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June 1, 2004
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.
Coyotes seek skill at center
The Phoenix Coyotes have been stuck on the same merry-go-round since long before they moved to Arizona in 1996. Never good enough to get past the first round of the playoffs (it hasn’t happened since 1987), never bad enough to be positioned to nab an elite player in the draft. But when the bottom fell out late in the 2003-04 season, the Coyotes wound up with a top-five pick for the first time since 1991. That’s when the franchise - the Winnipeg Jets at the time - took Aaron Ward with the fifth overall selection. GM Mike Barnett led a large Coyotes contingent at the world under-18 tournament in Belarus, with Phoenix looking at several European scoring forwards who could provide quick help to a team badly in need of skill up…
DRAFT PREVIEW 2004
51 Roman WICK Born: Dec. 30, 1985, Kloten, Switz. 2003-04: Kloten Jr. Pos: RW Ht: 6-1 Wt: 176 Shoots: L Central Scouting: No. 36 Euro, skater And the winner for Mr. Congeniality is Roman Wick. “He has the potential to be a Lady Byng winner,” said one European scout. “He is too kind to be a player. He’s too nice of a guy.” Mr. Nice Guy aside, Wick has a lot to offer. He has decent size and skill and plucky hockey sense. He had four goals in six games for Switzerland at the 2003 World under-18 tournament, but was injured and missed the 2004 World Junior Championship. Wick played on Kloten’s senior team this season and didn’t look out of place. It helped that he had one of the best development coaches in the game in Vladimir…
Devils always j ready for dare
Devils GM Lou Lamoriello and his staff pride themselves on being prepared at the draft table. New Jersey is always ready to take a chance on a long shot who has been overlooked by the rest of the NHL. But when it came time for the Devils to make their first selection at last June’s entry draft and highly regarded Zach Parise was still available, there were some surprised faces. “It was the first time in 17 years that we didn’t have a nametag for a player,” Lamoriello revealed. “We didn’t feel he’d be there. We had nametags for people taken behind him, but not for Zach.” Accustomed to drafting near the back of the pack, the Devils will once again look to find an overlooked gem with the hope that a Parise…
BLUEPRINT
Three of the four Stanley Cup semifinalists were built largely through trades. Only the San Jose Sharks have used the NHL entry draft as the primary building block to ice a winning roster.…