punch and creativity. Marco Sturm is still searching to match his strong defensive play with a knack for offense. The answer does not appear to be among the top prospects, either.LONG-TERM NEED Veterans Gary Suter, Marchment and Jeff Norton don&rsquo;t figure to be playing in three years and Ragnarsson and Rathje will be peaking in their careers. So it&rsquo;s imperative youngsters Stuart, Hannan and incoming pro Jeff Jillson continue to develop. That, however, will not be enough. The Sharks need to keep adding defense prospects.Since Rathje, Ragnarsson, Stuart and Hannan combined for just two seasons of minor league play, there&rsquo;s a gap in the organization&rsquo;s depth on defense. Combined with the belief 30 NHL teams dilutes the talent pool on defense, expect the Sharks to continue to pursue blueliners with high picks.READY TO STEP IN Kiprusoff, a 24-year-old Finnish native, was in the midst of just his second pro season in North America when he found himself backing up Nabokov in the NHL. Then, after Nabokov injured his back, Kiprusoff was forced to make two post-season starts and looked sharp under pressure.After the Sharks were eliminated by the Blues, coach Darryl Sutter said, &ldquo;we know we have two goalies.&rdquo; Kiprusoff figures to be at least a solid backup to Nabokov next season.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in San Jose&rsquo;s organization: 1. Jeff Jillson, D, Michigan (CCHA); 2. Miikka Kiprusoff, G, Kentucky (AHL); 3. Jonathon Cheechoo, RW, Kentucky (AHL); 4. Vesa Toskala, G, Kentucky (AHL); Tero Maatta, D, Espoo (Fin.).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Matt Bradley, RW, 22; Patrick Marleau, C, 21; Mike Rathje, D, 27; Mark Smith, C, 23.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Tony Granato, RW, 36; Shawn Heins, D, 27; Paul Kruse, LW, 31; Bill Lindsay, LW, 30; Jeff Norton, D, 35.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1991 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces. We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0294/7656486-1-eng-US/f0057-022.jpg" title="f0057-02" width="785" height="1829"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0365/7656479-1-eng-US/f0057-032.jpg" title="f0057-03" width="702" height="180"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0057-0453/7656472-1-eng-US/f0057-042.jpg" title="f0057-04" width="158" height="202"></div>Chosen: 2nd overallAfter a good rookie year, failed to meet expectations of a No. 2 overall pick and played in Switzerland this past season. &#9632;

f0057-01

Draft believers hunt for defense

<div class="byline">By Damian Cristodero</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-01139/7656552-1-eng-US/f0058-012.jpg" title="f0058-01" width="267" height="253"></div>Tampa Bay heads into the draft with a few more strengths than it has had in the past.Though its No. 3 pick means the previous season was another disappointment, the acquisitions of goalie Nikolai Khabibulin, right winger Matthew Barnaby and defenseman Stan Neckar is cause for optimism.But there still are big holes to fill. The team lacks strength and grit up front and they desperately need someone to win faceoffs. They also needs additional scoring punch. Two wingers who can find the net would be ideal, but the Lightning, who still aren&rsquo;t ready to open the vault, may look to bring in just one this summer.Tampa Bay is moving into the third year with GM Rick Dudley running the show. And even he has admitted this is a put-up-or-shut-up season. Tom Wilson, president of Palace Sports & Entertainment, which owns the Lightning, would not point the finger that directly, but has said, &ldquo;You&rsquo;d better be in the hunt.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS Dudley is the man on draft day. He listens to and respects the opinion of head scout Jake Goertzen, but it&rsquo;s the GM who makes the final decisions. He is comfortable doing this because despite a stable of 18 scouts, Dudley is all over the globe, double-checking. Dudley is a huge fan of European players, preferably big and fast. He also is a defense-first type guy, but with the team&rsquo;s back line seemingly set and with some depth in the system, it&rsquo;s time to stock up on forwards.DRAFT TENDENCY The Lightning&rsquo;s philosophy is to take the best available athlete. Dudley always says positions are not the first priority. In fact, the priorities are size and speed and, even better, a bit of a mean streak. Dudley also prides himself on finding the diamond in the rough. His picks of 5-foot-9 Russian Alexander Kharitonov and Swiss center Thomas Ziegler last year were viewed with skep-ticism. But Kharitonov played the entire season with the Lightning and Ziegler, a potential defensive specialist, didn&rsquo;t look out of place in a five-game call-up.IMMEDIATE NEED Scorers. After Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Fredrik Modin, the Lightning power rating drops off the map. And if one of those guys goes south, like Lecavalier did this season (nine goals in his last 42 games), there&rsquo;s trouble. Five-foot-nine Martin St. Louis had an outstanding season, with 18 goals and 40 points, but was it a fluke or is he on his way to bigger and better things?The Lightning thinks Barnaby can score 20 and the club hopes Todd Warriner will recover from the unexplainable nose dive he took last season. Even one more big gun would provide a huge boost.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0286/7656545-1-eng-US/f0058-022.jpg" title="f0058-02" width="1029" height="1541"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Brad Richards Drafted: 64th overall by Tampa Bay, 1998</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED See above, the Lightning has some nice players in the minor leagues, but no one who is looked at as a potential big-time scorer. That said, the team also may need some goaltending help down the road. Yes, Khabibulin is only 28 and Kevin Weekes is just 26. And they could be around a long time. But Weekes&rsquo; displeasure with the way the Khabibulin situation was handled could force the Lightning&rsquo;s hand. Who&rsquo;s next? Well, Dieter Kochan, 26, had a chance last season but was overwhelmed.READY TO STEP IN Right winger Nikita Alexeev. The Lightning is drooling over this kid. The 20-year-old Russian, a first round pick (eighth overall) in 2000, is 6-foot-5 and 215 pounds of attitude. He had a great camp last year, even mixing it up with some of the veterans, and only patience on the Lightning&rsquo;s part kept them from keeping him with the big team. It was the right choice. Alexeev was a star with the Ontario League&rsquo;s Erie Otters and Dudley has said he may be paired with Brad Richards and Modin. But the jump from junior to the NHL is daunting and Dudley still needs to get that veteran scorer.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS 1. Nikita Alexeev, RW, Erie (OHL); 2. Kristian Kudroc, D, Tampa Bay (NHL); 3. Sheldon Keefe, RW, Detroit (IHL); 4. Dmitry Afanasenkov, LW, Detroit (IHL); 5. Martin Cibak, C, Detroit (IHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Kaspars Astashenko, F/D, 26; Adrian Aucoin, D, 27; Matthew Barnaby, RW, 28; Gordie Dwyer, LW, 23; Nils Ekman, RW, 25; Brian Holzinger, C, 28; Ryan Johnson. LW, 24; Alexander Kharitonov, LW, 25; Vincent Lecavalier, C, 21; Stan Neckar, D, 25; Marek Posmyk, D, 22; Cory Sarich, D, 22; Kevin Weekes, G, 26; Andrei Zyuzin, D, 23.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS None.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1992 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0347/7656538-1-eng-US/f0058-032.jpg" title="f0058-03" width="797" height="1853"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0437/7656531-1-eng-US/f0058-042.jpg" title="f0058-04" width="712" height="179"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0058-0528/7656524-1-eng-US/f0058-052.jpg" title="f0058-05" width="158" height="203"></div>Chosen: 1st overallRode roller coaster with the Lightning before being traded to Edmonton; now No. 1 defenseman for the Islanders. &#9632;

f0058-01

Make-it-or-break-it season

<div class="byline">By Ken Campbell</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-01118/7656611-1-eng-US/f0059-012.jpg" title="f0059-01" width="241" height="252"></div>Few teams in the NHL have been as productive after July 1 as the Toronto Maple Leafs.Curtis Joseph, Steve Thomas, Gary Roberts, Shayne Corson and Dave Manson were all signed as unrestricted free agents over the past three summers and have been well worth the expense. The Leafs will undoubtedly pursue a number of free agents again this off-season, but whether they cast their line for a big-ticket catch or fill their roster deficiencies with players in the $2-million range remains to be seen.Now if the Leafs could improve their performance at the draft table and beyond, they&rsquo;ll have the foundation for a prosperous franchise. Coach-GM Pat Quinn clearly sees this as an area where his team must get better.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a wonderful situation if you can say, &lsquo;We&rsquo;ve got this strong stream of players we&rsquo;ve drafted and developed,&rsquo;&rdquo; Quinn said. &ldquo;But the realistic part is we have to look outside because that stream hasn&rsquo;t been a strong one.&rdquo;CALLING THE SHOTS Mike Penny is the Leafs&rsquo; third director of player personnel in three years. He was hired last summer after Nick Beverley left to become assistant GM of Chicago; Beverley replaced Anders Hedberg, who left when Quinn redefined his duties.Penny, 53, has been involved in the game since 1969 and this year will mark his 31st entry draft. He began his career as a scout for the Rangers and became GM of the Ontario League&rsquo;s Kitchener Rangers in 1975. He joined Vancouver in 1980 as a scout and held various posts there until Quinn lured him away last summer.Penny will make the final draft-day decisions, but he&rsquo;ll lean heavily on chief amateur scout Mark Hillier and European scout Thommie Bergman. Quinn, the only NHL exec to serve as both coach and GM, does little scouting and won&rsquo;t overrule his people on draft picks.DRAFT TENDENCY Like the other 29 NHL teams, the Leafs draft the best player available regardless of position. There is no common thread in their player procurement, but they had some tremendous success in the mid-1990s with late round picks. Left winger Sergei Berezin was taken 256th in 1994; defenseman Danny Markov went 223rd in 1995; and defenseman Tomas Kaberle was 204th in 1996.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0277/7656604-1-eng-US/f0059-022.jpg" title="f0059-02" width="1016" height="1521"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Mats Sundin Drafted: 1st overall by Quebec, 1989</figcaption></div>IMMEDIATE NEED To become a legitimate contender and take advantage of Joseph&rsquo;s best years, Toronto needs two things-a scoring right winger to play with Mats Sundin and a center to take some of the pressure off him. There are no players in the system who can immediately fill these roles, so the Leafs will try to address them through free agency and/or trades.LONG-TERM NEED In Kaberle, Markov, Bryan McCabe and Aki Berg, the Leafs have a good young defense corps and they addressed their long-term need for goaltending by drafting Mikael Tellqvist last year and signing free agent Mike Minard. Now they must stockpile some talented forwards. Seven of the 11 forwards the Leafs used on a regular basis this year are 30 or older and there aren&rsquo;t many in the organization who are seen as sure-fire impact NHLers.READY TO STEP IN Jeff Farkas is being counted on to help fill the ranks at right wing on a team where the only true right wingers this season were Thomas and Tie Domi. The Boston College grad is undoubtedly faster than anyone the Leafs have on their roster and after a slow start to his first pro season, he finished second in scoring on the St. John&rsquo;s Maple Leafs of the American League with 28 goals and 68 points in 77 games.Farkas has enjoyed some success in a few brief stints with the Leafs, but there are legitimate questions about his ability to endure the physical game at the NHL level.Right winger Alexei Ponikar-ovsky, who played 22 games with the big club this season, is also expected to challenge for a spot.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Toronto&rsquo;s system: 1. Mikael Tellqvist, G, Djurgarden (Swe.); 2. Brad Boyes, C, Erie (OHL); 3. Petr Svoboda, D, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL); 4. Jeff Farkas, RW, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL); 5. Alexei Ponikarovsky, RW, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Wade Belak, D, 24; Aki Berg, D, 23; Cory Cross, D, 30; Tomas Kaberle, D, 23; Igor Korolev, C, 30; Bryan McCabe, D, 26; Alyn McCauley, C, 24; Mats Sundin, C, 30.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Yanic Perreault, C, 31; Steve Thomas, RW, 37.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0354/7656597-1-eng-US/f0059-032.jpg" title="f0059-03" width="774" height="1837"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0445/7656590-1-eng-US/f0059-042.jpg" title="f0059-04" width="704" height="180"></div><div class="container"><div class="figure-block image-float"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0059-0533/7656583-1-eng-US/f0059-052.jpg" title="f0059-05" width="142" height="203"></div>Chosen: 9th overallRight winger from Saskatchewan never played a game in the NHL; had tours of duty with eight minor pro teams. &#9632;</div>

f0059-01

Time to improve at table

<div class="byline">By Elliott Pap</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-01108/7656670-1-eng-US/f0060-012.jpg" title="f0060-01" width="253" height="239"></div>Two years after digging itself out of the Western Conference basement, Vancouver is a team on the rise.The Canucks qualified for the playoffs for the first time in five seasons and reached the 90-point plateau for the first time in eight years. They did so with the fifth-youngest roster in the league and a payroll that ranked in the bottom 10. By anyone&rsquo;s standard, the Canucks have taken enormous strides under the leadership of GM Brian Burke and coach Marc Crawford.But the team is still a work in progress. For starters, they have yet to settle their No. 1 goaltending situation. And they found they were lacking offensive depth when leading scorer Markus Naslund broke his leg March 16. The Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, were good, especially in the playoffs, but they&rsquo;ll have to be even better for Vancouver to catch up with the best of the west.CALLING THE SHOTS One-time hard-nosed winger Ron Delorme was elevated to the position of chief amateur scout when Mike Penny, who held the job for more than a decade, left to join Toronto. Delorme was hired by the Canucks as an amateur scout-covering the western territory-in 1986 and has worked for the organization ever since. This will be his first draft as the main man. A 45-year-old native of North Battleford, Sask., Delorme played nine NHL seasons with the old Colorado Rockies and the Canucks.DRAFT TENDENCY The Canucks&rsquo; draft philosophy has never wavered under Burke&rsquo;s watch. Vancouver will always select the best player available regardless of position. Burke has made it clear on many occasions that if the team is loaded at one spot and the next player on its list plays that same spot, that player will still be taken. It is his belief that you can then trade the asset, if need be, or trade a more senior skater down the road once the draftee becomes NHL-readyIMMEDIATE NEED Vancouver&rsquo;s lack of offensive production after Naslund broke his leg raised a few red flags.The Canucks seem content at center with set-up men Andrew Cassels, Brendan Morrison and Henrik Sedin, but need to add another sniper on either the left or right wing, especially one who can drive the net and back off the defense with speed. Todd Bertuzzi and Naslund are really the only wingers who possess the skating and the skills to make life miserable for opposition blueliners. As always, a big, strong body would be preferred.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0264/7656663-1-eng-US/f0060-022.jpg" title="f0060-02" width="1008" height="1523"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Markus Naslund Drafted: 16th overall by Pittsburgh, 1991</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED It&rsquo;s a recurring theme in Vancouver-goaltending, goaltending, goaltending.The Canucks have no depth at the position and haven&rsquo;t for years. Since assuming command in 1998, Burke has discarded Arturs Irbe and Garth Snow, traded for and then discarded Kevin Weekes and Felix Potvin, and traded for Dan Cloutier. But even if Cloutier, 25, does indeed become a No. 1 puckstopper, the team still has nothing in the system that excites the hockey world.READY TO STEP IN The wait appears to be over for defenseman Bryan Allen, the Canucks&rsquo; first round selection (fourth overall) in 1998.Allen was plagued by injuries for two seasons following his draft and the Canucks finally bit the bullet by calling for the surgeons. Allen&rsquo;s left knee and shoulder went under the knife and he missed most of 1999-2000.However, the move paid off handsomely as the repaired Allen again began to show why he was so highly coveted. A strapping 6-foot-5 and 225 pounds, Allen played physically and moved the puck well on the farm in Kansas City of the International League. He was twice called up by the Canucks and looked completely at home. Assuming he can stay healthy over the summer, Allen will almost certainly start 2001-02 with the big club.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five players in Vancouver&rsquo;s system. 1. Bryan Allen, D, Kansas City (IHL); 2. Artem Chubarov, C, Kansas City (IHL); 3. Josh Holden, C, Kansas City (IHL); 4. Rene Vydareny, D, Kansas City (IHL); 5. Nathan Smith, C, Swift Current (WHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Drake Berehowsky, D, 29; Todd Bertuzzi, RW, 26; Dan Cloutier, G, 25; Matt Cooke, RW, 22; Josh Holden, C, 23; Denis Pederson, C/RW, 25; Peter Schaefer, LW, 23; Brent Sopel, D, 24.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Murray Baron, D, 34.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0341/7656656-1-eng-US/f0060-032.jpg" title="f0060-03" width="770" height="1837"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0433/7656649-1-eng-US/f0060-042.jpg" title="f0060-04" width="699" height="172"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0060-0525/7656642-1-eng-US/f0060-052.jpg" title="f0060-05" width="159" height="203"></div>Chosen: 2nd overallVersatile defenseman enjoyed decent career, but didn&rsquo;t quite meet draft hype; now Chicago&rsquo;s director of player personnel. &#9632;

f0060-01

Still in need of net gains

<div class="byline">By Dave Fay</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-01111/7656729-1-eng-US/f0061-012.jpg" title="f0061-01" width="272" height="276"></div>One of the positives the Washington Capitals can take from 2000-01 is the team stayed relatively healthy.As a result of losing just 147 mangames to injury-about one-third what the team had become accustomed to-there was no need to rush prospects into the lineup. Players who needed seasoning were able to get it in junior, the minors or Europe.Naturally, the club is hoping its ability to be patient with prospects will pay dividends down the road.CALLING THE SHOTS Ross Mahoney, who taught school and coached for 16 years in Regina, Sask., before opting for scouting full-time a dozen years ago, is the man in charge of Capital selections on draft day.When asked what happens if there&rsquo;s an argument at the draft table, Mahoney said, &ldquo;We try to be democratic about things, but in the end I&rsquo;m the one who has to answer for the picks we make.&rdquo;DRAFT TENDENCY You may have heard this one before, but Mahoney stands behind the philosophy of taking the best player available.&ldquo;If we end up taking good athletes, that gives our GM assets to go out and maybe trade to fill the one spot where he needs a body, by offering up good players at one position where you now have a surplus,&rdquo; he said.&ldquo;Passing over individuals who are potentially better players to get one in a specific position is a mistake.&rdquo;IMMEDIATE NEED As has been demonstrated repeatedly, the Capitals are in dire need of more reliable and consistent sources of offense.It has been 11 seasons since right winger Peter Bondra was drafted and his their apparent has yet to be identified and most certainly is not on the current NHL roster.The Caps believe even their best prospects could use another year of seasoning, meaning to fill the offensive needs the club will have to make to make a deal or go the free agent route. Using either one of those options might cost the team some of its prospects, which management is against, or draft picks. Nonetheless, management also knows fans have grown tired of waiting for a talented scorer to develop from within the system. Promises of breakthrough years are being greeted with more skepticism than anticipation.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0276/7656722-1-eng-US/f0061-022.jpg" title="f0061-02" width="1034" height="1529"><figcaption class="caption-body">2000-01 Top Scorer: Adam Oates Undrafted: signed by Detroit, 1985</figcaption></div>LONG-TERM NEED In order, Washington needs goaltenders, defensemen and forwards. The Caps have been trying to develop Sebastien Charpentier or Curtis Cruickshank into future Olie Koizigs, but both have struggled with injuries, crippling their progress. Kolzig is only 31 and still testy as a mule, but it&rsquo;s time to start grooming a successorSeveral of the Caps&rsquo; top-six defenders are in their mid-30s and the replacement pool is limited. Jakub Cutta, Ross Lupaschuk and Nolan Yonkman are the leading contenders to move in, but the ranks thin considerably after them. The club appears to have a decent supply of forwards-probably no Bondras, but maybe a few Steve Konowalchuks-but some restocking never hurts.READY TO STEP IN Nobody-and that is not a knock on recent drafting. GM George McPhee believes in letting a player grow into the next level to avoid rushing them and perhaps hindering or halting their development. On the other hand, Trent Whitfield was lightly regarded in training camp and demoted, but returned and played 61 games as a very reliable defensive forward.&ldquo;A lot of guys don&rsquo;t reach their potential until they&rsquo;re 23, 24; why rush them when they&rsquo;re 19 or 20?&rdquo; Mahoney said.Cutta and center Kris Beech had early-season cups of coffee and left winger Matt Pettinger played 10 games without disgracing himself. Nonetheless, Caps&rsquo; management believes a little more developmental time will only help their careers.TOP FIVE PROSPECTS Future Watch&rsquo;s ranking of the top five prospects in Washington&rsquo;s system: 1. Kris Beech, C, Calgary (WHL); 2. Michal Sivek, C, Sparta Prague (Czech.); 3. Brian Sutherby C, Moose Jaw (WHL); 4. Matt Pettinger, LW, Portland (AHL); 5. Jakub Cutta, D, Swift Current (WHL).RESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Jeff Halpern, C, 25; Andrei Nikolishin, C, 28; Trent Whitfield, C, 24.UNRESTRICTED FREE AGENTS Ulf Dahlen, RW, 34; Jason Marshall, D, 30.<h2>DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL</h2>An important indicator when judging a team&rsquo;s drafting history is by the number of NHLers it produces.We&rsquo;re counting all players who have played at least one NHL game.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0350/7656715-1-eng-US/f0061-032.jpg" title="f0061-03" width="792" height="1837"></div><h2>Fast Facts</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0440/7656708-1-eng-US/f0061-042.jpg" title="f0061-04" width="730" height="176"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0061-0532/7656701-1-eng-US/f0061-052.jpg" title="f0061-05" width="159" height="200"></div>Chosen: 1st overallSpent just two disappointing seasons with Caps and wound up playing more games in minors than NHL during his career. &#9632;

f0061-01

Caps try patient approach

Like most rookies breaking in with the Peterborough Petes, Eric Staal started he season as a fourth-liner.But by the New Year, the youngster had worked his way through the lines and was entering the team&rsquo;s No. 1 unit between reterans Brad Self and Marcel Rodman. And with a 19-goal, 39-point performance in 63 games, Staal&rsquo;s is the first name out of he mouths of many scouts when the topic of the 2003 NHL entry draft comes up. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a very creative player who makes those around him better,&rdquo; said one scout. &ldquo;As he grows, he&rsquo;ll become a dominant player.&rdquo; Staal, 16, reminds some of a young Mike Ricci, who made an instant impact with the Petes and set the hockey world abuzz, only to fade in the eyes of some scouts as he played three full years of junior before being draft-eligible. Staal&rsquo;s coach, Rick Allain, said another player comes to mind.&ldquo;This is stupid, you never want to put this on a kid, but in some ways he reminds me of (Wayne) Gretzky,&rdquo; Allain said. &ldquo;He uses his teammates well and he uses the ice well.&ldquo;And the thing that was most impressive was the fact he competed nightly against the other team&rsquo;s top defensive pair and competed well.&rdquo;Staal was a playmaker in his first Ontario League season-he tied a franchise record for assists in a game by a rookie with five in a 10-3 win over Oshawa Feb. 18-but the thinking is he&rsquo;ll become more of a scorer as he develops. Also worth noting is that Staal was drafted by the Petes as a 5-foot-9,144-pounder, but he&rsquo;s now 6-foot-2 and weighs 165.Here, in alphabetical order, are other 2003 draft-eligible players who have been identified as potential high picks:&#9633; Dustin Brown, RW, Guelph (OHL) Plays with tenacity, grit and has impressive offensive upside.&#9633; Braydon Coburn, D, Portland (WHL) The top pick in the 2000 WHL bantam draft skates extremely well for a big kid (6-foot-4).&#9633; Kevin Klein, D, Toronto St. Michael&rsquo;s (OHL) Plays with grit and had a very good playoff.&#9633; Milan Michalek, LW, Ceske Bude-jovice (Czech.) Shows promise on offense, but doesn&rsquo;t sacrifice defensive play for goals.&#9633; Robert Nilsson, C, Under-18 (Swe.) Outstanding offensive skills like his dad, Kent Nilsson.&#9633; Pat O&rsquo;Sullivan, C, Under-18 (USA) Great skater who makes his best moves at top speed. &#9632;

For Petes’ sake! Staal chases No. 1 position in 2003 entry draft

<div class="byline">By Kevin Allen </div><div class="byline">By Jay Greenberg</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="thn0001-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0001-012/7656791-1-eng-US/thn0001-012.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0001-032/7656798-1-eng-US/thn0001-032.jpg" title="thn0001-03" width="159" height="328"></div>Never known to wear his emotions on his sleeve, Colorado defenseman Raymond Bourque was willing to wear them on his baseball cap.After advancing to the Stanley Cup final for the first time in 11 years, Bourque walked around the Avs&rsquo; dressing room wearing a hat that read: &ldquo;Mission 16W.&rdquo;The message was basic and direct, just like the man wearing it. His sole objective is 16 wins in the 2000-01 post-season. Nothing less will do. Coincidentally, 16W is an exit that leads off the New Jersey Turnpike and to Continental Airlines Arena. So either way you look at it, the road to the Stanley Cup is 16W.After 22 seasons in the NHL, Bourque views the post-season as a destination, not a journey. The 40-year-old legend won&rsquo;t be satisfied with anything less than his first Stanley Cup.&ldquo;The first two times I was there we didn&rsquo;t come close,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;I know what it&rsquo;s all about. It&rsquo;s not a matter of just being there. It&rsquo;s a matter of competing and winning.&rdquo;Bourque&rsquo;s previous trips to the final came in 1988 when his Boston Bruins lost in four games (five counting a suspended game) to Edmonton and 1990 when they were doused by the Oilers in five.His willingness to seek a trade last season after 20 years with the Bruins suggested he didn&rsquo;t want to join the likes of Marcel Dionne, Brad Park, Mike Gartner and others who knew great individual acclaim, but had no championship ring to display.&ldquo;It was a tough decision to ask out of Boston,&rdquo; Bourque said. &ldquo;But it has been worth it. I have myself an opportunity.&rdquo;Bourque professed not to be bothered by his lack of point production early in the post-season, but it undoubtedly elated him to be an offensive sparkplug in the Western Conference final. He had three goals and six points in the five-game win over St. Louis. In the previous two series, he had just two assists in nine games.&ldquo;I play the same all the time,&rdquo; said Bourque, who hasn&rsquo;t tipped his hand about retirement plans. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s just sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you can&rsquo;t get your shot through.&rdquo;Clearly, Bourque has never entered the final with a team boasting this much talent, even with Peter Forsberg injured. With Rob Blake, Adam Foote and Bourque on defense, this is the best trio of blueliners any team has had since Montreal featured the &lsquo;Big Three&rsquo; of Larry Robinson, Guy Lapointe and Serge Savard. Bourque even calls Blake &lsquo;Big Bird&rsquo; after Robinson. Blake is a former Norris Trophy winner himself, but still looks up to Bourque who, among his many honors, has been named the NHL&rsquo;s best defenseman five times.&ldquo;It brings the best out of you,&rdquo; Blake said.&ldquo;You look at Ray and know what he has accomplished in his career. Every game he gives is the same effort. See him grimace from a hit or breathing hard, you tell yourself:&lsquo;You had better get in the game, too.&rsquo; &ldquo;With the Bourque storyline grabbing most of the spotlight, some pressure may actually be relieved from the rest of the team. Either way, it&rsquo;s a win-win situation.&ldquo;If he wins, we win too,&rdquo; said Colorado coach Bob Hartley. &ldquo;I think Ray will share the Cup with us.&rdquo;It had to be fate. The emergent star of a team known to be cheapskates grew up using cheap skates.&ldquo;I had two older brothers that I got my stuff from,&rdquo; said New Jersey left winger Patrik Elias. &ldquo;I never had my own until I was 14.&rdquo;Perfect. The leading scorer of the defending Stanley Cup-champion Devils plays for a fourth line salary of $650,000 after spending his formative years in a town where underemployment runs high.For Zdenek Elias, a driver of a truck, a builder of houses and a father of three, life was not easy in Trebic, Czech Republic.And it never will be again for Patrik&rsquo;s mother, Zdena, who suffered permanent disability after being struck by a dislodged pane of plexiglass in the town rink where she worked.&ldquo;She can walk without crutches on a good day,&rdquo; said Patrik, who, as a result knows one when he sees it.Therefore, he doesn&rsquo;t cry out in constant pain from the Lou Lamoriello thumbscrews by which the 25-year-old, the third-leading scorer in the NHL this year, hangs from the wall.It will take until the summer of 2002 for an arbitrator to rectify that injustice to upwards of $8 million a year, befitting the slick and accurate Elias&rsquo; developing status as one of few players in the NHL who, alone, is worth the price of admission.&ldquo;Of course, you think about it,&rdquo; Elias said. &ldquo;You play for the love of the game, but also so you don&rsquo;t have to worry about your life. But it does make it easier to play on a good team. You cannot replace playing for the Stanley Cup as an experience.&rdquo;Indeed, there is no substitution for the now annual, four-round, global village television screenings of the best-kept secrets of Secaucus, N.J., the closest real town to the paved paradise parking lot the champions call home.After a 96-point Elias season, Game 7 goals 1:59 apart to put away the Toronto Maple Leafs, on top of the game-winner with 2:32 to go in Game 7 last spring in Philadelphia, you would have to have your head in cement not to see Elias&rsquo; becoming not just the best left winger in the game nobody knows, but the best left winger in the game, period.&ldquo;As long as he doesn&rsquo;t act like he&rsquo;s the best, he&rsquo;ll go a long way,&rdquo; said Devils&rsquo; coach Larry Robinson. &ldquo;He can have a hard head sometimes. He comes to the rink all business, but I don&rsquo;t know what he&rsquo;s like away from it.&rdquo;Nothing, Elias said, like Petr Sykora, even if they are joined at the hip and one-time passes with which they keep pulling out Game 7s. They are young, Czech and point-crazy guys, but, Elias says emphatically, not the same person.&ldquo;We are very different,&rdquo; Elias said.&ldquo;I like to enjoy the life, but with the right things and the right people. He likes to have different fun.&rdquo;What they enjoy together is the winning, a shared experience with center Jason Arnott that therefore goes from A to Zdenek, which is also Patrik&rsquo;s brother&rsquo;s name.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m glad they found the name Patrik,&rdquo; laughed Elias, who, taking it from there, is now fully recognizable in all hockey households where they can distinguish between the pretty good and the absolute elite.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0001-022/7656784-1-eng-US/thn0001-022.jpg" title="thn0001-02" width="1311" height="1623"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BBS)</figcaption></div><h2>It doesn&rsquo;t get any better</h2>The last time the top seeds from each conference faced each other in a Stanley Cup final, the NHL consisted of just 21 teams, four of which-Winnipeg, Hartford, Quebec and Minnesota-now reside in new cities. That was 12 years ago in 1989, when Calgary, champs of the Campbell Conference, knocked off Montreal, best of the Wales Conference, in six games. In this year&rsquo;s version of the battle of the titans, the best of the west, Colorado, takes on the pride of the east, New Jersey, for NHL supremacy. Here are tales of two elite players to watch: sentimental hero Ray Bourque and shooting star Patrik Elias. &#9632;

thn0001-01

STANLEY CUP SECTION

Battle of the NHL titans

<div class="image-hero"><img title="thn0010-10" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0010-10/7656836-1-eng-US/thn0010-102.jpg"></div><div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0011-013/7656829-1-eng-US/thn0011-012.jpg" title="thn0011-01" width="3173" height="3579"></div> &#9632;

thn0010-10

SCOREBOARD

<div class="byline">By Mike Brophy Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="thn0002-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0002-013/7656867-1-eng-US/thn0002-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">New Jersey&rsquo;s Scott Niedermayer is down and out after Toronto&rsquo;s Tie Domi levelled him with an elbow in the East semifinal. (Canapress)</figcaption></div>For the second year in a row, it was a big hit that rocked the hockey world through the first three rounds of the NHL playoffs. This time, though, it was an illegal hit that left a black mark on the game.A year ago, the Scott Stevens KO bodycheck on Eric Lindros was our choice as the play of the playoffs. This year, it was a hit of a different sort. Here are THN&rsquo;s 10 most memorable moments of the 2001 playoffs, entering the Stanley Cup final:1. TIE&rsquo;S BLACK EYE&nbsp;New Jersey at Toronto, Game 4, May 3. Toronto&rsquo;s Tie Domi elbows New Jersey&rsquo;s Scott Niedermayer-perhaps payback for a cross-check to Domi&rsquo;s face earlier in the series-and knocks the defenseman unconscious in the dying seconds of the game. Domi is suspended for the remainder of the playoffs (three games) and the first eight games of 2001-02.2. KASPAR THE FRIENDLY GOAL&nbsp;Pittsburgh at Buffalo, Game 7, May 10. Penguins&rsquo; blueliner Darius Kasparaitis corrals a loose puck in the slot and wires a wrist shot past Dominik Hasek to become the unlikeliest of overtime heroes. The series-winning tally is just his second goal in 55 playoff games.3. RED WINGS IMPLODE&nbsp;Detroit at Los Angeles, Game 4, April 18. With Detroit up 3-1 late in the third period, Jozef Stumpel of the Kings directs a shot toward the slot that hits Wings&rsquo; defenseman Chris Chelios and goes in between the post and goalie Chris Osgood&rsquo;s pad. Detroit claims the puck doesn&rsquo;t cross the line, but the video replay judge disagrees. L.A. rebounds from a 3-0 deficit to win 4-3 in overtime and they go on to take series in six games.4. KA-BOOM!&nbsp;Carolina at New Jersey, Game 1, April 12. Devil defenseman Scott Stevens demolishes Carolina rookie Shane Willis, who had cut across the Devils&rsquo; blueline with his head down, a la Eric Lindros from a year ago. To prove he doesn&rsquo;t play favorites, Stevens eliminates veteran Ron Francis from the playoffs with a devastating shoulder hit in the next game.5. DEJA VU&nbsp;Pittsburgh at Buffalo, Game 1, April 26. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Jaromir Jagr draws three defenders to him along the left boards in the neutral zone before deftly lobbing the puck to an open area on the far side of the ice. Mario Lemieux jumps off the Penguins&rsquo; bench and, racing in at full speed, retrieves the puck, breaks in alone and hammers a slapshot past Dominik Hasek. The goal is reminiscent of one scored by Jari Kurri on a set-up from Wayne Gretzky in the 1984-85 playoffs.6. EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND&nbsp;Colorado at Los Angeles, Game 2, April 28. Veteran defenseman Ray Bourque of the Avalanche picks a Glen Murray shot out of mid-air just as it is about to enter the net. The Avs take advantage of the great defensive play by scoring on the ensuing rush when Ville Nieminen deposits his own rebound.7. WELCOME MATS&nbsp;Toronto at Ottawa, Game 1, April 13. Maple Leafs&rsquo; captain Mats Sundin is at the end of an overtime shift, but decides to remain on the ice a little longer. Good decision. After carrying the puck into Ottawa&rsquo;s zone, Sundin looks to pass, but changes his mind at the last second and drills a slapshot off the far post past Patrick Lalime for the 1-0 winner.8. SILENT YELLE&nbsp;Colorado at St. Louis, Game 3, May 16. In overtime, Colorado&rsquo;s Stephane Yelle has a chance to put the Blues down three games to none when he scoops up a rebound, moves to his right and has an open net. He casually backhands the puck, only to watch St. Louis goalie Roman Turek reach back with his stick and get just enough of the puck to deflect it off the post and wide. Two nights later, Yelle makes up for it by scoring the winning goal-in overtime.9. OUCH!&nbsp;Los Angeles at Detroit, Game 1, April 11. Detroit&rsquo;s Brendan Shanahan slides feet-first to block a point shot and suffers a broken foot in doing sp. Red Wings&rsquo; captain Steve Yzerman is also hurt in the opener and the two injuries are a big reason why Detroit goes down in six games after starting the series with two wins.10. FREDDIE FOILED&nbsp;Czech Republic vs. Sweden, May 12. With the Czech Republic leading 2-1 in the shootout of the World Championship semifinal, Fredrik Modin of Sweden has a chance to tie it and force a second shootout, but his hard shot hits the crossbar and drops into the crease. The Czechs win the game and go on to capture their third straight world title. &#9632;

thn0002-01

Unforgettable moments

<h2>Best of the Hockey World Worst of the Hockey World</h2>RUSSIAN ROULETTE He may be a bit of a hot dog, but there&rsquo;s no denying the superstar potential of Russia&rsquo;s Ilya Kovalcuk, our pick to go No. 1 in the NHL draft.BRIAN&rsquo;S SONG Devils&rsquo; defenseman Brian Rafalski makes his case for the Conn Smythe with seven goals, 15 points in 18 games entering the Stanley Cup final.A REAL WARRIOR Ottawa 67&rsquo;s Joe Talbot plays every regular season and playoff game for four years before separating his shoulder at the Memorial Cup.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0002-023/7656905-1-eng-US/thn0002-022.jpg" title="thn0002-02" width="373" height="626"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Rafalski</figcaption></div>JAGR, LEMIEUX MELTDOWN Pittsburgh superstars Jaromir Jagr (no points) and Mario Lemieux (three assists) are nullified in Eastern final loss to Devils.TUREK TOPPLES&hellip;After a playoff MVP-caliber effort in the first two rounds, St. Louis goalie Roman Turek falls apart in the Western final against Colorado.&hellip;AND HE WASN&rsquo;T ALONE Snipers Keith Tkachuk and Pavol Demitra of the Blues, meanwhile, combine to score just four goals-two each-in 30 playoff games.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0002-033/7656898-1-eng-US/thn0002-032.jpg" title="thn0002-03" width="377" height="628"><figcaption class="caption-body">Keith Tkachuk</figcaption></div>For Mike Brophy&rsquo;s daily Cheers & Jeers visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> &#9632;

thn0002-02

PLUS MINUS

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Joe Starkey</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0004-013/7656936-1-eng-US/thn0004-012.jpg" title="thn0004-01" width="220" height="251"></div>The Pittsburgh Penguins&rsquo; 4-2 Game 5 loss at New Jersey represented more than just the end of their season. It probably marked the end of the Jaromir Jagr era in Pittsburgh.&ldquo;I had a great 11 years,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s time to move on.&rdquo;Jagr, the NHL&rsquo;s fourtime defending scoring champion, was held pointless in the Devils&rsquo; five-game romp in the Eastern Conference final. It&rsquo;s no secret 20 of the 26 players on the Penguins&rsquo; playoff roster have contracts that expire July 1 and it&rsquo;s going to be difficult for owner Mario Lemieux to afford Jagr and be able to sign the team&rsquo;s other key free agents.Jagr knows that as well as anyone. He is due to make $20.7 million over the next two seasons. Those figures loom even larger when you consider the entire second line of Robert Lang, Martin Straka and Alexei Kovalev will be restricted free agents this summer.Can the Penguins possibly keep Jagr?&ldquo;It&rsquo;s Mario&rsquo;s decision and (GM) Craig Patrick&rsquo;s decision and they&rsquo;re going to do what&rsquo;s best for the team,&rdquo; Jagr said. &ldquo;In that situation, I think I&rsquo;m not going to be back.&rdquo;Said Lemieux: &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll try to keep all our players. But if it doesn&rsquo;t work out, life goes on.&rdquo;Lemieux, too, was held without a goal by the Devils. Jagr managed just two goals in 18 playoff games. He said his injured right shoulder would not require surgery, but that it prevented him from shooting the puck against the Devils.Jagr&rsquo;s status isn&rsquo;t the only question mark entering the off-season. Defensemen Bob Boughner and Marc Bergevin are unrestricted free agents and Patrick is not signed for next season.&ldquo;Craig is my No. 1 priority,&rdquo; Lemieux said.Patrick said coach Ivan Hlinka, who has two years left on his three-year, $1.8million contract, will return for his second season.NOTEBOOK Left winger Kevin Stevens had surgery to repair a torn MCL in his right knee. Stevens played throughout the playoffs with the injury&hellip;Goalie Johan Hedberg went 9-9 in his first NHL playoff run and already is third on the Penguins&rsquo; all-time post-season victory list&hellip;One of the biggest criticisms leveled against coach Ivan Hlinka was that he played three lines, instead of four, for much of the season and as a result, his team wore down in the playoffs. &ldquo;During the season, you have to use four lines, for sure,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s one of the biggest things I learned.&rdquo;&hellip;The Penguins, who broke even financially in 1999-2000, made at least $2 million this season., &#9632;

thn0004-01

Jagr sounds like man already traded after conference final disappointment

<div class="byline">&#x2013;Dave Luecking</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/thn0004-022/7656967-1-eng-US/thn0004-022.jpg" title="thn0004-02" width="220" height="244"></div>In brushing past Dallas in the second round, St. Louis appeared primed for a serious run at the Stanley Cup. Appearances are sometimes deceiving.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s very disappointing,&rdquo; said right winger Scott Young after the Blues were ousted in five games by Colorado in the Western Conference final. &ldquo;The further you go, the tougher it is to lose out.&rdquo;Adding to the pain is the fact that some of the damage was self-inflicted.First and foremost, goalie Roman Turek struggled in the West final. After starring in the first two rounds (1.60 goals-against average, .938 save percentage), Turek stumbled against Colorado, posting a 3.50 GAA and a .871 save percentage through four games before being replaced by rookie Brent Johnson for Game 5.&ldquo;In the first two rounds, I didn&rsquo;t make any mistakes, but against Colorado, I (allowed) some soft goals,&rdquo; Turek said.Secondly the Blues&rsquo; top offensive guns were silenced by the Avalanche&rsquo;s defensive scheme and goalie Patrick Roy. Grinders Jamal Mayers and Scott Mellanby were the Blues&rsquo; top forwards, scoring two goals apiece.Keith Tkachuk and Pavol Demitra failed to score in the series, while Pierre Turgeon managed just two goals, both in Game 4. Turgeon had the unenviable task of going up against Rob Blake and Ray Bourque.&ldquo;After that, you have to get past Patrick Roy,&rdquo; Turgeon said. &ldquo;As you go on (in the playoffs), the teams get better. You play against better defenses. Obviously, it&rsquo;s going to be tougher.&rdquo;The Blues also were outplayed on special teams. Colorado scored on seven of its 25 power plays, while the Blues managed only three goals on 19 man-advantage situations.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough way to end your season,&rdquo; said coach Joel Quenneville.NOTEBOOK Rookie goalie Brent Johnson made his first playoff start in Game 5, stopping 34 of 36 shots in a 2-1 overtime loss&hellip;Right winger Pavol Demitra finished the playoffs with two goals and six points in 15 games. He skated on the fourth line with center Marty Reasoner and left winger Dallas Drake in the final game against Colorado&hellip;After scoring three goals and recording an assist in the first two games against Dallas in the second round, Reasoner didn&rsquo;t score another point in the playoffs. Drake, meanwhile, was shut out after scoring four goals and six points in the first round against San Jose&hellip;Goal tender Roman Turek allowed three goals in a 78-second span in Game 4, a club playoff record for the three fastest goals allowed. &#9632;

thn0004-02

Promise of post-season greatness fizzles as goaltending, big guns falter in West final

<div class="byline">By Peter Botte</div>New York Islanders&rsquo; GM Mike Milbury took the unconventional route once again, eschewing more experienced candidates to name Peter Laviolette as the team&rsquo;s next head coach.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s an honor to coach a team with such heritage,&rdquo; said Laviolette, who was hired May 23 after serving this past season as a Boston Bruins&rsquo; assistant.&ldquo;When people see my team, they know my players wear their hearts on their sleeves. With my players, if I ask them to go through a brick wall, they&rsquo;ll be lining up until that wall is completely down.&rdquo;Among those passed over was Ted Nolan, who hasn&rsquo;t worked in the NHL since winning the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year for Buffalo in 1997. Former Florida and Detroit GM Bryan Murray and former San Jose and Pittsburgh coach Kevin Constantine also were given strong consideration.&ldquo;If I&rsquo;d listened to what was going on around the hockey world, Ted never would&rsquo;ve even had an interview,&rdquo; said Milbury, who has been GM for five of the seven straight seasons the Isles have missed the playoffs. &ldquo;This guy has been smeared and I think it&rsquo;s unfair to him. We spent a lot of time together and I found him to be a great guy.&ldquo;The edge Peter had&hellip;was that he has been actively involved with current players for the last few years, while Ted has been off doing other things.&rdquo;The 36-year-old Laviolette, who led the Providence Bruins to an American League-record 56 wins in 1998-99, served as a Boston assistant to both Pat Burns and Mike Keenan this season. Milbury contacted him after Laviolette was bypassed for the Boston coaching vacancy in favor of Robbie Ftorek.&ldquo;This is the right guy for this team. I firmly believe that,&rdquo; Milbury said.END OF THE ROAD? Doug Gilmour is leaving open the possibility he has one more season left in his 37-year-old body, but there&rsquo;s a better chance he played his last NHL game when Buffalo was eliminated by Pittsburgh in the second round of the playoffs.Gilmour&rsquo;s resume is impressive: 18 seasons, six teams, a Selke Trophy as the league&rsquo;s best defensive forward and one Stanley Cup-clinching goal with Calgary in 1989. All that&rsquo;s waiting for him now is a news conference officially announcing his retirement.&ldquo;I&rsquo;ll give (returning) about a one or two per-cent chance,&rdquo; Gilmour said. &ldquo;Truthfully, there&rsquo;s no fit for me to play next year.&rdquo;In addition to Calgary and Buffalo, Gilmour also played for St. Louis, Toronto, New Jersey and Chicago. His last season was perhaps his most frustrating. He had just seven goals and 38 points in 71 games, thanks in part to nagging muscle problems in his midsection.It was not the way he wanted to end his career.&ldquo;It has been a great ride,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;How can I sit here and put a tear in my eye? This game has given me everything. It&rsquo;s 20 years I&rsquo;ll never forget and I&rsquo;ll never regret.&rdquo;Overall, Gilmour has 429 goals and 1,343 points in 1,342 career games. His point total places him 19th all-time, while he stands 12th in assists (914).CLIPPED WING Larry Murphy may yet catch Gordie Howe for the all-time games played record. But he won&rsquo;t accomplish the feat wearing the uniform in which &lsquo;Mr. Hockey&rsquo; created his legend.The Detroit Red Wings informed Murphy, 40, they will not offer him a contract for next season. That means the 21-year NHL defenseman is an unrestricted free agent, but it&rsquo;s unclear whether he&rsquo;ll try to prolong his career by signing elsewhere.With 1,615 games played, Murphy needs 152 more to match Howe&rsquo;s 1,767.-with a file from Bucky Gleason &#9632;

Search for your favorite player or team

June 1, 2001

Successful drafting built Devils, Avs

Blockbuster in the works?

St. Louis to stay the course

DRAFT PICKS SINCE 1990 WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE NHL