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.

March 1, 2005

The Hockey News March 1, 2005

<div class="byline">BY DAN WOOD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-011917/8382117-1-eng-US/f0014-012.jpg" title="f0014-01" width="303" height="327"></div>The Mighty Ducks are understandably pleased with the top end of their prospect collection, a group that includes 2005 Canada World Junior Championship gold medalists Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, as well as 2004 first-rounder Ladislav Smid. Even more encouraging is the organization&rsquo;s depth.Whereas not so long ago, the Ducks would have had trouble justifiably filling out a list of top-10 prospects, they now boast as many as 15-20 youngsters with NHL-caliber upside. Solid drafting and some judicious free agent signings have Anaheim in position for considerable improvement in coming years.Here are the top five prospects:1. RYAN GETZLAF, C, CALGARY Only a midseason concussion&mdash;believed to be mild-has slowed Getzlaf, a talented center-right winger.Before being hurt, Getzlaf displayed both with the Calgary Hitmen and during the WJC that he ranks among the top power forwards in his age group. If not for the NHL lockout, Getzlaf likely would have been with the Ducks this season.He has all the physical tools, including an underrated skill level and playmaking ability. The only question is how long it will take Getzlaf to mature into a top-notch consistent pro.Acquired: 2003 draft, 19th overall.2. LADISLAV SMID, D, LIBEREC Barely 19 and in his second season in the Czech elite league, he days plenty of minutes and ranks among the team&rsquo;s top three D-men.Sound defensively and intelligent enough to see and make plays, Smid enjoyed a strong performance for the Czech Republic in this year&rsquo;s WJC.At 6-foot-3,202 pounds, Smid has room for muscular growth, as well as an increased offensive dimension. If all goes well, Anaheim envisions Smid coming to North American next season and perhaps being ready for NHL duty by 2006-07.Acquired: 2004 draff, ninth overall.3. COREY PERRY, RW, LONDON Uncertain to make Canada&rsquo;s junior team when the season began, Perry wound up playing on the top line and impressed everyone with his scoring prowess.While the knock on the projected OHL scoring champ has been his skating, Perry has improved to the point it&rsquo;s no longer a big issue. He still needs to gain strength, but his magical ability to score and make plays gives him potential to reach NHL stardom.Acquired: 2003 draft, 28th overall.4. ILYA BRYZGALOV, C, CINCINNATI There is little question Bryzgalov is ready for NHL duty.In his fourth season with Cincinnati, Bryzgalov has done it all at the AHL level. Penciled in as backup to starter J-S Giguere, Bryzgalov struggled through inconsistency-and probably disappointment-early in the season, but regained his game after being loaned to Russia for the Rosno Cup in December.Blessed with good size, agility and a tremendous glove hand, Bryzgalov has No. 1 potential.Acquired: 2000 draft, 44th overall.5. MIKAEL HOLMQVIST, C, CINCINNATI In his second year in North America and a veteran of 21 Anaheim games last season, he is ready for NHL duty as a third-line, energy-type winger.With good size, speed and skating ability, as well as some offensive talent, Holmqvist has been a very strong forechecker and penalty-killer for Cincinnati. His ability to play a high-tempo, puck-pursuit style have the Ducks optimistic about Holmqvist&rsquo;s role in the NHL.Acquired: 1997 draft, 18th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0014-021454/8382110-1-eng-US/f0014-022.jpg" title="f0014-02" width="285" height="402"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN GETZLAF</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Ryan Getzlaf, C, 19, Calgary (WHL), 39-23-17-40-75 Overall 82. Ladislav Smid, 0, 19, Liberec (Czech), 33-1-2-3-4 Overall 173. Corey Perry, RW, 19, London (OHL), 48-37-61-98-94 Overall 184. Ilya Bryzgalov, G, 24, Cincinnati (AHL), 13-9-1, 2.78 GAA, .897 SP Overall 645. Mikael Holmqvist, C, 25, Cincinnati (AHL), 53-11-23-34-946. Chris Kunitz, LW, 25, Cincinnati (AHL), 29-10-10-20-19Broken jaw and eye injury have sidetracked this offense-oriented Ferris State grad.Acquired Signed as free agent, April, 20037. Aaron Rome, 0, 21, Cincinnati (AHL), 53-1-12-13-108Unheralded Kings&rsquo; draft castojf, this big surprise has been Cincy&rsquo;s most complete D-man. Acquired Signed as free agent, June, 20038. Curtis Glencross, LW, 22, Cincinnati (AHL), 25-4-1-5-39Former Alaska-Anchorage standout hamstrung by high ankle sprain this season.Acquired Signed as free agent, March, 20039. Kurtis Foster, D, 23, Cincinnati (AHL), 51-12-14-26-53Stocky, right-handed D-man has offensive upside, but struggles to play physical game. Acquired Trade with Atlanta, June, 200410. Dustin Penner, LW, 22, Cincinnati (AHL), 50-7-7-14-47Another of team&rsquo;s free agent gem hunt, this power forward played one year at Maine.Acquired Signed as free agent. May, 2004 &#9632;

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IN THIS ISSUE

Keen on golden prospects

<div class="byline">BY MATT MCHALE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-011099/8382611-1-eng-US/f0021-012.jpg" title="f0021-01" width="299" height="328"></div>If any good comes out of the lockout for the Los Angeles Kings, it could be the maturity some of their top prospects gain by playing in the American League.While opponents have complained that the Kings loaded their Manchester roster with NHL caliber players, GM Dave Taylor knows playing time now can only help the Kings when the NHL resumes.&ldquo;There are a lot of guys down here playing big minutes,&rdquo; Taylor said. &ldquo;The shifts they get on the power play, penalty killing and 5-on-5 will make them better.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects:1. DENIS GREBESHKOV, D, MANCHESTER He missed much of last season after injuring his right wrist just before training camp. It was his first year in the organization and it hurt his transition to the North American game.Grebeshkov spent the summer training in L.A., which also helped his off-ice development. The Yaroslavl native has added an offensive element this season, helped in part by a tour of duty on the power play unit.The knock? He is 6-foot and 200 pounds and the Kings are worried about him getting pushed around by bigger forwards in the NHL.Acquired: 2002 draft, 18th overall.2. MIKE CAMMALLERI, C, MANCHESTER The biggest difference for Cammalleri this season has been playing without injuries.Not only has it placed him among the AHL&rsquo;s top three scorers all year, it has allowed him to show his vision. His quickness is better than his speed. Although he has been at center with Manchester, the Kings project he will play wing in the NHL.They would rather see the 5-foot-8 Cammalleri in open space, rather than mixing it up down low with bigger players.Acquired: 2001 draft, 49th overall.3. LAURI TUKONEN, RW, ESPOO Last June&rsquo;s first round selection is playing for Espoo in the Finnish league and having a noticeable impact.Tukonen won&rsquo;t turn 19 until the start of next season and could still be in junior, but that may have stalled his development. Instead, he is getting regular shifts in a league, which has a drive-to-the-net style similar to the NHL.Tukonen is playing right wing, but has the versatility to play either side effectively. The Kings like his size, but would like to see him gain muscle.Acquired: 2004 draft, 11th overall.4. TIM GLEASON D, MANCHESTER The report on this stay-at-home defenseman is that he has the makings to become the Kings&rsquo; captain.Although fellow blueliner Grebeshkov has received more attention, Gleason plays a far more physical game and his superb skating allows him to jump into offensive situations.Taylor loves Gleason&rsquo;s focus and competitive nature. With the Kings top defensemen Mattias Norstrom and Aaron Miller well into their 30s, Gleason offers a youthful alternative.Acquired: Trade with Ottawa, March, 2003.5. YANICK LEHOUX, C, MANCHESTER After two lackluster seasons in the AHL, Lehoux was having a coming out party.He was third in AHL scoring and playing well in the defensive end. In mid-January, however, his season ended when he was involved in an on-ice collision and tore the right knee ligaments.When Lehoux was signed three years ago, he weighed just 175 pounds. By last season he was up to 215. That&rsquo;s commitment.Acquired: 2000 draft, 86th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-02708/8382604-1-eng-US/f0021-022.jpg" title="f0021-02" width="287" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">DENIS GREBESHKOV</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Denis Grebeshkov, D, 21, Manchester (AHL), 49-4-27-31-62 Overall 302. Mike Cammalleri, C, 22, Manchester (AHL), 50-30-40-70-38 Overall 393. Lauri Tukonen, RW, 18, Espoo (Fin.), 36-5-5-10-6 Overall 484. Tim Gleason, D, 22, Manchester (AHL), 43-7-11-18-63 Overall 515. Yanick Lehoux, C, 22, Manchester (AHL), 38-23-31-54-166. Brian Boyle, C, 20, Boston College (HE), 28-11-5-16-44Has improved agility, balance, and core strength at season&rsquo;s midway point.Acquired 2003&rsquo;draft, 26th overall7. Jeff Tambellini, LW, 20, Michigan (CCHA), 32-14-22-36-20Has good fundamentals, elite speed and shot; size could be a drawback.Acquired 2003 draft, 27th overall8. Noah Clarke, 25, LW, Manchester (AHL), 49-16-20-36-22Quickness and hard shot earned call-up last season; can handle physical play.Acquired 1999 entry draft, 250th overall9. Konstantin Pushkarev, RW, 19, Calgary (WHL), 55-18-25-43-42Adjusting to North American game; has high end skills, but is extremely thin.Acquired 2003 draft, 44th overall10. Ryan Munce, G, 19, Sarnia (OHL), 11-26-5, 3.04 GAA, .909 SPPlays butterfly style and doesn&rsquo;t get flustered; should get contract this summer.Acquired 2003 draft, 82nd overall &#9632;

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Prospects gain maturity

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0003-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-011959/8381552-1-eng-US/f0003-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BOSTON BEAN PARTY&nbsp;Captain Brian McConnell and the Boston University Terriers celebrate their 26th Beanpot tournament title.(BEANPOT: BRAIN BABINEAU; OVECHKIN; JEFF VINNICK/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Opening Faceoff

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0030-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0030-011194/8383250-1-eng-US/f0030-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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INSIDE

SCOREBOARD

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-021551/8381590-1-eng-US/f0003-022.jpg" title="f0003-02" width="290" height="318"><figcaption class="caption-body">EDITOR&rsquo;S NOTEBOOK&nbsp;Jason Kay Editor</figcaption></div>Holy cripes! They did it. The doomsdayers, unlike the millennium scaremongers back in 1999, were right this time. The clock struck midnight and the world imploded. Go figure.Obviously, we drastically overestimated the negotiators&rsquo; intelligence. (OK, cheap shot. Two minutes to the editor for retaliating). More accurately, though, we grossly misjudged their common sense and compassion. We believed, until Gary Bettman uttered the words nobody wanted to hear, sanity would prevail.More the fools us.This war of the worlds played out as many predicted, with the two super egos putting their agendas first. Damn the people they hurt along the way. A deal was within their grasp, despite their rhetoric to the contrary. At the end of the day, the will didn&rsquo;t exist to come to an agreement.But enough about them. We&rsquo;ve wasted enough ink and paper on grown men who behaved like a couple of spoiled kids fighting over a toy only to see it break. It&rsquo;s time we shifted our focus to the future.With that in mind, aside from covering off the nuts and bolts of Armageddon and sprinkling in a few opinions, the bulk of the remainder of this issue is devoted to Future Watch, our franchise-by-franchise assessment of the best NHL-affiliated prospects. With a little luck, we&rsquo;ll see some of them-players such as Alexander Ovechkin (Washington), Dion Phaneuf (Calgary) and Kari Lehtonen (Atlanta)-in the &ldquo;new and improved&rdquo; NHL next season.Moving forward, our plan is to continue to publish on a bi-weekly basis through the end of May, then monthly in June, July and August. Expect some changes in our format, most notably a more feature-oriented publication with increased concentration on the minors, college, junior and Europe and vastly reduced coverage on what&rsquo;s left of the NHL, the No Hockey League.Finally, and most importantly, we&rsquo;d like to extend a sincere thank you to the tens of thousands of loyal readers who stuck with us during this challenging period.Despite all the good feedback we&rsquo;ve received about our editorial content during the lockout, covering a hockey world of uncertainty hasn&rsquo;t been easy and we very much appreciate your patronage and feedback.As a token of our gratitude, we&rsquo;ll be announcing in the coming weeks a few &lsquo;givebacks&rsquo; of our own, rewards for continuing to give us your business. It&rsquo;ll be new territory for all of us and we&rsquo;re grateful you&rsquo;re along for the ride.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0003-03979/8381583-1-eng-US/f0003-032.jpg" title="f0003-03" width="402" height="213"></div> &#9632;

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We’re moving forward

The Hockey News FROM THE EDITORSToday, minor league pros will hit the ice determined to prove to scouts they have what it takes to play in the NHL.Junior players will ignore the doom and gloom that surrounds today&rsquo;s broken NHL knowing they are two-thirds of the way to making it to the show.A mom and dad will fit skates on their young daughter or son for the first time and take them to an outdoor rink and set them soaring into the future. A high school hockey player will score his first goal&hellip;a member of the American national women&rsquo;s team will work on her shot in preparation of for the World Championship&hellip;neighborhood kids will pick sides for a game of road hockey.If you are upset about the NHL shutting down for the year, you certainly have that right. We are, too. But don&rsquo;t blame the game. The NHL may be dead, but hockey around the world is alive and well.During the darkest hour in NHL history, it is important to remember why you love the game in the first place.The Speed&hellip; the intensity&hellip;the individuals who have contributed to the greatest game in the world. Bob Goodenow and Gary Bettman can take away NHL hockey from us this season-and, perhaps, next season-but they can never take away our memories. Those they cannot touch.Hockey is Bobby Orr flying through the air in celebration of a Stanley Cup-winning goal.<blockquote class="pullQuote">Don&rsquo;t blame the game. The NHL may be dead, but hockey around the world is alive and well.</blockquote>Hockey is Gordie Howe drilling his elbow into the ear of an opponent who dared to slam him into the boards from behind.Hockey is Ken Dryden calmly leaning on his stick as the Bruins try unsuccessfully to figure out this college kid.Hockey is Wayne Gretzky pumping his arm in celebration of one of his record 894 goals.Hockey is Theoren Fleury sliding on knees with his arms raised high after scoring in overtime.Hockey is Dominik Hasek making a seemingly impossible save while on his back with his legs in the air like a kite in the wind.Hockey is Angela Ruggiero setting up a goal for the Central League&rsquo;s Tulsa Oilers and Manon Rheaume making a save on a Brett Hull slapshot.Hockey is J.C. Tremblay flipping the puck high in the air to get it out of his team&rsquo;s zone.Hockey is Ken Morrow hoisting the Stanley Cup over his head a few months after helping the U.S. pull off the biggest upset in the history of the game, winning the Olympic gold medal in Lake Placid.Hockey is Mario Lemieux sidestepping a Ray Bourque check and beating Pete Peeters for a goal on his first NHL shot.Hockey is&hellip;whatever you want it to be.And it will be around long after Bettman and Goodenow have left the scene.If you want to be mad at somebody, be mad at Bettman, Goodenow, the owners and the players.They are the ones who have ground NHL hockey to a halt.Just don&rsquo;t blame the game. &#9632;

Hockey still the greatest; don’t ever forget that

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0004-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0004-011913/8381645-1-eng-US/f0004-012.jpg"></div> &#9632;

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ELSTON

<h2>HOCKEY NEEDS A HERO</h2>That Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow could allow the season to die is just unimaginable.I have always thought of the NHL as one of the last sports to retain its purity within the face of big market changes in professional sports. Unfortunately, I was wrong.I hope the NHL will have a deal before the start of next season. If they don&rsquo;t, I predict the entire league will fold within three years.If hockey ever needed a hero, it is now!Ciro De Simone, Bronx, N.Y.<h2>FANS NOT ON BETTMAN&rsquo;S SIDE?</h2>Gary Bettman keeps claiming the fans are on his side. I&rsquo;m not.The league&rsquo;s financial woes, exaggerated by Bettman, clearly are the result of over-expansion, mis-mangement of existing franchises, lousy marketing and poor rule enforcement.I miss the NHL, but if the end result of this mess is a better-marketed league with more scoring, it will be worth it. But the owners had better start listening to the fans.Daniel Lee, Wakefield, Mass.<h2>LETTER OF THE WEEK</h2>I was absolutely heartbroken after the NHL cancelled its season. Why did a solution to the lockout seem so close, yet fell apart?It would have been great to have at least a 28-game season, because every game would have meant something and we would have been able to enjoy the playoffs. But now, that&rsquo;s just a wish that won&rsquo;t come true.And what will happen to the employees of all the teams? What about the sales staff, the vendors, and Sid, my usher in Florida who always had a piece of candy for my daughter and a kind word to say each night? All of these small joys that were an important part of my life are now just faded memories.As I watched the cancellation announcement, tears rolled down my eyes.Someday the emptiness I&rsquo;m feeling will end; until then, the damage is devastating!Frank Rekas, Plantation, Fla.MORE LETTERS TO THE EDITOR&hellip;<h2>WAVE GOODBYE, BOB & GARY</h2>I wanted to thank Adam Proteau for his &lsquo;Dear Gary/Bob&rsquo; form letter. (THN, Feb. 15)The day after Gary Bettman canceled the season, I made my choices and sent them off to the respective organizations. I hope Bettman and Bob Goodenow enjoy their drivedown &lsquo;Cluster@#!$* Crescent&rsquo;, because it appears to be a long ride. With any luck, that drive will have a Thelma & Louise&rsquo;-type ending.David Carrig, Painesville, Ohio<h2>LOCKOUT A HUGE LETDOWN</h2>If there&rsquo;s one thing the NHL lockout has proven, it is the league&rsquo;s disregard for fans, non-existent leadership on both sides and the lack of any of the ideals I once found so distinguishing about hockey in this world of pro sports: character, heart, honor, teamwork. Was it an illusion?In truth, my anger only masks a deeper sadness. This lockout has robbed me, not just of the source of joy, passion and pure distraction, but of the idealism and hope in humanity I am struggling not to lose.For me, hockey was an oasis. Sadly, I will never feel the same way about it again.Susan Cornutt, Atlanta<h2>LIFE GOES ON WITHOUT NHL</h2>For me, Feb. 16 was a special day in the world of hockey. I had my morning game of air hockey with my brother, then read The Hockey News before heading to work. At the end of the day I traveled another hour to referee a houseleague game. After the game, the coach asked me if he could have the game puck, as his son had scored to win the game for them.What? The NHL season was canceled? Sorry, I hadn&rsquo;t noticed.Chris Copeman, Huntsville, Ont. &#9632;

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

<div class="byline">By Mark Brender</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0005-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0005-011918/8381714-1-eng-US/f0005-012.jpg"></div>NEW YORK-If the season had been wiped out with the NHL and NHL Players&rsquo; Association firing their philosophical grenades in a mutual suicide pact, at least it would have made sense in a Bettman-Goodenow/Hatfield-McCoy-ish kind of way. The two men at the top set every-one up for that outcome long ago. The voices of sanity and compromise, bless their forsaken hearts, had been drowned out for months.But this?.If they were going to crush the hopes of the few NHL fans they still had left who were actu-ally wishing for a bastardized 28-game season, how could they possibly do it like this?They poison the sport for more than two years playing the back-and-forth blame game, bolstered by endless circle-the-wagons sessions on one side and a cone-of-silence gag order on the other, only to cave at the last moment and do the exact things they said they&rsquo;d never do-goodbye linkage, goodbye marketplace-and be separated by a $6.5 million difference on the cap level&hellip;and they still wipe it out?Even in the minutes before NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially cancelled the 2004-05 season, shortly after 1 o&rsquo;clock in the afternoon of Feb. 16, in a fourth-floor conference room at the Westin Times Square Hotel in New York-just down the street from a Broadway production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, a coincidence surely-there was a sense that given where Bettman and Bob Goodenow had come from and what they had already given up, throwing the season away now would be stubbornness of epic, unprecedented proportions.Well, now at least everyone knows what both sides are capable of.And it will be difficult to ever again take at face value another word about collective bargaining agreement negotiations uttered by either leader, provided they are both around whenever negotiations get back on track.&ldquo;When I stood before you in September, said NHL teams would not play again until our economic problems had been solved,&rdquo; Bettman said solemnly. &ldquo;As I stand before you today, it is my sad duty to announce that because that solution has not yet been attained, it is no longer practical to conduct even an abbreviated season. Accordingly, I have no choice but to announce the formal cancelation of play for 2004-05.&rdquo;He apologized to fans and sponsors and those whose lives have been thrown into chaos. He was asked what it felt like to have to write those words.&ldquo;If you want to know how I feel,&rdquo; Bettman said, &ldquo;I&rsquo;ll summarize it in one word-terrible.&rdquo;Said Goodenow: &ldquo;I hoped we would never see the owners and their commissioner do the unthinkable and cancel an entire season. Unfortunately, Gary Bettman and the owners did exactly that today.&rdquo;The previous days featured a secret meeting in Niagara Falls, dramatic concessions from both camps and late-night offers exchanged by fax and email. It all brought forth a surge of optimism, from those who were still into optimism, the likes of which hadn&rsquo;t existed since the lockout began Sept. 15.They had the never-say-die crowd believing they&rsquo;d be watching hockey in March. Instead, their mutual refusal to pick up the phone and find middle ground between the NHL&rsquo;s $42.5 million cap and the NHLPAs $49-million proposal leaves the hockey world watching an orchestrated train wreck.In defending their actions, Bettman and Goodenow both pointed out they only serve the masters who employ them. Indeed, Calgary owner and NHL board of governors chairman Harley Hotchkiss issued a press release to emphasize Bettman enjoys the full support of the league&rsquo;s owners.&ldquo;For several years, commissioner Bettman has pursued every possible option on our behalf to prevent a decision of this magnitude from becoming necessary,&rdquo; Hotchkiss said.Members of the NHLPA executive, lined up in Toronto for a union media debriefing later the same afternoon, were adamant the offer on the table from the league was not acceptable and they remain strong behind Goodenow.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m comfortable in our decision, I&rsquo;m comfortable in what we&rsquo;ve offered,&rdquo; said Dallas forward Bill Guerin. &ldquo;Every step of the way we&rsquo;ve bent and we&rsquo;ve bent and we&rsquo;ve bent to try and get a deal done. And every time we&rsquo;ve taken a step forward, we&rsquo;ve had the door slammed in our face.&rdquo;But as with all leaders, the buck stops with Bob and Gary&hellip;and isn&rsquo;t that the understatement of the year. Two-point-one billion of them have stopped cold, many more millions of dollars in future lost revenue stopped, thousands of hockey industry and related jobs gone, Stanley Cup final and likely the entry draft, gone and gone, sponsors fuming, fans disillusioned and quite likely some of them gone for good as well.Under Bettman and Goodenow&rsquo;s collective watch-yes, Goodenow too, for if the players are the product, then surely the players&rsquo; leader has to bear joint responsibility for failing to deliver the product to market-an 87-year-old league that had played through two world wars, through the Cold War has become the first professional sports league in history to wipe out a full season because of labor war.The Stanley Cup will not be awarded for the first time since 1919, when the final series was cut short due to a flu epidemic.Both sides have said they will take some time to regroup before getting back to work and focussing on 2005-06, (though there were reports and rumors in the hours and days following the cancelation that some owners and players were trying to revive negotiations). Just remember the two leaders still in charge went several months without talking to each other as the season was fading away. At the time, they called it part of the process.&ldquo;Virtually immediately, we at the league level and clubs are going to begin planning for a 2005-06 season,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;We have not made any plans in terms of what that will look like, because all our efforts in the past five months have been devoted to trying to make a deal. We will obviously pursue a collective bargaining agreement with the players association. That remains our goal. The ideal circumstance would be if we made a deal in the next few weeks, so we know we are getting ready for next season.&rdquo;NHL hockey might yet return in time for a full season in 2005-06, or a shortened season, or perhaps not until 2006-07. It could return with real players or replacement players or a mixture of the two. If and when the real players come back, hundreds will be in unfamiliar places. Roughly two-thirds of the league will be looking for contracts. Barring radical free agency changes, some franchise cornerstones-Tampa&rsquo;s Martin St-Louis and New Jersey&rsquo;s Scott Niedermayer among them-will have suddenly become unrestricted.Some of the European players who went back home to play might find the lifestyle to their liking and decide to stay. If they do come back, it will be to a union that is fractured and disillusioned, with many players wondering along with everyone else why it didn&rsquo;t get done.&ldquo;It makes no sense to me,&rdquo; said Phoenix winger Tyson Nash. &ldquo;They aren&rsquo;t going to get a better deal, we aren&rsquo;t going to get a better deal, so why are we doing this?&rdquo;Many players were upset at being blindsided by the union&rsquo;s decision to accept a cap. If now, asked Buffalo&rsquo;s Jay McKee, why not five months ago? The only thing that unites the union these days, apparently, is their distaste for the man who would be their partner.&ldquo;The players only agree on one thing,&rdquo; said one stunned player agent, surveying the damage, &ldquo;and that is that they absolutely hate Gary Bettman.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-012131/8381707-1-eng-US/f0006-012.jpg" title="f0006-01" width="996" height="1115"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0006-021411/8381700-1-eng-US/f0006-022.jpg" title="f0006-02" width="995" height="1117"><figcaption class="caption-body">Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow have consistently proven they can&rsquo;t work together.(BETTMAN: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; GOODENOW: CP IMAGES)</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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A STUNNING COLLAPSE

It&rsquo;s not just the fans who think it was crazy the way the 2004-05 NHL season was tost. According to two separate sources, the day after the official cancelation, Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux re-entered the picture in an attempt to get the season back on track.&ldquo;I was told Gretzky and Lemieux got involved to try to talk some sense into the (union) executive committee,&rdquo; the source said Feb. 17. &ldquo;A lot of people who care about the game say (the union and the league) are too close not to at least talk some more.&rdquo;The same day, Detroit captain Steve Yzerman said there is still time to save the season.&ldquo;I don&rsquo;t know if it&rsquo;s necessarily tonight, tomorrow morning, Friday night or Saturday&hellip;I know the season has been cancelled, but it&rsquo;s not too late to uncancel it,&rdquo; Yzerman said.According to multiple sources, NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly told those working on a solution not to get the league involved until they have a deal. One source said many veteran players called NHL commissioner Gary Bettman directly the day following the cancellation. At the time, the league and the players&rsquo; union were just $6.5 million apart on a salary cap.Colorado&rsquo;s Joe Sakic said he had not heard the buzz, but talks could only be a good thing.&ldquo;Hopefully it will be behind the scenes because every time it goes public, it gets ruined,&rdquo; Sakic said. &ldquo;I think this year is finished, but it would be best for everybody if we keep negotiating. There&rsquo;s upset people on both sides. We did a lot of damage in the last couple of days. We&rsquo;ve got to find a way to get it done so we can start next year.&rdquo;NHL GMs were also said to be in on the talks. At least one GM contacted a prominent player agent to see if any of his clients would form a group to try to save the season.Asked if the NHL would be open to meetings that could lead to the cancellation being reversed, Daly responded: &ldquo;I would love to have that problem.&rdquo;It&rsquo;s no wonder, given the seismic shifts of the previous few days, that when Bob Goodenow received Gary Bettman&rsquo;s &ldquo;final&rdquo; million salary cap offer via fax or email on the evening of Feb. 15, he returned fire with a counterproposal. How was he to know what was really &ldquo;final&rdquo; anymore? If recent events proved anything, it was that nobody&rsquo;s word was sacrosanct.Earlier talks broke down Feb. 9 following the league&rsquo;s proposal to attach four &ldquo;trigger&rdquo; points to the union&rsquo;s Dec. 9 24-per-cent rollback offer as the basis for a deal. If any of the trigger points were hit-and it was clear several of them would be, almost immediately-the system would shift to the league&rsquo;s salary cap system. The offer was immediately rejected by the union.The next few days featured a flurry of phone call activity between players and owners as Bettman removed the order forbidding team officials from talking publically about the CBA and directly with players. Chris Pronger, Jarome Iginla, Jeremy Roenick and Robert Esche were reported to be among those asking questions and pushing for a resolution.On Feb. 13, formal talks started up again with a secret meeting between the sides and the U.S. Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. According to Bettman, it was at that meeting the union acknowledged it was willing to accept a salary cap if linkage between league revenues and player salaries came off the table. Bettman responded the next day by dropping linkage and offered a hard salary cap of $40-million. The union responded with a hard cap of their own at $52-million that set the stage for an agreement. Or so rational minds believed.Faced with a league-imposed Feb. 16 deadline for an agreement, the NHL made its &ldquo;final&rdquo; $42.5-million offer the evening of Feb. 15. Goodenow gave his counterproposal. Bettman responded with a terse letter reiterating it was a take-it-or-leave-it deal. Goodenow left it and that was that.&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s unfortunate that Gary surrounded himself with people who did not want to play,&rdquo; said union president Trevor Linden. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m shocked. But you know what? Gary can answer to his people.&rdquo;Forget for the time being whether a shortened season would have been good for the sport, with a host of new rule changes rushed in, injured players with pulled groins and hamstrings lining up for the massage table, a money-grab of a playoffs.The dumbstruck wonder remains, on both sides, why they came so far only to turn back, and either side could possibly believe such a turn was in their best interest.Bettman insisted that at the $42.5 million cap the league would have lost money for the next two years, but it was a price he was willing to pay to get the game back on its feet. A $49-million cap, he explained, was too much of a reach. It was in fact a $200-million reach, because the National Football League has proven a cap &ldquo;acts like a magnet&rdquo; and draws all team payrolls up to it.It&rsquo;s a dubious argument. After the union&rsquo;s 24-per-cent rollback kicks in, only seven teams-Detroit, Philadelphia, Dallas, Toronto, Colorado, St. Louis and the Rangers-would have been above the league&rsquo;s $42.5-million figure this season (based on full-season salaries). And the reason all NFL teams spend to the salary cap, as Bettman surely knows, is that an NFL&rsquo;s entire payroll is covered through the league&rsquo;s national television contract and equal distribution of revenue.There is nothing to suggest Carolina or Nashville or Pittsburgh or a dozen other teams would spend even close to the NHL&rsquo;s soft cap/luxury tax kick-in point of $35 million, especially given the continued refusal of the big markets to share a meaningful slice of their regular season revenue.&ldquo;The owners do not want to be true partners with themselves, let alone the players,&rdquo; Goodenow said, and for the first part of that statement at least he&rsquo;s probably right.<blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;d love to say the players are unified, but I don&rsquo;t know if anyone is going to believe that anymore.</blockquote>-BLACKHAWKS RIGHT WINGER MATTHEW BARNABYEven assuming 10 teams would spend to a $49-million cap level, the difference between the union and league positions becomes $65 million. A deal at a $45-million cap would have dropped that to $25 million. Is that kind of cash, all of it being spent by the NHL&rsquo;s wealthiest teams, and the marginally increased payroll disparities between rich and poor that come with it, worth whatever damage will be done?Goodenow&rsquo;s position was no more logical. Having failed to see the lay of the land in the summer and with no clear end game, the union lost its ability to take a no-cap stand in future negotiations by agreeing to a salary cap Feb. 14. Then it held fast to an arbitrary $49-million cap number for no apparent reason, and in the process lost the season as well, which was the only potential gain that could have come from making the cap offer in the first place.Amazingly, neither Bettman nor Goodenow saw fit to initiate discussions on a compromise position. Bettman said the NHL had reached out the past three times and it was the union&rsquo;s turn. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s only so many times you can hit your head against the wall,&rdquo; he said.Goodenow maintained Bettman twice made clear the $42.5 million offer was final, so the players didn&rsquo;t take matters any further. He knew full well, however, the $45-million figure had been talked about for months and would have forced Bettman to seriously consider it.&ldquo;A $45-million cap? Yeah, that&rsquo;s something I would accept if it meant we would be playing hockey and helping the game,&rdquo; said Minnesota goalie and union rep Dwayne Roloson. &ldquo;I know our executive committee had room to move. The league had room to move. We both had bluff hands, but nobody made the call.&rdquo;Linden said the executive deliberated for hours before deciding to put the first cap offer on the table, but it&rsquo;s possible Goodenow never supported such a concession in the first place. Goodenow wouldn&rsquo;t elaborate when asked how and why the union decided to accept a salary cap, other than to say it was a response to the NHL coming off linkage. But here was Goodenow in May, 2003: &ldquo;There will never be a salary cap. I&rsquo;ve told the players to be prepared for a long lockout by the owners. It may last a year, it may last two or three years, but we will never accept a salary cap.&rdquo;And here is Goodenow today: &ldquo;Continuing the pattern we have seen for years, the other side refused to negotiate. If you want to talk about greed, I could maybe suggest you talk to the other side.&rdquo;While Bettman and Goodenow continue to insist they can work with each other, many in the industry say otherwise. Certainly at the managerial level and among players and agents, and perhaps among ownership, there is significant belief the game would be better off with new leadership at both posts. A partnership in some form is inevitable going forward. When Bettman insists linkage is back on the table because the league cannot predict its future revenues, there is no convincing argument against it. Both men, but especially Goodenow, are hanging onto their jobs with one hand on a rope over the side of a ship.The best guess is that with them or without them, NHL hockey will be back in the fall of 2005. The players&rsquo; bluff was called. They folded. They compounded matters by not having the sense to cash in what was left of their chips.In the coming months, linkage or no linkage, they won&rsquo;t make the same mistake again. If it happens quick enough, perhaps they&rsquo;ll even get a full run-down on those rule changes designed to improve that other flagging beast called the on-ice product.&ldquo;I&rsquo;m not going to go through a lot of what (the rule changes) are,&rdquo; Bettman said. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s not appropriate. That&rsquo;s the other press conference.&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">I&rsquo;m so, so embarrassed to be a hockey player&hellip; All I can do is apologize to everyone who ever watched an NHL game.</blockquote>-FLYERS GOALTENDER ROBERT ESCHE &#9632;

Movement grows to ‘uncancer’ season

<div class="byline">-MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-012019/8381769-1-eng-US/f0008-012.jpg" title="f0008-01" width="622" height="2128"><figcaption class="caption-body">(BETTMAN: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; GOODENOW: CP IMAGES)</figcaption></div>NHL teams will not compete for the Stanley Cup this season, but does that mean the most prestigious trophy in all of sports will not be awarded?Not if Tom Thurston has his way.An avowed historian with a strong love affair with the game of hockey, Thurston and two friends, Mark Suits and Michael Payne, have done their homework, have sought legal advice and have come to the conclusion the Stanley Cup should be up for challenge. That, of course, is what the trophy was originally-donated by Lord Stanley to be challenged for annually.Thurston&rsquo;s Edmonton-based group, dubbed Free Stanley, is urging fans to demand that Cup trustees, lan &lsquo;Scotty&rsquo; Morrison and Brian O&rsquo;Neill, make the trophy available for challenge this season. Within moments of the cancelation of the 2004-05 NHL season, a request to fans to contact. Morrison and O&rsquo;Neill was posted on the group&rsquo;s world wide web site, <a href="http://www.freestanley.com">www.freestanley.com</a>. The site even provides a link with a step-by-step process on how teams can make it known to the Cup&rsquo;s trustees that they are interested in challenging for the trophy.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to do our best to try to make it happen,&rdquo; Thurston said.&ldquo;Teams can send notification to the trustees. We have always maintained the trustees, and not the NHL, have absolute control over the Cup. There had been some changes made in 1947 and 2000, but our legal opinion suggests we are correct to assume those changes could never have been made because trustees can&rsquo;t give away what they don&rsquo;t own. Unfortunately the trustees are acting more like (NHL) employees than trustees.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re asking all fans to help those trustees out and really voice their opinion to have the trustees take the proper action.&rdquo;Why bother?&ldquo;I grew up loving hockey and the Stanley Cup has been awarded every year of my life,&rdquo; said the 47-year-old Thurston. &ldquo;Am I a die-hard fan with a basement full of stuff? No; I&rsquo;m not that kind of fan. But Canadians are hard-wired for hockey and when the playoffs come, it&rsquo;s something special.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0008-01

Should Stanley sit, collect dust?

<div class="byline">-MIKE BROPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0008-021509/8381800-1-eng-US/f0008-022.jpg" title="f0008-02" width="640" height="501"></div>When Dave Andreychuk skated off the ice with the Stanley Cup last June, little did he know he might be skating into retirement.The 41-year-old captain of the Lightning, who is pictured on the cover of the now redundant 2005 NHL Guide & Record Book, had hopes of coming back for another year to help Tampa Bay defend its championship. Who knows if he will get that opportunity now that the 2004-05 season has been canceled and there is no indication of when the league will start up again?And who knows how many others are in the same boat?&ldquo;There are a lot of Hall of Earners that are being hurt right now because potentially it could be the end of their career,&rdquo; said Detroit defenseman Nicklas Lidstrom. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m sure a lot of fans want to see future Hall of Famers go out in a different way, too.&rdquo;Will Mark Messier, 44, get a chance to play one more playoff game, having not competed in the post-season since 1997? Will 41-year-old Al Maclnnis ever make an NHL goalie&rsquo;s hand sting again? Will Scott Stevens, who turns 41 in April, ever catch an unsuspecting forward with his head down in the neutral zone again? Will Dominik Hasek, 40, ever tend goal for the Senators?Those aging NHLers are among a group who may be forced into retirement by the Labor war. Others with distinguished careers who may disappear include Steve Yzerman, 39, Luc Robitaille, who turned 39 the day after the season was canceled, Joe Nieuwendyk, 38, Chris Chelios, 43 (though he could probably play until he&rsquo;s 50), Ron Francis, 42, James Patrick, also 41. Brett Hull will be 41 before the start of next season, Ed Belfour 40.Oh, and there is also Mario Lemieux, who turns 40 next October, though he did say the day the season was canceled he&rsquo;d like to play a few more years. Who knows, if the new-look NHL rids itself of obstruction, maybe his dream will come true. &#9632;

f0008-02

Many careers in jeopardy

<div class="byline">BY MARK BRENDER &#x2022; Senior Writer</div><div class="image-hero"><img title="f0009-01" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0009-011851/8381831-1-eng-US/f0009-012.jpg"><figcaption class="caption-body">BIG BOYS&nbsp;Minimal revenue sharing from large-market teams could make it difficult for the NHL&rsquo;s small fish to survive. (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>Having already chosen the path never before travelled, the NHL&rsquo;s road to replacement players lies straight ahead-if it dares to take it.With the 2004-05 season in ruins, Dallas owner Tom Hicks joined with NHL commis-sioner Gary Bettman in promising that one way or another, there will be hockey in NHL buildings next season.The chance that it might be with real NHL players probably increased when the players came off their no-cap stance, but it&rsquo;s far from a sure thing a deal will be worked out in time for the fall. If not, the impasse and implementation option seems to be the only thing left to make Hicks&rsquo;s words a reality.Some observers believe opening up the NHL to anyone who wants to cross the NHL Players&rsquo; Association picket line would speed up the real players&rsquo; return. The feeling is once one or two high-profile players agree to play, the floodgates would open. But the potential dangers getting to that point are numerous.<h2>SIDES NOW ON SAME PAGE</h2>For starters, the prospect of convincing the National Labor Relations Board that the league and the players are at a bargaining impasse may have been dealt a severe blow when the two sides began to discuss salary cap levels in the days before the Feb. 16 season cancelation.&ldquo;I think at this point it&rsquo;s fair to say there is no longer an impasse,&rdquo; said Neil Bernstein, a labor and employment specialist at Washington University in St. Louis.&ldquo;If the owners were to try to back off and say we&rsquo;re going to do things our way and (impose work terms) unilaterally, no, that would not be acceptable.&rdquo;Bernstein raises the possibility that players without a collective bargaining agreement could come back to play with the intention of walking out on the owners just before the playoffs, denying owners of their post-season income at a time when players have already been paid their salaries.Provincial labor laws in British Columbia and Quebec could make it difficult for the Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens to use replacement workers, although there is some debate whether NHL players would qualify under anti-scab legislation because they are technically part of an association, not a union.<h2>WILL THE FANS RETURN?</h2>Given the NHL&rsquo;s meagre TV ratings, it&rsquo;s unlikely corporate sponsors would want to be associated with a replacement league. Fan support is also a question, both for the replacement scenario and whenever NHL players return.For months, the NHL has had a marketing plan in place to deal with the lockout fallout. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ll see at the end of the day how big that mountain is,&rdquo; NHL vice-president Bill Daly said.&ldquo;I think after the short term, fans will come back,&rdquo; said Gordon Saint-Denis, president of Triton Sports Associates.As for the overall damage to the sport caused by the lockout, &ldquo;I think people are taking too draconian a look at it,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;All the teams will survive, I think they&rsquo;ll be fine. They&rsquo;ve pre-pared for this.&rdquo;Pat Rishe, a sports economist at Webster University in St. Louis, isn&rsquo;t as confident about the long-term viability of a 30-team NHL. Without the revenue sharing that comes through a major U.S. television contract, clubs in non-traditional hockey markets such as Nashville, Atlanta, Carolina, Florida and Phoenix could be in jeopardy, he said.&ldquo;I would say it&rsquo;s a possibility that those teams don&rsquo;t survive, but I don&rsquo;t think that&rsquo;s necessarily a bad thing for the league.&rdquo;In more traditional markets, Rishe believes the fan base will come back because the NHL has a greater percentage of hard-core fans than other pro sports. The NHL&rsquo;s ability to reach its target demographic through its no-rights-fee contract with NBC will be important in efforts to boost revenues when hockey returns.&ldquo;The biggest detriment it does to the league is trying to attract that casual fan vis-a-vis television. 1 think that&rsquo;s when it&rsquo;s going to hit the most,&rdquo; Rishe said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s going to be even more critical how they place their product strategically on the network.&rdquo;Daniel Mason, a professor at the University of Alberta who teaches a course on the business of hockey, believes the value of the NHL brand will begin to deteriorate if the lockout lasts into next season. If the NHL loses its identity as home of the world&rsquo;s top hockey, the brand will erode.As for the CBA squabbling, Mason says the public has already tuned out the players and owners. &ldquo;The students in the class, they&rsquo;ve just about had enough of it as well.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0009-01

Impasse risky proposition

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0010-011988/8381862-1-eng-US/f0010-012.jpg" title="f0010-01" width="293" height="374"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mark Brender&nbsp;Senior Writer</figcaption></div>Dear NHL players and owners,It has come to our attention that you and your esteemed bargaining leaders have been acting like children and are now knee-deep in doo-doo. We may be able to help. We have six years of experience negotiating with two young children over controlling emotions, developing realistic expectations and managing bedtime routine. Perhaps the lessons learned may be applicable to your future discussions with each other?With that in mind, we humbly offer 12 steps to better bargaining, adapted to fit your needs. If these guidelines prove to be of any value to your representatives, or any future counsel you may choose to retain to replace the current lot, mum&rsquo;s the word.STEP 1 Players, you must think for yourself. Make your leaders tell you their long-term plans. It is up to you to decide for yourself what you think of those plans. If you have doubts about where things are headed, express them early. It&rsquo;s your chocolate pudding that&rsquo;s on the line, not anyone else&rsquo;s.STEP 2 Owners, you need to decide before you start talking to the players about what kind of playground you want to play in. Do you want the big, rich owners to keep all their money for themselves, or do you want them to share it? As a group, you still haven&rsquo;t faced up to this question. How you treat each other does have consequences. And like it or not, the players have a right to know. This is their business, too.STEP 3 Players, do no not label every difference of opinion within your peer group as a &ldquo;lack of understanding.&rdquo; If you had lis-tened to Pierre Dagenais or Steve Thomas or John Madden or Mike Commodore four months ago, you probably wouldn&rsquo;t be in this doodoo today.STEP 4 Owners, your insults to the players may make you feel big and strong for a little while, but they are counterproductive. Just as an example, when the players offer a 24 per cent rollback in salaries that shocks even you, and you restructure it and shove it down their throats, just because you can, they probably won&rsquo;t like it. It will probably make them mad. Would you like it if someone did that to you? Would you want to be a partner with someone who does that?STEP 5 Players, from now until a new agreement is reached, get up early every morning, stand in front of the mirror and repeat a thousand times: &ldquo;We will never accept a salary cap.&rdquo; Maybe then you&rsquo;ll believe it, even if nobody else does. (OK, just kidding. You won&rsquo;t believe it, either.)STEP 6 Owners, learn ventriloquism and bring a dummy with you every time you go out in public. That way you don&rsquo;t have to say, &ldquo;We&rsquo;re going to tie salaries to revenues whether they like it or not, and if they don&rsquo;t like it we&rsquo;re going to use replacement players, and we&rsquo;ll grind them and smush them like fleas!&rdquo;<blockquote class="pullQuote">Get up early every morning, stand in front of the mirror and repeat a thousand times: &ldquo;We will never accept a salary cap.&rdquo;</blockquote>because you&rsquo;re not allowed to say that. When negotiations start back up, you can&rsquo;t talk about the CBA all over again, so get your dummy to say it.STEP 7 Players, be honest with yourselves about the reasons why you&rsquo;re doing certain things. Like, say, not defining revenues and accepting linkage. Do you really know why? If it&rsquo;s because you don&rsquo;t want to have to share in the pain caused by the lockout through reduced salaries, say so. But if that&rsquo;s not the reason, what is? If you want to know the revenues, the best thing to do is engage in the discussion. Talk to Mr. Levitt. Tell him where he has gone wrong. Talk to that bad mad Bill Wirtz and find out why he didn&rsquo;t report luxury suite money. Remember, knowledge is power!STEP 8 Owners, don&rsquo;t let Steve Belkin or Peter Karmanos or Tom Hicks speak in public, even through their dummies. Better yet, let Lou Lamoriello speak for all of you.STEP 9 Players, you are very special people. You are the very best in the whole wide world at what you do. That is a special accomplishment. You have every right to be very proud of yourselves. Do you think you can also be humble about your place in the world? Try to think of others who are not as fortunate, and who also work very hard, year-round, at what they do. These people are paying your salaries. (We know it&rsquo;s really the owner&rsquo;s name on your cheque, but that is called semantics.) It may be hard to be humble, but in your case it would also be smart to be humble. Even if this doesn&rsquo;t help in negotiations per se, it will help immeasurably when the negotiations are over.STEP 10 Owners, we&rsquo;re going to give it to you straight up: You need to take responsibility for your actions. Show through your actions that you can handle responsibility. When push came to shove, you turned down a wonderful opportunity based on your leader&rsquo;s wild worst-case scenario projection of what might happen. Think long and hard if you want that to happen again.STEP 11 Players, find a way to let go of your anger. The game will come back and so will you, and hard as it is to believe at this point, there will never be a better playground to romp in than the NHL&rsquo;s playground. Don&rsquo;t let your anger make the return farther away than it needs to be.STEP 12 Owners, the same goes for you clowns. &#9632;

f0010-01

Our 12-step recovery plan

<div class="byline">BY ROBIN SHORT</div>MANCHESTER, N.H.All agree it was a fine way to close out an All-Star Game, but Ryan Miller and Jason Spezza aren&rsquo;t convinced the shootout is the best way to finish an NHL contest.The shootout rule was one of a handful the American League introduced this season designed to speed up the game and make it more entertaining. Other changes include: the tag-up offside rule; no-touch icing; the bluelines and red line being widened from 12 to 24 inches; and moving the goal line back to 11 feet from the end boards, which widens the neutral zone. As well, goalies are limited to where they can play the puck behind net.Fan reaction to the new rules, said AHL president Dave Andrews, has been positive. And the biggest reaction has come as a result of the shootout, used when teams remain tied after regulation and five minutes of 4-on-4 overtime.<h2>DIRECTLY TO SHOOTOUT</h2>The shootout was employed to determine a winner in the 2005 Dodge All-Star Classic Feb. 14, when PlanetUSA, comprised of players from the U.S. and Europe, and Canada were deadlocked 4-4 after regulation time. For the All-Star Game only, OT was bypassed and the teams went immediately to the shootout.Miller, the Rochester Americans star backstop who&rsquo;s enjoying an MVP season, stopped each of the Canadian shooters he faced to earn the win for PlanetUSA, which overcame a 4-0 first-period deficit.Miller said afterwards he enjoys the challenge of a shootout, but that opinion could change should the Buffalo Sabres prospect secure NHL employment.&ldquo;Once you reach that level, you have to be right on your game because those guys can really shoot the puck,&rdquo; Miller said. &ldquo;And with the shootout, guys are watching more film, looking for the tendencies of the goalie.&ldquo;If it becomes part of the NHL, it&rsquo;s going to become another science of the game.&rdquo;<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-011760/8381893-1-eng-US/f0011-012.jpg" title="f0011-01" width="669" height="953"><figcaption class="caption-body">Jason Spezza has mixed emotions about deciding games with a shootout.(HEATLEY: JAMIE SQURE/GETTY IMAGES; SPEZZA; STEVE BABINEAU/SPORTS ACTION)</figcaption></div>At the all-star break, the AHL had played 724 games. Of those, 165 went beyond regulation time and 98 were decided by shootout.Hall of Famer Larry Robinson, a guest of the AHL during all-star weekend, said the shootout may be great from a fan&rsquo;s perspective, but the former Los Angeles and New Jersey bench boss has a different outlook from a coach&rsquo;s perspective.&ldquo;You could play a great game and still lose in the shootout,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;That may not be the best way to decide a point.&rdquo;Spezza, the Ottawa Senators prospect, agrees: &ldquo;When you&rsquo;re on a bit of a skid and you lose a couple of shootout games, that&rsquo;s a lot harder to take than a tie.&rdquo;<h2>SHARPSHOOTERS STOPPED</h2>Spezza, who&rsquo;s toiling for Binghamton during the lockout, was foiled by Miller in the shootout. The Amerks goalie also stopped Chuck Kobasew of Lowell and Kyle Wellwood of St. John&rsquo;s.At the other end, Tomas Plekanec of the Hamilton Bulldogs, Zach Parise of the Albany River Rats and the Providence Bruins&rsquo; Andy Hilbert beat Manchester Monarchs Mathieu Garon, thrilling a proU.S. sellout crowd of 9,916.&ldquo;You could feel the buzz,&rdquo; Spezza said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s all about the fans. If they are saying they like it, you have to decide what&rsquo;s best for them and the game.&rdquo;Miller, however, might not be so certain. &ldquo;Do you really want to award that many points on the basis of entertainment? That&rsquo;s what it comes down to.&ldquo;It&rsquo;s a tough way to lose. When it comes down to playoff time, that&rsquo;s when you&rsquo;re going to see the guys looking back to the shootout and saying we&rsquo;ve got the better team, but the other guys have a better shootout percentage. This is a team game.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-01

AHLers debate shootout

With one strike of the gavel, a Fulton County judge brought Dany Heatley&rsquo;s blurry future into focus.Following a guilty plea by Heatley, Superior Court Judge Roland Barnes sentenced the Atlanta Thrashers&rsquo; star to three years probation and ruled he must deliver 150 speeches about the dangers of speeding for his part in the Sept. 29, 2003, car accident that claimed the life of Dan Snyder.Heatley, 24, pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular manslaughter, driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane and speeding.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0011-021259/8381924-1-eng-US/f0011-022.jpg" title="f0011-02" width="363" height="605"></div>In exchange for his plea, the first-degree vehicular manslaughter charge-the most serious against Heatley-and a reckless driving charge were dropped.&ldquo;The mistake I made that night was speeding,&rdquo; Heatley said at his sentencing.&rsquo; &lsquo;This mistake will stay with me the rest of my life. I respect the judge&rsquo;s decision and the judicial system and will take the punishment and move on.&rdquo;Police believe Heatley was driving his black Ferrari 360 convertible to excess on a curved road in a residential area when it struck a brick pillar and iron fence splitting the car in half. Snyder, a passenger in the car, was thrown from the vehicle and died after several days in a coma.Police estimated the Ferrari was traveling at least 82 miles-per-hour, although according to defense attorney Ed Garland, one expert thought Heatley was driving only 55 mph. The posted speed limit was 35 mph.Snyder&rsquo;s father, Graham, and brother, Jake, both testified that despite their loss they didn&rsquo;t want Heatley to go to jail or lose his hockey career over the accident.If convicted on all counts, Heatley could have faced up to 20 years in prison.Under the terms of his probation, Heatley can only drive for work, medical purposes, going to the grocery store or for attending his speeches. In addition, any car he drives cannot have more than six cylinders and must have a mechanism to prevent it from exceeding 70 mph.Heatley recently signed with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian league where he joins Thrashers teammate Ilya Kovalchuk.The speeches, Heatley said, will be part of his healing process. &ldquo;I see the speeches as a positive thing-I&rsquo;m going to relive this every day, no matter what. So if I can talk to a kid and save him from something, that&rsquo;s a positive thing.&rdquo; &#9632;

f0011-02

Heatley on probation

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>Steve Moore will get to speak his mind in court, after all.The former Colorado Avalanche forward filed a lawsuit in connection with injuries he sustained when Vancouver Canucks winger Todd Bertuzzi attacked him in a March 8, 2004 game.It was less than two months ago Moore expressed extreme disappointment that he was not permitted to read his victim impact statement to a Vancouver court room. Bertuzzi was facing a charge of assault causing bodily harm in connection for his suckerpunch attack on Moore. Bertuzzi pleaded guilty and agreed to a controversial plea bargain Dec. 22, receiving a conditional discharge, with no criminal record if he fulfills his one-year probation and 80-hour community service requirements.Moore, an unrestricted free agent who continues to suffer from injuries to his right shoulder and has post-concussion symptoms, had until March 8, 2006 to file a civil suit.The lawsuit was filed in Denver District Court, citing Colorado&rsquo;s &lsquo;long-arm statute&rsquo; and saying the sequence of events that led to the attack began at a Feb. 16, 2004 Canucks-Avalanche game at the Pepsi Center.The defendants in the civil suit include Bertuzzi, Vancouver forward Brad May, coach Marc Crawford, former GM Brian Burke, plus the Canucks and the partnership that owns the team.The NHL, which fined the Canucks and suspended Bertuzzi, was not included among the defendants.Moore had hired a Toronto-area attorney to explore the possibility of a lawsuit. He will be represented by Denver attorney Lee Foreman, part of the same firm that defended Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant in the recent legal proceedings in Colorado.The suit asked for damages, but didn&rsquo;t cite a dollar figure. &#9632;

Moore files civil suit over injury

<div class="byline">BY THN STAFF</div>Three NHL players accused of rape are running out of hockey leagues to play in.Two days after being barred from the Swedish national team, Florida Panthers left winger Kristian Huselius and defenseman Henrik Tallinder of the Buffalo Sabres were released by Linkoping of the Swedish Elite League. The third player, Nashville defenseman Andreas Lilja, was suspended for the remainder of the season by his Swedish team, Mora.The incident occurred following a Feb. 8 gathering of the Swedish national team. A 22-year-old woman accused the three players of raping her in a hotel room early the next morning.The woman was examined at the Huddinge Hospital in Stockholm before going to the police.When questioned, the trio reportedly told police they had consensual sex with the woman after meeting her in a bar.Authorities released the three players, saying they didn&rsquo;t have enough evidence to charge them.At a press conference in Mora, Sweden, Lilja asked people, including his accuser, for forgiveness.Club director Jan Simons condemned Lilja&rsquo;s conduct, but said the team has a responsibility as an employer to help him.Linkoping&rsquo;s board of directors met with Huselius and Tallinder before deciding unanimously to release them.The two players released a joint statement on the team&rsquo;s web site: &ldquo;Considering what has happened, we think we can&rsquo;t produce for the club and therefore we accept the decision and will now focus on our families.&rdquo;Huselius, who led the Swedish league in scoring this season, and Tallinder donated half of their final paychecks to Linkoping&rsquo;s youth programs as a gesture of goodwill.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0012-011938/8381979-1-eng-US/f0012-012.jpg" title="f0012-01" width="924" height="683"><figcaption class="caption-body">NHLers Andreas Lilja, Kristian Huselius and Henrik Tallinder answer to an accusation of rape in Sweden.</figcaption></div> &#9632;

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Trio remorseful

<h2>SUTTER PATRIARCH INSTILLED DESIRE</h2>Louis John Sutter, the father of six sons who played in the NHL, passed away following a lengthy illness. He was 73. Louis and his wife, Grace Sutter, raised seven sons in a Viking, Alta., farmhouse near Edmonton. Their eldest son, Gary, was the only one who never played in the NHL. Brian, 48, is coach of Chicago. Darryl, 46, is coach-GM of Calgary. Duane, 44, is director of player personnel for Florida. Brent, 42, is coach-GM of Red Deer of the WHL. Twins Rich and Ron are pro scouts-Rich with Minnesota and Ron with the Flames. The Sutter brothers combined to play 4,994 regular season NHL games. Tributes flowed in from across the hockey community celebrating the life of Louis, who passed on to his sons a passion for hard work, stubbornness and desire.<h2>MATHERS WAS AHL PLAYER, COACH, GM</h2>The American League lost one of its greatest builders when legend Frank Mathers passed away at 80. Mathers, who was enshrined into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992, was a star defenseman in the AHL in the 1950s with Pittsburgh and Hershey. After he retired in 1962, Mathers went on to coach Hershey before being named team president and GM in 1973. He guided Hershey to three Calder Cups-in 1974, 1980, and 1988. Mathers was named an honorary life member of the AHL&rsquo;s board of governors and the Frank Mathers Trophy is awarded to the Eastern Conference champion of the AHL playoffs.<h2>THEODORE&rsquo;S FATHER AVOIDS JAIL TERM</h2>The father of Montreat goalie Jose Theodore was spared a prison term and instead given a $30,000 fine for heading up a loansharking ring that charged exorbitant interest rates. Ted Nicholas Theodore, 71, had no previous criminal record. Judge Jean-Pierre Bonin said there was &ldquo;no proof of physical violence,&rdquo; related to the loansharking ring from 1984 to 2003. Ted&rsquo;s son Nicky, and three half-brothers pleaded guilty to related charges. Jose Theodore wasn&rsquo;t part of the loansharking ring, but has said all along he supports his family.<h2>OUTDOOR CHARITY GAME IN HAMILTON</h2>Organizers of an April outdoor game in Hamilton hope locked-out NHLers will be a big draw for their event. Martin Brodeur and Rob Blake are invited to play in the April 2 game at Ivor Wynne Stadium, which is expected to draw 30,000 fans and raise $400,000 for charity.<h2>HALPERN LOSES HIS MOTHER</h2>The mother of Washington Capitals leading scorer Jeff Halpern was one of four people killed in a car crash with a fuel tanker. Gloria Halpern, 56, of Potomac, Md., was in a car with her brother, sisterin-law and friend when it was crushed by a tanker that had flipped over on a Florida highway. Halpern was playing in Kloten, Switz. &#9632;

HOCKEY WORLD IN BRIEF

The 2005 Future Watch top 50 will go down as the mother of all Future Watch lists. Because of the lockout, it is loaded with at least a dozen players who are too good to be on it. Had there been a full season since October, prospects such as Alexander Ovechkin, Kari Lehtonen, Marc Andre Fleury and others would have proven themselves as NHLers and not been eligible for this list.But thanks to five months of boardroom dithering, these prospects have remained on this radar screen. As soon as the NHL begins, however, watch for some of these top-50 names to make an immediate impact. Don&rsquo;t be surprised if Ryan Miller, No. 15, becomes the starter in Buffalo; or Ryan Whitney, No. 35, gets top-four minutes on the Pittsburgh defense; or Mike Cammalleri, No. 39, shows some flair on the Los Angeles power play.The top 50 list and report cards you see on this page are based on the views of head scouts from each NHL team (16 of 30 answered the call.). The prospect list is based on longterm upside (five to 10 years out) while the report cards include both prospects and 21-and-under NHLers.A player is considered a Future Watch eligible prospect if he has played 50 or fewer NHL games, although we make exceptions on a case-by-case basis. Dustin Brown of Los Angeles, for example, played just 31 NHL games as a rookie last season, but spent the entire year with the Kings, thereby making himself an NHLer, not a prospect. Pittsburgh&rsquo;s Kris Beech, on the other hand, has played 99 NHL games, but is more than two full seasons removed from regular NHL duty, so he falls back into prospect territory.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-011765/8382048-1-eng-US/f0013-012.jpg" title="f0013-01" width="289" height="378"><figcaption class="caption-body">Brian Costello Senior Editor (DAVE SANDFORD/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div>In grabbing No. 1 spot on the top-50 list, Washington&rsquo;s Ovechkin garnered nine of 16 first-place ballots, compared to five for Atlanta&rsquo;s two-time defending Future Watch champion Lehtonen and two for two-time runner-up Dion Phaneuf of Calgary.The Florida Panthers repeated as the team with the top grade based on prospects and young NHLers. They are the only team with three 21-and-under NHLers and have two highly rated prospects-Rostislav Olesz and Anthony Stewart.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-021235/8382041-1-eng-US/f0013-022.jpg" title="f0013-02" width="948" height="786"><figcaption class="caption-body">Alexander Ovechkin is the No. 1 prospect in Future Watch.</figcaption></div><h2>REPORT CARDS</h2>A panel of 16 NHL executives graded each of the 30 teams&rsquo; top-10 prospect lists, including 21-and-under NHLers (listed under team name below}. Their results were blended to produce a 2005 Future Watch grade.<div class="figure-block image-bleed"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-03903/8382034-1-eng-US/f0013-032.jpg" title="f0013-03" width="1935" height="920"></div> &#9632;

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Future Watch 2005

<div class="image-hero"><img title="f0013-04" src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0013-04745/8382079-1-eng-US/f0013-042.jpg"></div>The top 50 ranking is a blend of results of ratings provided by a panel of 16 executives-an invitation was given to each NHL team. Prospects are listed in order of2005 Future Watch ranking. Last year&rsquo;s rank is in parentheses after the name. Players who weren&rsquo;t ranked in 2004 are denoted as (nr), while players listed as (new) were prospects drafted in 2004. &#9632;

f0013-04

The Hockey News TOP 50

<div class="byline">BY JOHN MANASSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-011748/8382155-1-eng-US/f0015-012.jpg" title="f0015-01" width="300" height="331"></div>How does one define the term prospect, Thrashers&rsquo; GM Don Waddell asked? If it were not for the lockout, the Thrashers&rsquo; top two prospects-goalie Kari Lehtonen and defenseman Braydon Coburn-wouldn&rsquo;t be prospects at all. They would be playing for the Thrashers.But as both are young, their development has been anything but hurt by playing this season and not being thrown into the rigors of an NHL rookie season. The Thrashers are starting to reach a point of maturity as an organization, having acquired several veterans during the off-season: Niclas Havelid, Jaroslav Modry and Scott Mellanby.In the short-term, that means cracking the lineup for prospects will be more difficult, but it also gives the Thrashers a chance to build some much-needed organizational depth.Here are the top five prospects:1. KARI LEHTONEN, G, CHICAGO Lehtonen had trouble adjusting to the lengthy schedule, travel and had breakdowns in his conditioning last season, his first in North America. That has not been the case this year.&ldquo;Our team (in Chicago) is average and he makes a difference,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;They&rsquo;re hanging right near the top&hellip;I like that he&rsquo;s getting 35 or 40 shots per night. That&rsquo;s why it&rsquo;s important he stays here and not go back to Europe.&rdquo; Acquired: 2002 draft, second overall.2. BRAYDON COBURN, D, PORTLAND This defensive defenseman would not be in junior if not for the lockout. Waddell was pleased with Coburn&rsquo;s performance in the World Junior Championship. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s ready to play in the NHL,&rdquo; Waddell said.Said Thrashers director of amateur scouting and player development Dan Marr: &ldquo;Coburn&rsquo;s solid as a rock. He won&rsquo;t win you the game, but he won&rsquo;t lose you the game. Braydon&rsquo;s a leader. You can measure that in a game.&rdquo;Acquired: 2003 draft, eighth overall.3. BORIS VALABIK, D, KITCHENER Valabik&rsquo;s development has been slowed by two things: a concussion of the whiplash variety that kept him out for a lengthy period early in the season and his difficulty in staying out of the penalty box.Nonetheless, he rebounded for a strong WJC with Slovakia. At 6-foot-7, Valabik is another huge defense prospect and has a mean streak coach Bob Hartley will love, but like Cobum he&rsquo;ll have to improve his skating to flourish at the next level.Acquired: 2004 draft, 10th overall.4. JIM SLATER, C, MICHIGAN STATE Waddell projects the 6-foot, 190-pound senior will be a gritty third-liner who will check the other team&rsquo;s top line and can still score 15-20 goals and jump up to play on one of the top two lines.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s progressing nicely,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;He will need time in the American League. Going from college to pro hockey is a big jump.&rdquo;Acquired: 2002 draft, 30th overall.5. KARL STEWART, LW, CHICAGO Stewart has gone from longshot prospect to working his way high up the organization&rsquo;s depth chart.Last season when injuries decimated the Thrashers, Stewart played five games, earning his first NHL assist. He&rsquo;s small (5-foot-10,175 pounds), but perhaps the fastest player on his team.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a little disturber out there,&rdquo; Waddell said. &ldquo;He gets under people&rsquo;s skin. He draws a lot of penalties.&rdquo;Acquired: Signed as free agent, Sept. 28, 2001.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0015-021256/8382148-1-eng-US/f0015-022.jpg" title="f0015-02" width="288" height="404"><figcaption class="caption-body">KARI LEHTONEN</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Kari Lehtonen, G, 21, Chicago (AHL), &#9668; 23-15-2, 2.32 GAA, .928 SP Overall 32. Braydon Cobum, D, 20, Portland (WHL), 40-10-25-35-103 Overall 263. Boris Valabik, D, 19, Kitchener (OHL), 28-0-2-2-154 Overall 684. Jim Slater, C, 22, Michigan State (CCHA), 30-11-19-30-28 Overall 715. Karl Stewart, LW, 21, Chicago (AHL), 50-11-5-16-1696. Tommi Santala, C, 25, Chicago (AHL), 40-6-17-23-40Possible fourth-line NHL center is finally showing toughness in Chicago.Acquired 1999 draft, 245th overall7. Stephen Baby, RW, 25, Chicago (AHL), 50-5-3-8-74Second-year pro out of Cornell is showing toughness, still needs to work on skating. Acquired 1999 draft, 188th overall8. Jim Sharrow, 0, 20, Halifax (QMJHL), 56-12-16-38-66Massachusetts native has offensive skills and is learning to play a two-way game.Acquired 2003 draft, 110th overall9. Nathan Oystrick, D, 22, N. Mich. (CCHA), 30-5-8-13-58Seventh-rounder is showing promise with an offensive upside in third college season.Acquired 2002 draft, 198th overall10. Derek Mackenzie, C, 23, Chicago (AHL), 52-9-12-21-43Small center is good on draws, but got over-powered at times in 12 NHL games last year.Acquired 1999 draft, 128th overall &#9632;

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f0015-03

Boston kids on way up

<div class="byline">BY JIM KELLEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-011709/8382231-1-eng-US/f0016-012.jpg" title="f0016-01" width="300" height="328"></div>What do you get when you combine a coaching staff and hockey department with little to do and an American League affiliate, Rochester, 60 miles down the road?If the Buffalo Sabres have their way, it will be accelerated development.The debate has raged in Buffalo as to whether or not the Sabres draft well and fall short in the development process or that the drafting itself hasn&rsquo;t been good.In this season of no NHL hockey, Sabres management is concentrating all ofits efforts in an attempt to improve from within.Here are the top five prospects:1. THOMAS VANEK, LW, ROCHESTER Vanek sure looks like the real thing. After a slow start, he has emerged as a team leader in scoring, shows a commitment to learning defensive skills and is adapting to the pro game after a brief but stellar college and world junior career.Always a scorer, Vanek&rsquo;s notable improvements are in the area of on-ice vision and anticipation. Sabres GM Darcy Regier said he&rsquo;s also learning to create more, something he didn&rsquo;t always do in college. The world has also recognized his talent as he&rsquo;ll play for Austria in the upcoming World Championship.Acquired: 2003 draft, fifth overall.2. RYAN MILLER, G, ROCHESTER Miller has been tabbed the next once since he came into the organization, but a couple of tryout performances in the NHL went badly early on.This season, the former Michigan netminder has been considerably more consistent in regards to the mental game. A tougher mindset and improved mechanics, especially regards positioning earned Miller a I berth in the AHL All-Star Game.Acquired: 1999 draft, 138th overall.3. DREW STAFFORD, RW, NORTH DAKOTA Stafford&rsquo;s stock has been on the rise almost from the day the Sabres drafted him.A solid two-way player with good size, leadership skills and checking ability, Stafford has impressed both at the University of North Dakota and for Team USA at the world juniors with his ever-improving offensive ability. Regier said his scouts were first attracted to him because they liked his offensive potential and that he appears to be on track for the pros.Nine points (five goals, four assists) in seven games at the WJC supports the Sabres thesis.Acquired: 2004 draft, 13th overall.4. DEREK ROY, C, ROCHESTER Roy made the Sabres late last season as a third, sometimes fourth-line center.He&rsquo;s a first-liner in Rochester and often is teamed with Vanek. That has broadened his offensive workload, something that might not have happened had he been in the NHL this season. Roy is small, but he has quickness and a high skill level, improving in getting through holes and making plays.Acquired: 2001 entry draft, 32nd overall.5. CLARKE MACARTHUR, LW, MEDICINE HAT Just starting to emerge as an impact player in the WHL, MacArthur is the leading scorer on his team and is challenging for the scoring lead in league play. He shows great character and a definite improvement to a more serious approach to his overall game.The Sabres like the fact he didn&rsquo;t back down in the face of superior competition, a trait they saw at the WJC where he was cast in a defensive role yet still performed on offense.Acquired: 2003 draft, 74th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-021339/8382224-1-eng-US/f0016-022.jpg" title="f0016-02" width="285" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">THOMAS VANEK</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Thomas Vanek, LW, 21, Rochester (AHL), &#9668; 49-19-16-35-42 Overall 122. Ryan Miller, G, 24, Rochester (AHL), 29-12-3, 2.09 GAA, .932 SP Overall 153. Drew Stafford, RW, 19, N. Dakota (WCHA), 27-9-17-26-22 Overall 274. Derek Roy, C, 21, Rochester, (AHL), 54-14-33-47-42 Overall 585. Clarke MacArthur, LW, 19, M. Hat (WHL), 43-24-37-61-826. Dan Paille, LW, 20, Rochester (AHL), 53-9-8-17-24Showing decent offense in first pro season and excels at killing penalties.Acquired 2002 draft, 20th overall7. Jason Pominville, RW, 22, Rochester (AHL), 54-18-21-39-35Still has chance to make NHL-provided he can bring speed up another notch.Acquired 2001 draft, 55th overall8. Andrej Sekera, D, 18, Owen Sound (OHL), 42-6-18-24-14Mobile and has decent physical game; Sabres like his leadership and desire to improve.Acquired 2004 draft, 71st overall9. Paul Gaustad, C, 23, Rochester (AHL), 51-10-15-25-107Strong improvement in both scoring and defensive play from last season.Acquired 2000 draft, 220th overall10. Michael Funk, 0, 18, Portland (WHL), 55-5-18-23-54Has size, but needs more competitive commitment and better puckhandling skills.Acquired 2004 draft, 43rd overall &#9632;

f0016-01

Draft record falls short

<div class="byline">BY RANDY SPORTAK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-031013/8382269-1-eng-US/f0016-032.jpg" title="f0016-03" width="299" height="327"></div>For the last five years, the focus for the Calgary Flames has been on size, skating ability and character.That ideal, combined with regularly drafting in the middle of the first round as opposed to up high, is why their top prospects aren&rsquo;t all sure-fire stars.Defenseman Dion Phaneuf certainly is expected to become a standout at the NHL level, but after that it is a collection of gritty players who need development.Finally having their own AHL affiliate next season, after sharing one for two campaigns, will demonstrate within a couple of years whether that plan has come into fruition.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve tried to build depth and fill holes in certain rounds,&rdquo; said scouting director Tod Button. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve tried to develop hockey players you need to win.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects:1. DION PHANEUF, D, RED DEER The most touted prospect in the system since Jarome Iginla, Phaneuf showed at the World Junior Championship why the Flames are so excited.&ldquo;His development from the 2004 world juniors to the 2005 world juniors was incredible,&rdquo; Button said.A strong skater with a terrific shot, Phaneuf is a hard hitter who makes a solid first pass and runs the power play well. He sometimes puts himself out of position while attempting a big hit, but is learning to pick his spots.Acquired: 2003 draft, ninth overall.2. ERIC NYSTROM, LW, MICHIGANA rib injury caused a slow start and his production during his senior year at Michigan isn&rsquo;t what most expected from Nystrom.However, he is strong on his skates and excels in a checking role, much like his father, the former Islanders Stanley Cup winner Bob Nystrom.&ldquo;There are so many thing Eric does to help a team win and they&rsquo;re not on the scoresheet,&rdquo; Button said.Acquired: 2002 draft, 10th overall.3. KRIS CHUCKO, LW, MINNESOTA A freshman at the University of Minnesota, Chucko was expected to need some time to gain a handle on the NCAA game. So far, though, he has come along nicely.Chucko has steadily improved throughout the season, even skating on the top line at times. Normally a right wing, he has developed some versatility playing on the other side.Acquired: 2004 draft, 24th overall.4. BRENT KRAHN, G, LOWELL The road to the NHL has been long and full of twists, but Krahn is finally back on track.Though chosen very early in the 2000 draft, Krahn wasn&rsquo;t expected to be an NHL starter until age 24 and 25. A couple of lost seasons due to knee injuries stalled the process for the 22-year-old, but he has shown this season there&rsquo;s reason for that promise.Krahn still must develop his fundamental skills and become more consistent.Acquired: 2000 draft, ninth overall.5. ANDREI TARATUKHIN, C, UFA SALAVAT The NHL lockout and subsequent rush to Europe by so many players has hurt the center. Taratukhin is a defensive forward with size and skill, but being young and a third-fourth-liner, his playing time has diminished further this season.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s not flashy or a guy who&rsquo;ll make you say, &lsquo;Wow&rsquo;,&rdquo; Button said. &ldquo;But, you see after the game he&rsquo;s plus-2 and won 60 per cent of his faceoffs.&rdquo;Acquired: 2001 draft, 41st overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0016-04766/8382262-1-eng-US/f0016-042.jpg" title="f0016-04" width="285" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body">DION PHANEUF</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Dion Phaneuf, D, 19, Red Deer (WHL), &#9668; 40-17-20-37-49 Overall 22. Eric Nystrom, LW, 22, Michigan (CCHA), 28-9-13-22-27 Overall 743. Kris Chucko, LW, 18, Minnesota (WCHA), 33-8-8-16-494. Brent Krahn, G, 22, Lowell (AHL), 13-7-2, 2.56 GAA, .917 SP5. Andrei Taratukhin, C, 22, Ufa Salavat (Rus.) 43-5-2-7-696. Tim Ramholt, D, 20, Zurich (Switz.), 38-1-3-4-28Flames would prefer it if the slick-skating defenseman was in the AHL.Acquired 2003 draft, 39th overall7. Dustin Boyd, C, 18, Moose Jaw (WHL), 51-22-28-50-47Learning to play with disappointment and adversity playing on a bottom feeder.Acquired 2004 draft, 98th overall8. Tomi Maki, RW, 21, Jokerit (Fin.), 41-1-2-3-14Needs experience at the American League level to aid development.Acquired 2001 draft, 108th overall9. Brandon Prust, LW, 20, London (OHL), 40-9-14-23-156Not a big gun on the mighty Knights, but learning importance of third-line role duty.Acquired 2004 draft, 20th overall10. Yuri Trubachev, C, 21, Cherepovets (Rus.), 47-12-12-24-38SmalL skilled center putting up better than ever numbers in the Russian League.Acquired 2001 draft, 164th overall &#9632;

f0016-03

Only Phaneuf a sure bet

<div class="byline">BY LUKE DECOCK</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-011530/8382307-1-eng-US/f0017-012.jpg" title="f0017-01" width="299" height="330"></div>For one of Carolina&rsquo;s top prospects, the lockout hasn&rsquo;t been such bad news. Goalie Cam Ward likely would have been rushed to the NHL to be Martin Gerber&rsquo;s backup. Instead, he&rsquo;s thriving in the American League in his first year out of junior.Carolina&rsquo;s lack of success on the ice the past few years has given their system an upgrade of top-level talent-Eric Staal, Andrew Ladd, Danny Richmond and Ward-with bright NHL futures. Such players with legitimate NHL upside had been few and far between for the Hurricanes.Here are the top five prospects:1. ANDREW LADD, LW, CALGARY Ladd bounced back from an early season shoulder injury to make Canada&rsquo;s national junior team.The Canes traded up to take him in front of their own fans at the draft in June, creating high expectations for a player in only his second season of junior hockey. His scoring is down this year, but the Canes are willing to be patient with the rugged forward, projected as an eventual top-line scorer.Acquired: 2004 draft, fourth overall.2. CAM WARD, G, LOWELL The Hurricanes&rsquo; goalie of the future has done little to hurt his status in his first AHL season. The AHL&rsquo;s rookie of the month for December, he shares the Lowell net with Brent Krahn, but has better numbers than the Calgary prospect.Ward is the kind of technically sound goalie who minimizes his movement and makes tough saves look easy. He needs some work on his lateral quickness and recovery, but the Canes remain enamored of his poise and composure.&ldquo;I think the biggest adjustment is that it&rsquo;s the first time he&rsquo;s been away from home,&rdquo; said Lowell coach Tom Rowe. &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a couple meetings with him just to see how he&rsquo;s doing more than anything and it&rsquo;s unbelievable how composed he is.&rdquo;Acquired: 2002 draft, 25th overall.3. DANNY RICHMOND, D, LOWELL A freewheeling blueliner, Richmond is starting to find his niche in the AHL. After one year of college hockey and one year in the OHL, he turned pro this season and went through the usual learning curve.But even against players a decade older, Richmond has been able to put up points while staying on the positive side of the plus/minus ledger.Acquired: 2003 draft, 31st overall.4. CASEY BORER, D, ST. CLOUD STATE The Hurricanes didn&rsquo;t take Borer for his offense. Then again, neither did the U.S. national junior team. A sophomore at St. Cloud State, Borer is still looking for his first collegiate goal.Purely a defensive defenseman, the Canes think Borer can mature into a lockdown rearguard. He&rsquo;s already progressed beyond their expectations. His play for the Americans in Grand Forks was well-received by Carolina&rsquo;s scouting staff.Acquired: 2004 draft, 69th overall.5. MIKE ZIGOMANIS, C, LOWELL Zigomanis has had fourth-line chances at the NHL and let it be known during the off-season he wouldn&rsquo;t mind a change of scenery.The Canes are still waiting to see whether his AHL playmaking and scoring can translate to the quicker pace of the NHL. He has to answer questions about his skating by improving his sense of anticipation and getting to the right spots because of quick thinking instead of quick feet.Acquired: 2001 entry draft, 46th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-021195/8382300-1-eng-US/f0017-022.jpg" title="f0017-02" width="284" height="404"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDREW LADD</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Andrew Ladd, LW, 19, Calgary (WHL), &#9668; 51-16-19-35-193 Overall 342. Cam Ward, G, 20, Lowell (AHL), 16-9-2, 2.06 GAA, .934 SP Overall 403. Danny Richmond, D, 20, Lowell (AHL), 39-3-7-10-644. Casey Borer, D, 20, St. Cloud St. (WCHA), 27-0-9-9-345. Mike Zigomanis, C, 24, Lowell (AHL), 46-20-21-41-526. Kevin Nastiuk, G, 19, Medicine Hat (WHL) 22-17-1, 2.17 GAA, .915 SPEarly-season sensation continues to impress with size and athleticism.Acquired 2003 draft, 126th overall7. Justin Peters, G, 18, St. Michael&rsquo;s (OHL), 17-19-4, 2.78 GAA, .907 SPCanes trainer said Peters was the fittest player he saw at the pre-draft combine.Acquired 2004 draft, 38th overall8. Niklas Nordgren, LW, 25, Timra (Swe.), 40-17-15-32-71.It&rsquo;s up to all-around forward to make jump across Atlantic; Canes believe he&rsquo;s ready.Acquired 1997 draft, 195th overall9. Brett Carson, D, 19, Calgary (WHL), 47-8-11-19-49Has size, strength and offensive upside; plays in all situations for Hitmen.Acquired 2004 draft, 109th overall10. Matej Trojovsky, D, 20, P. George (WHL), 44-4-3-7-167 &lsquo;Towering, surly defenseman continues to make presence felt and pile up PIMs.Acquired 2003 draft, 130th overall &#9632;

f0017-01

Carolina has fine Ladds

<div class="byline">BY TIM SASSONE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-03873/8382345-1-eng-US/f0017-032.jpg" title="f0017-03" width="301" height="329"></div>For the Blackhawks, it&rsquo;s about time. It&rsquo;s time for some of the organization&rsquo;s highly touted prospects to live up to their potential.Since 2000, Tuomo Ruutu is the only Hawks&rsquo; draft choice to make an impact, but assistant GM Dale Tallon isn&rsquo;t ready to throw in the towel on the others.&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been watching this year to see how some of the guys respond and many of our guys have,&rdquo; Tallon said. &ldquo;I think this year, because of the lockout, you&rsquo;ve been able to get a true read on a guy since they know that up until now there is no chance of them being called up.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects:1. CAM BARKER, D, MEDICINE HAT The third pick overall in 2004 had his season interrupted by a bout with mononucleosis.It forced an early exit from the World Junior Championship, but the Hawks didn&rsquo;t need to see Barker on that big stage to know what they have. He is as skilled as any defensive prospect out there, though the Hawks want to see him get a little stronger and improve his conditioning.&ldquo;Sometimes he&rsquo;s a little too laid back,&rdquo; Tallon said. &ldquo;But part of that is he makes it look so easy because he&rsquo;s one of those guys who is so skilled.&rdquo;Acquired: 2004 draft, third overall.2. BRENT SEABROOK, 0, LETHBRIDGE The steady Seabrook showed what he is all about by playing through a shoulder injury in the World Junior Championship for Canada-and extremely playing well.Seabrook has worked hard to improve his foot speed, but his biggest asset is his smarts, especially as a passer and on the power play.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s just a steady, two-way player,&rdquo; Tallon said. &ldquo;He can be physical, but that&rsquo;s not his thing.&rdquo;Acquired: 2003 draft, 14th overall.3. ANTON BABCHUK, D, NORFOLK Babchuk has had an up-and-down second AHL season.&ldquo;Anton came in with some false expectations,&rdquo; said Norfolk coach Trent Yawney. &ldquo;He thought it would be a lot easier, which is normal for a second-year player. He&rsquo;s got to play with more of an edge-and not in a fighting way. He&rsquo;s got to use his (6-foot-4) size and be harder to play against. He has been too easy to play against.&rdquo; Despite his struggles, Babchuk was named to play in the AHL All-Star Game for a second season.Acquired: 2002 draft, 21st overall.4. PAVEL VOROBIEV, RW, NORFOLK Vorobiev finally has recovered from a devastating knee injury suffered in 2001 that set him back two years in Tallon&rsquo;s estimation.The Hawks expect Vorobiev to be a scorer and a playmaker on the next level and he won&rsquo;t get there if he can&rsquo;t make it happen. He got in 18 NHL games with the Hawks last season and understands it&rsquo;s all about consistency.&ldquo;He used to have a few flashes of brilliance, but now he&rsquo;s having more of them,&rdquo; Tallon said.Acquired: 2000 draft, 11th overall.5. MIKHAIL YAKUBOV, C, NORFOLK Yakubov was supposed to be this dazzling scorer when the Hawks drafted him, but so far it hasn&rsquo;t worked out that way in three seasons as a pro.The Hawks now see him as more of a set-up guy if he ever gets to the next level with the ability to hold his own defensively. Yakubov has been knocked for not being a competitor, but he is working on it.&ldquo;He competes better,&rdquo; Tallon said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s starting to get the picture.&rdquo;Acquired: 2000 draft, 10th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0017-04643/8382338-1-eng-US/f0017-042.jpg" title="f0017-04" width="284" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body">CAM BARKER</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Cam Barker, D, 18, Medicine Hat (WHL), H 37-11-31-42-73 Overall 112. Brent Seabrook, 0, 19, Lethbridge (WHL), 50-9-32-41-86 Overall 453. Anton Babchuk, D, 20, Norfolk (AHL), 40-4-11-15-55 Overall 534. Pavel Vorobiev, RW, 22, Norfolk (AHL), 51-11-10-21-365. Mikhail Yakubov, C, 22, Norfolk (AHL), 41-9-12-21-336. Craig Anderson, G, 23, Norfolk (AHL), 8-1-1, 1.74 GAA.939 SPOff to excellent start in AHL before hip injury ended his season.Acquired 2001 draft, 73rd overall7. Corey Crawford, G, 20, Moncton (QMJHL), 23-12-5, 2.48 GAA.920 SPThe Quebec League&rsquo;s MVP if not for Sidney Crosby; Hawks love his technique.Acquired 2003 draft, 52nd overall8. Duncan Keith, D, 21, Norfolk (AHL), 50-4-11-15-49Sensational skater who might have made more strides than any other Hawk prospect.Acquired 2002 draft, 54th overall9. Dave Bolland, C, 18, London (OHL), 53-30-36-66-83Hawks think he was a steal in second round; he plays with plenty of heart.Acquired 2004 draft, 32nd overall10. Michal Barinka, D, 20, Norfolk (AHL), 40-1-6-7-63Hawks are convinced he will be a physical presence on blueline one day.Acquired 2003 draft, 59th overall &#9632;

f0017-03

Time for future is now

<div class="byline">BY ADRIAN DATER</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-011590/8382383-1-eng-US/f0018-012.jpg" title="f0018-01" width="302" height="329"></div>For the second year in a row, the Colorado Avalanche&rsquo;s talent pool is ranked last in the NHL by a panel of scouts commissioned by The Hockey News.That is not welcome news for a team that has long prided itself on developing its own prospects. The Avs hope to prove everybody wrong with what they feel is a better talent crop than the ranking indicates.Years of excellence in the standings have finally worn down Colorado&rsquo;s young depth, however. In past years, the Avs won Stanley Cups, but still found good players in the late rounds. That has gotten harder to do and the Avs made missteps with recent first round choices. Vaclav Nedorost, Mikhail Kuleshov and Jonas Johansson are just a few who never panned out for the organization.Here are the top five prospects:1. WOJTEK WOLSKI, LW, BRAMPTON It has been a fine season for the Battalion first-liner. Wolski became the second-fastest Brampton player to reach 100 points, behind Raffi Torres, and has shown his usual versatility.He is the team&rsquo;s best player on the power play and has improved his grinding game in the corners. Defensively, he still needs work on assuming responsibility, but the Avalanche know that element can come in time.Wolski suffered a knee injury in February, but it wasn&rsquo;t considered serious.Acquired: 2004 draft, 21st overall.2. MAREK SVATOS, RW, HERSHEY The speedy Slovakian forward has had a year he&rsquo;ll no doubt want to forget when he looks back on his career.Svatos thought he would blossom with the Avalanche after a solid play-off performance last season, but the lockout took care of that. Then he was suspended for a game early in the season with the Hershey Bears for flipping a puck at a linesman. His play was unspectacular-and his scoring statistics were humbling-which earned him a spot in coach Paul Fixter&rsquo;s doghouse before he was sidelined by an ankle injury.Acquired: 2001 draft, 227th overall.3. PETER BUDAJ, G, HERSHEY After a slow start, the Slovak has been good-at times spectacular-for Hershey.Scouts say he is starting to control his rebounds better and not panicking after giving up the early goal like he once did. Budaj&rsquo;s favorite saying now is, &ldquo;It&rsquo;s not about the mistake, it&rsquo;s about the recovery.&rdquo;Budaj would have contended for a backup job with Colorado this season.Acquired: 2001 draft, 63rd overall.4. JOHNNY BOYCHUK, D, HERSHEY It hasn&rsquo;t been a bad first minor-pro year for the rugged Edmonton native.His statistics aren&rsquo;t eye-opening, but Boychuk has impressed Bears&rsquo; staff with his work ethic and leadership. There have been rookie growing pains, such as giveaways under pressure and some indecision passing the puck. He has a big shot-scouts would like to see it more.Acquired: 2002 draft, 61st overall.5. CODY MCCORMICK, C, HERSHEY A broken wrist sidelined McCormick for 28 games with Hershey, so the hope was he&rsquo;d play well down the stretch and help get them into the playoffs.Extremely tough, McCormick lacks big-time speed, but works hard and takes up space in front of the net. He managed 44 games with Colorado last season and knows his best chance to get back is as an aggressive role player.Acquired: 2001 draft, 144th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-021227/8382376-1-eng-US/f0018-022.jpg" title="f0018-02" width="287" height="402"><figcaption class="caption-body">WOJTEK WOLSKI</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Wojtek Wolski, LW, 19, Brampton (OHL), &#9668; 54-24-36-60-31 Overall 722. Marek Svatos, RW, 22, Hershey (AHL), 45-9-18-27-423. Peter Budaj, G, 22, Hershey (AHL), 21-14-0, 2.67 GAA, .920 SP4. Johnny Boychuk, D, 21, Hershey (AHL), 52-2-11-13-425. Cody McCormick, C, 21, Hershey (AHL), 24-3-5-8-446. Brad Richardson, C, 20, 0. Sound (OHL), 53-35-43-78-48Entered February third in OHL scoring. Avs hoping he&rsquo;s another late-round steal.Acquired 2003 draft, 163rd overall7. Mikko Kalteva, D, 20, Jokerit (Fin.), stats not available.Has big shot; upside would be development into Ossi Vaananen-type defender.Acquired 2002 draft, 107th overall8. Denis Parshin, RW, 19, Central Army (Rus.), 31-1-3-4-12Theo Fleury-like dynamo has speed, stickwork, but has been flat in world toumeys.Acquired 2004 draft, 72nd overall9. Linus Videll, LW, 19, Halmstad (Swe.), 3-0-0-0-0Still needs to improve skating, but showed well for Sweden at world juniors.Acquired 2003 draft, 204th overall10. Brett Hemingway, LW, 21, New Hampshire (HE), 30-18-16-34-8Among Hockey East scoring leaders; scouts like his skill in tight to net.Acquired 2003 draft, 225th overall &#9632;

f0018-01

Talent well low and dry

<div class="byline">BY AARON PORTZLINE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-03896/8382421-1-eng-US/f0018-032.jpg" title="f0018-03" width="303" height="328"></div>The Blue Jackets are getting old. They&rsquo;re getting gray through the temples. Now, five years into their existence, the players they&rsquo;ve drafted are starting to age their way off the prospect lists and into pro careers.Before the Blue Jackets can take that significant step forward they&rsquo;ll need to develop some sure-fire, can&rsquo;t miss studs. They&rsquo;ve drafted pretty well-Rick Nash and Nikolai Zherdev are stars or stars in the making.Now they need that next wave to step forward. Right now those guys look good. The organization needs them to be great.Here are the top five prospects:1. PASCAL LECLAIRE, G, SYRACUSE In his third pro season, Leclaire finally discovered con-sistency; his stats-a.926 save percentage and 2.34 goals-against average-had the Blue Jackets feeling as though the No. 8 overall pick in 2001 was beginning to pay dividends. Then Leclaire felt a twinge, then a little pop and a warm sensation running up his right leg.That was in late November, and the severe groin injury has been slow to heal. It was hoped Leclaire would return to Syracuse by the stretch drive. In a larger sense it&rsquo;s hoped Leclaire will finish the season strong and healthy.Acquired: 2001 draft, eighth overall.2. DAN FRITSCHE, C, LONDON Fritsche isn&rsquo;t the biggest guy, the fastest guy or the strongest guy. What the Jackets love, though, is that Fritsche is convinced he&rsquo;s all of these things and more.Fritsche&rsquo;s charmed life has continued this year. After debuting in the NHL and winning a World Junior Championship with Team USA last year, Fritsche was traded to the best team in junior hockey: the London Knights. The Jackets are delighted by this. They think Fritsche will be a fixture in Columbus.Acquired: 2003 draft, 46th overall.3. ALEXANDRE PICARD, LW, LEWISTON The early part of the year was interrupted by a concussion that took Picard a long time to get over.The Blue Jackets were concerned enough to send Picard to a specialist, who recommended Picard take an extended break. Picard has ranked among the QMJHL&rsquo;s top goal-scorers and point-getters. His skating is near flawless. But his stickwork in traffic is what really stands out, as Picard scores a slew of power play goals.Acquired: 2004 draft, eighth overall.4. AARON JOHNSON, D,SYRACUSE Johnson&rsquo;s passion for the game is irrefutable and his willingness to pitch in offensively has the Jackets thinking big.There&rsquo;s a hitch though: Johnson has a tendency to leave the zone early; to start or join rushes when there&rsquo;s still work to be done in his own end. Early on, Syracuse coach Gary Agnew benched Johnson, which seemed to get the message across. Johnson needs to bulk up-and wisen up-if he is to become an NHL regular.Acquired: 2001 draft, 85th overall.5. GREG MAULDIN, C SYRACUSE Mauldin&rsquo;s eyes were bigger than pucks last spring when he joined the Blue Jackets late in the season.&ldquo;I was nervous,&rdquo; Mauldin said. &ldquo;One day I&rsquo;m in college. The next, I&rsquo;m on the ice with Steve Yzerman, Peter Forsberg&hellip;&rdquo;Mauldin has held his own in his first full pro season. Still, he relies on his speed to overcome some of the other shortcomings in his game. He isn&rsquo;t getting away with it as much in the AHL as he did in college.Acquired: 2002 draft, 199th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0018-04606/8382414-1-eng-US/f0018-042.jpg" title="f0018-04" width="289" height="403"><figcaption class="caption-body">PASCAL leclaire</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Pascal Leclaire, G, 22, Syracuse (AHL), &#9668; 5-6-3, 2.34 GAA, .926 SP Overall 622. Dan Fritsche, C, 19, London (OHL), 15-8-10-18-2 Overall 633. Alex Picard, LW, 19, Lewiston (QMJHL), 53-34-37-71-134 Overall 734. Aaron Johnson, D, 21, Syracuse (AHL), 48-3-14-17-835. Greg Mauldin, C, 22, Syracuse (AHL), i 42-5-14-19-296. Joakim Lindstrom, LW, 21, MoDo (Swe.), 32-2-2-4-20Getting lots of time with MoDo, but there are concerns he won&rsquo;t be a big-time scorer.Acquired 2002 draft, 41st overall7. Raffaele Sannitz, C, 21, Syracuse (AHL), 33-2-3-5-16Swiss pivot has done time in the ECHL this season-never a good sign for a non-goalie.Acquired 2001 draft, 204th overall8. Kristian Tollefsen, D, 20, Syracuse (AHL), 38-0-1-1-66Wicked body-checking Norwegian has dabbled as fourth-line forward in Syracuse.Acquired 2002 draft, 65th overall9. Adam Pineault, RW, 18, Moncton (QMJHL), 49-24-18-42-47College hockey seemed to suffocate game, but breathing easier in major junior.Acquired 2004 draft, 46th overall10. Jaroslav Balastik, RW, 25, Zlin (Czech), 46-27-16-43-62Scoring machine often compared to Jiri Dopita; make of that what you will.Acquired 2002 draft, 184th overall &#9632;

f0018-03

Need for stud prospects

<div class="byline">BY MIKE HEIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-011461/8382459-1-eng-US/f0019-012.jpg" title="f0019-01" width="302" height="327"></div>With cost certainty on the horizon, the Dallas Stars realize the solution for the future lies squarely in their prospects.The Stars are hoping they will be able to fill roster spots going forward with hungry kids who are on the upswing rather than aging superstars.Taking control of a new American League affiliate (the Iowa Stars) next season, Dallas plans to put its prospects-especially those from Europe-on a fast track to the NHL.&ldquo;It just gives us a little more control and a little more opportunity to promote the development the way we believe is best,&rdquo; said Les Jackson, the assistant GM and director of player personnel.Here are the top five prospects:1. LOUI ERIKSSON, RW, FROLUNDA The Stars love this scoring winger, even though his performance this season in the Swedish Elite League appears more uneven than in 2003-04, when he won rookie of the year.He was dropped to the Frolunda junior team for two games and to Bofors in Tier 2 for two games. He had two goals and three assists in six games at the World Junior Championship, tops among Stars prospects.Acquired: 2003 draft, 33rd overall.2. SHAWN BELLE, D, TRI-CITY Acquired from the Blues in exchange for goalie Jason Bacashihua, Belle is likely the best athlete among all Dallas prospects.At 6-foot-2, 225 pounds, Belle is a bruiser who can skate like the wind. Playing for Tri-City in the Western League, he&rsquo;s having by far his most productive offensive season, but he was also a minus-9.His biggest challenge coming into the season-his fourth at the major junior level-was learning to think the game better. He made strides in that direction, as he was a steady contributor to Canada&rsquo;s gold medal at the world juniors with a plus-9 in six games.Acquired: Trade with St. Louis, June 25,2004.3. NIKLAS GROSSMAN, D, SODERTALJE He&rsquo;s another in the long list of defensemen the Stars hope will help form the base of their future teams.A second-rounder in last year&rsquo;s draft, this lanky, stay-at-home blueliner has bounced between the Sodertalje junior team and its parent squad. He was a plus player on both.Acquired: 2004 draft, 56th overall.4. TREVOR DALEY, D, HAMILTON After playing 27 games for Dallas in 2003-04, Daley returned to the AHL and has made significant strides.Daley helped run the power play for the Hamilton Bulldogs, just like he did in his junior days in Sault Ste. Marie. His minus rating in Hamilton was a concern, but he showed improvement in the second half when charges against him were dropped concerning a summer skirmish at a Toronto nightclub.&ldquo;Trevor is working on his two-way game and that&rsquo;s why the extra year in the &lsquo;A&rsquo; has been good for him,&rdquo; Jackson said.Acquired: 2002 draft, 43rd overall.5. MARK FISTRIC, D, VANCOUVER After a near spotless campaign for Vancouver in 2003-04, Fistric has battled health issues throughout 2004-05, playing only seven games.Because Fistric battled a virus and a broken jaw, he is not expected to experience any longterm side effects and should be able to return to a faster track next season.Acquired: 2004 draft, 28th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-021109/8382452-1-eng-US/f0019-022.jpg" title="f0019-02" width="286" height="397"><figcaption class="caption-body">LOUI ERIKSSON</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Loui Eriksson, RW, 19, Frolunda (Swe.), &bull; 33-5-7-12-4 Overall 432. Shawn Belle, D, 20, Tri-City (WHL), 50-11-24-35-623. Niklas Grossman, D, 20, Sodertalje (Swe.), 25-0-2-2-144. Trevor Daley, D, 21, Hamilton (AHL), 53-2-15-17-735. Mark Fistric, D, 18, Vancouver (WHL), 7-0-2-2-186. Jussi Jokinen, LW, 21, Karpat Oulu (Fin.), 46-21-18-39-24Stars&rsquo; most electrifying prospect should force move to North America next season.Acquired 2001 entry draft, 192nd overall7. Johan Fransson, D, 19, Lulea (Swe.), 38-1-6-7-30Making steady progress throughout second season in Swedish Elite League.Acquired 2004 entry draft, 34th overall8. Jared Hagos, C, 21, Timra (Swe.), 44-6-15-21-32Offensive ability increasing and excelling in defensive zone coverage.Acquired 2001 entry draft, 70th overall9. Antti Miettenin, LW, 24, Hamilton (AHL), 8-1-2-3-0Missed most of season with shoulder injury and just recently returned to action.Acquired 2000 entry draft, 224th overall10. Junior Lessard, RW, 24, Houston (AHL), 43-5-9-14-21Struggling to make transition from NCAA and failing to utilize one-timer.Acquired Signed as free agent, April, 2004 &#9632;

f0019-01

Stars preparing for cap

<div class="byline">BY NICHOLAS J. COTSONIKA</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-03775/8382497-1-eng-US/f0019-032.jpg" title="f0019-03" width="301" height="325"></div>Despite their perennially poor draft position-thanks to their success and the trades they&rsquo;ve made trying to sustain it-the Detroit Red Wings have come up with some pretty impressive young players in recent years.Jiri Fischer. Pavel Datsyuk. Henrik Zetterberg. They thought they had another before Igor Grigorenko got into a serious car accident. They think they have yet another in Niklas Kronwall.If Grigorenko can recover, Kronwall keeps it up and another prospect or two develops, the Wings will have a good core. Not bad for a team that has had to bet on players who have been passed over for one reason or another.Here are the top five prospects:1. NIKLAS KRONWALL, D, GRAND RAPIDS After missing a chunk of last season because of a broken leg-suffered during warm-up before what would have been his 21st game with the Wings-Kronwall has bounced back strong.He has been the Griffins&rsquo; version of Nicklas Lidstrom, leading the league&rsquo;s defensemen in scoring without sacrificing defense. Thanks to a good sense of timing, he also has shown an ability to hit not expected from a 174-pounder.Acquired: 2000 draft, 29th overall.2. JIRI HUDLER, C, GRAND RAPIDS Hudler was one of the Griffins&rsquo; top scorers until sustaining a broken ankle and returning to the Czech Republic to be with his ailing father.He has been able to put up points at every level, but there was some question whether he could continue to do it because of his size-5-foot-9, 178 pounds.Acquired: 2002 draft, 58th overall.3. IGOR GRIGORENKO, LW, SALAVAT After a slow start, Grigorenko has shown signs he might be able to get back to where he was before the car accident in May, 2003 that nearly cost him his life.He wasn&rsquo;t getting much playing time in Lada, which had picked up some NHLers, so he requested a transfer and was reunited with his old junior coach. His hands had never left him; he was a step behind on the left leg he had broken so badly. He is beginning to regain that step now.Acquired: 2001 draft, 62nd overall.4. JIMMY HOWARD, G, MAINE Howard got off to a slow start, battling mono and injuries, but has been back to his old form of late.He has been among the NCAA leaders in shutouts. A criticism is he&rsquo;s streaky, that he fights the puck when he&rsquo;s cold.But when he&rsquo;s hot, he makes it look easy, not giving up many rebounds. He&rsquo;s smart, positions himself well and always has his angles covered. He has the potential to blossom into a No. 1 goaltender in the NHL.Acquired: 2003 draft, 64th overall.5. VALTTERI FILPPULA, C, JOKERIT After a strong performance at last year&rsquo;s WJC, Filppula has taken off and continued to improve.He has shown to be responsible defensively and has good vision on the ice. The key for him was to get stronger physically and he has been maturing in that regard.If all goes well, Filppula could be a contributor in the NHL within a few years. Although his offensive skills might not be good enough to make him a game-breaker, some think he could complement talented wingers the way Brendan Morrison has done in Vancouver.Acquired: 2002 draft, 95th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0019-04598/8382490-1-eng-US/f0019-042.jpg" title="f0019-04" width="285" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body">NIKLAS KRONWALL</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Niklas Kronwall, D, 24, G. Rapids (AHL), 49-11-23-34-36 Overall 142. Jiri Hudler, C, 21, Grand Rapids, (AHL), 21-6-10-16-6 Overall 443. Igor Grigorenko, LW, 21, Salavat (Rus.), 19-5-2-7-4 Overall 524. James Howard, G, 20, Maine (HE), 14-9-6, 1.95 GAA, .918 SP5. Valtteri Filppula, C, 20, Jokerit (Fin.), 45-8-19-27-146. Joey McDonald, G, 25, G. Rapids (AHL), 18-20-1, 2.30 GAA, .926 SPFourth-year pro stops pucks with aplomb, yet never has been listed in NHL Guide.Acquired Signed as free agent, July, 20027. Evan McGrath, C, 19, Kitchener (OHL), 52-23-48-71-39Producing as many scouts projected he would before he was injured last year.Acquired 2004 draft, 128th overall8. Kyle Quincey, D, 19, Mississauga (OHL), 44-9-22-31-70Very safe defenseman was the last cut from Canada&rsquo;s national junior team.Acquired 2003 draft, 132nd overall9. Stefan Liv, G, 24, Jonkoping (Swe.), 35 GP, 2.91 GAA, .894 SPHis team suffered from not adding locked out NHLers, but he has played well.Acquired 2000 draft, 102nd overall10. Johan Franzen, C, 25, Linkoping (Swe.), 39-7-5-12-14Could start as a fourth-line NHLer and work his way up the depth chart.Acquired 2004 draft, 97th overall &#9632;

f0019-03

Late pics panning out

<div class="byline">BY ROB TYCHKOWSKI</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-011358/8382535-1-eng-US/f0020-012.jpg" title="f0020-01" width="304" height="329"></div>This is about as balanced a prospects list as the Oilers have had in quite some time. It&rsquo;s not as top heavy as other teams, but it&rsquo;s certainly far deeper than the majority.There are big, steady defensemen who can skate and make the first pass, bluechip netminders and flashy forwards. All the positions and styles of play are covered. That four of the prospects are * above-average players in the AHL, while two others (Rob Schremp and Devan Dubnyk) were invited to national junior teams, shows progress on several fronts.As always, there are huge steps yet to take, but so far most are headed in the right direction.Here are the top five prospects:1. JEFF WOYWITKA, D, EDMONTON He is nothing flashy, but sometimes that&rsquo;s what you&rsquo;re looking for in a defenseman.A big guy who does a lot of things well, Woywitka is a fluid skater with a hard, low, accurate shot from the point-which makes him effective on the power play. He&rsquo;s also solid in his own end and oozes character.His offensive numbers haven&rsquo;t been great, but the whole team has been in a drought.Acquired: Trade with Philadelphia. Dec., 2003.2. JEFF DESLAURIERS, G, EDMONTON The Oilers have jumped on the goaltending trend (tall and French-Canadian) in a big way.Both of their prospect keepers are in the physical mold of Roberto Luongo. At 6-foot-4, Deslauriers has quick hands and feet and has been schooled well in the Quebec goaltending style. Despite the background and physical tools, how-ever, his rookie season in the AHL hasn&rsquo;t been smooth.He&rsquo;s prone to big rebounds and, after a bone bruise on his shin shelved him for 15 games, was assigned to the ECHL for conditioning.Acquired: 2003 draft, 31st overall.3. ROB SCHREMP, C, LONDON As one of the top scorers on one of the most dominant major junior teams in history, Schremp&rsquo;s stock has risen since several teams, unsure of his character, passed him over at the 2004 draft.A member of the U.S. national junior team, he started the tournament as a bit player, but earned more ice down the stretch. He&rsquo;s a hungry, feisty player who&rsquo;s making a concentrated effort to shore up his own end.Acquired: 2004 draft, 25th overall.4. DEVAN DUBNYK, G, KAMLOOPS Another big French-Canadian goalie with a mouth-watering pedigree, the 6-foot-5 Dubnyk can drop to his knees and you still won&rsquo;t have anything to shoot at under the crossbar.He&rsquo;s very strong technically-he covers angles well and doesn&rsquo;t give up many second chances-and is surprisingly quick and agile for his size.Dubnyk still is several years away, but his progress to this point has been superb.Acquired: 2004 draft, 14th overall.5. MARC-ANTOINE POULIOT, C, RIMOUSKI He has been better than a point a game guy since his first day in the QMJHL.Pouliot is no quitter, plays hard when the chips are down and gets back up after a punishing hit. You like to see that kind of spirit from a skill player. Despite being an offensive force (averaging 29 goals a year over the past three seasons), he doesn&rsquo;t ignore his own end, which is key to making a Craig MacTavish team.He still is two years away, but has all the size and skill necessary to be an NHLer.Acquired: 2003 draft, 22nd overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-02985/8382528-1-eng-US/f0020-022.jpg" title="f0020-02" width="282" height="401"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEFF WOYWITKA</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Jeff Woywitka, D, 21, Edmonton (AHL), &#9668; 52-2-13-15-55 Overall 492. Jeff Deslauriers, G, 20, Edmonton (AHL), 4-7-1, 2.86 GAA, .889 SP3. Rob Schremp, C, 19, London (OHL), 49-31-41-72-364. Devan Dubnyk, G, 18, Kamloops (WHL), 18-27-6, 2.71 GAA, .912 SP5. Marc-Antoine Pouliot, C, 19, Rimouski (QMJHL), 58-32-53-85-656. Matt Greene, D, 21, North Dakota (WCHA), 28-0-6-6-78He&rsquo;s a big, mean, imposing presence who enjoys looking after his own end.Acquired 2002 draft, 44th overall7. Jani Rita, LW, 23, HPK SM Liiga (Fin.), 46-17-16-33-10He&rsquo;s been ranked as a top prospect for four years, but each year he keeps sliding.Acquired 1999 draft, 13th overall8. Tony Salmelainen, RW, 23, Edmonton (AHL), 48-16-17-33-16Undersized, but great speed and creativity make him one of AHL&rsquo;s most exciting players.Acquired 1999 draft, 41th overall9. Doug Lynch, D, 21, Edmonton (AHL), 48-1-10-11-72Good blend of offense, defense and heart. Pegged to be an Oiler for a long time.Acquired 2001 draft, 43th overall10. Dragan Umicevic, LW, 20, Sodertalje (Swe.), 41-6-13-19-20Jaw dropping skill, but the Swedish elite league isn&rsquo;t as physical as the NHL.Acquired 2003 draft, 184th overall &#9632;

f0020-01

A well-oiled machine?

<div class="byline">BY MICHAEL RUSSO</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-03714/8382573-1-eng-US/f0020-032.jpg" title="f0020-03" width="297" height="325"></div>For a franchise barely clinging to life in South Florida, the out-of-sight, out-of-mind Panthers boast one thing that at least gives them hope for survival-their future.Seven first round picks from the past four drafts and the feat of hitting on a number of second-and third-rounders have the Panthers anticipating the future with wide-eyed optimism.&ldquo;The goal now is to turn these strong prospects into strong pros,&rdquo; said director of scouting Scott Luce.Here are the top five prospects:1. ROSTISLAV OLESZ, C, SPARTA PRAHA What became apparent at the World Junior Championship is why Luce and his staff pressed then three-week-old GM Mike Keenan into taking Olesz last summer-he&rsquo;s a stud.Tied for the tournament goal scoring lead with seven and tied for fifth in scoring with 10 points, Olesz lead the Czech Republic to a bronze medal. Always an elite player in his own age group, Olesz has been pushed to the third line in the elite league because of locked-out NHLers. But Olesz plays a complete game, especially defensively.Acquired: 2004 draft, seventh overall.2. ANTHONY STEWART, RW, KINGSTON A true &bull; professional, Stewart proved that again at the world juniors when he took on a different role without complaining one speck.Part of Canada&rsquo;s top line during a silver-medal run last year, Stewart tied for the tournament lead with 11 points. But this winter he was asked to be a grinder. He finished with only four points but won gold. He&rsquo;s a fast, powerful winger who uses his size to his advantage. Stewart jvill be leaned on in Florida to be a power-forward type the team has lacked.Acquired: 2003 draft, 25th overall.3. LUKAS KRAJICEK, D, SAN ANTONIO Proof of Florida&rsquo;s improved depth is that this gifted offensive defenseman has been developing his game in the minors.The Panthers aren&rsquo;t handing out charity roster spots anymore and Krajicek still must tone his cosmic skills into being a more complete defenseman. As far as skill and speed, Krajicek can be a star, but he must gain strength if he&rsquo;s going to be a 20- to 25-minute guy in the NHL.Acquired: 2001 draft, 24th. overall.4. DAVID SHANTZ, G, MISSISSAUGA Most figured Shantz would have vied for Canada&rsquo;s starting job at the world juniors, but he wasn&rsquo;t even invited to selection camp and has fallen to No. 2 on his own junior team.Shantz had an impressive rookie camp for the Panthers in Montreal, but was inconsistent from Day 1 in Mississauga. Since there was little after Roberto Luongo, the Panthers&rsquo; goals at last year&rsquo;s draft was improving their goaltending depth, and they got Shantz in the second round.Acquired: 2004 draft, 37th overall.5. VACLAV NEDOROST, C, LIBEREC Off-season shoulder surgery delayed his start last season, but after Nedorost scored a highlight-film goal in his second game as a Panther, the soft hands and speed became obvious.Still, he spent most of last season up and down and didn&rsquo;t show any consistency until the end of the year when he compiled a three-game goal-scoring streak. Nedorost has the capability to be a go-to guy, but he must work on the physical part of the game.Acquired: Trade with Colorado, July 19, 2003.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0020-04498/8382566-1-eng-US/f0020-042.jpg" title="f0020-04" width="285" height="394"><figcaption class="caption-body">ROSTISLAV OLESZ</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Rostislav Olesz, C, 19, Sparta Praha (Cze.), &#9668; 41-5-6-11-12 Overall 102. Anthony Stewart, RW, 20, Kingston (OHL), 47-25-29-54-55 Overall 543. Lukas Krajicek, D, 21, San Antonio (AHL), 54-2-18-20-354. David Shantz, G, 18, Mississauga (OHL), 7-10-2, 3.05 GAA, .900 SP5. Vaclav Nedorost, C, 22, Liberec (Czech), 42-10-17-27-186. Stefan Meyer, LW, 19, Medicine Hat (WHL), 50-30-34-64-86Captain near top of WHL in scoring, his all-around game has improved with added bulk.Acquired 2003 draft, 55th overall7. Kamil Kreps, C, 20, San Antonio (AHL), 41-3-4-7-9Florida will be patient with fantastic skater with size, skill, and defensive awareness.Acquired 2003 draft, 38th overall8. Dave Booth, 20, LW, Michigan State (CCHA), 28-7-9-16-30.Physical along boards and uses strength to create chances for teammates.Acquired 2004 draft, 53rd overall9. Rob Globke, C, 22, San Antonio (AHL), 41-2-4-6-15Has good shot and good along the wall, but having difficulty adjusting to pro level.Acquired 2002 draft, 40th overall10. Greg Campbell, C, 21, San Antonio (AHL), 48-12-13-25-87Terrific in all areas of the game, used in every situation, and is getting better.Acquired 2002 draft, 67th overall &#9632;

f0020-03

Survival of the fittest

<div class="byline">BY BRIAN MURPHY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-03458/8382649-1-eng-US/f0021-032.jpg" title="f0021-03" width="298" height="327"></div>The Wild have parked four NHL-experienced prospects in the American League, with two more blue-chips developing for free in collegiate programs and junior star Patrick O&rsquo;Sullivan waiting to be signed.With $28 million of pre-rollback payroll committed to existing NHL contracts and only a handful of available jobs, the franchise is positioned for a new economic system-when there is one. There is plenty of money to dip into free agency and a stream of hungry kids are poised to challenge role players whose tenure as franchise builders is ending.Here are the top five prospects:1. MIKK0 KOIVU, C, HOUSTON Koivu came to North America with rave reviews and has not disappointed. He has the tools of a first-line center who can play a finesse or physical game.He is not going to blaze past anyone on the ice like brother Saku, but Koivu plays responsibly and has the wits of a future captain. He was scoring at almost a point-per-game clip, despite being sidelined for a month after having an appendectomy. Koivu could have cracked the NHL at training camp.Acquired: 2001 draft, sixth overall.2. PATRICK O&rsquo;SULLIVAN, C, MISSISSAUGAMaybe it was the restlessness of playing a fourth year in junior, or the disappointment of failing to win a medal with USA at the world juniors. Whatever the reason, O&rsquo;Sullivan found himself in coach Greg Gilbert&rsquo;s doghouse in Mississauga after missing curfew in late January. The Wild hope it was merely a mental hiccup.Otherwise, O&rsquo;Sullivan is on pace for his best season, piling up points with an NHL-caliber shot. The Wild have yet to sign him, but expect him to challenge for a job at the next full camp.Acquired: 2003 draft, 56th overall.3. DANNY IRMEN, RW, MINNESOTA Playing college hockey just up the road from his rights holders, Irmen is enjoying a breakout sophomore season.The hard-nosed forward was the Gophers&rsquo; most lethal power-play threat. Irmen has a knack for scoring big goals and his profile is rising in the ultra-competitive WCHA. The Wild are content to have Irmen play another season in college before to signing him.Acquired: 2003 draft, 78th overall.4. JOSH HARDING, G, HOUSTON Harding struggled while sharing early season starts with Dallas prospect Mike Smith, but started putting up strong numbers and gaining confidence in November.Then he suffered a concussion that cooled him off. The right-handed catching Harding thrived under the barrage of shots he faced on a horrid junior team in Regina. He remains a technically sound butterfly stylist with swift reflexes.With Manny Fernandez idling on a one-year contract, Harding is destined to back up Dwayne Roloson sooner than rather than later.Acquired: 2002 draft, 38th overall.5. MATT FOY, RW, HOUSTON For now, you can forget that 132-point season Foy racked up playing alongside Corey Locke for the Ottawa 67s.He has shown flashes of being a goal scorer in Houston, but needs to finish more with fewer opportunities around the net.At 6-foot-2 and 220 pounds, size is Foy&rsquo;s most prominent asset. If he makes it as an NHLer, expect him to be a third-line winger whose brawn will carry him further than his touch.Acquired: 2002 draft, 175th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0021-04345/8382642-1-eng-US/f0021-042.jpg" title="f0021-04" width="285" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKKO KOIVU</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Mikko Koivu, C, 21, Houston (AHL), &#9668; 36-14-14-28-26 Overall 242. Patrick O&rsquo;Sullivan, C, 20, Mississauga (OHL), 42-22-42-64-46 Overall 593. Danny Irmen, RW, 20, Minnesota (WCHA), 33-19-16-35-524. Josh Harding, G, 20, Houston (AHL), 9-10-1, 2.04 GAA, .928 SP5. Matt Foy, RW, 21, Houston (AHL), 41-6-10-16-366. Rickard Wallin, C, 24, Houston (AHL), 47-7-20-27-24Versatile, responsible player can play both center and wing positions.Acquired Trade with Phoenix, June &lsquo;037. Kyle Wanvig, RW, 24, Houston (AHL), 44-5-9-14-105Production and confidence plummeted in first half, but recently turned it around.Acquired 2001 draft, 36th overall8. Stephane Veilleux, LW, 23, Houston (AHL), 48-14-18-32-31Energy bunny using speed and aggressiveness to lead offensively starved Aeros.Acquired 2001 draft, 93rd overall9. A.J. Thelen, D, 18, Michigan State (CCHA), 29-0-11-11-44Injuries have hampered him, but he&rsquo;s still a second-pairing depth defenseman.Acquired 2004 draft, 12th overall10. Roman Voloshenko, LW, 18, Soviet Wings (Rus.), 20-6-5-1-6Not the fleetest of foot, but has sleek moves and is a constant scoring threat.Acquired 2004 draft, 42nd overall &#9632;

f0021-03

Wild future in Minnesota

<div class="byline">BY HERB ZURKOWSKY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-011239/8382687-1-eng-US/f0022-012.jpg" title="f0022-01" width="302" height="325"></div>The Montreal Canadiens made an effort last season to rebuild yet again and go with youth-mostly because the old formula wasn&rsquo;t working.But the organization also believed several prospects had the talent to make the transition to NHL play. This resulted in Michael Ryder being named a finalist for the Calder Trophy. Meanwhile, Mike Komisarek proved he could be one of the Canadiens&rsquo; regulars along the blueline.The Canadiens believe the next wave is ready to challenge for roster spots.Here are the top five prospects:1. ANDREI KOSTITSYN, RW, HAMILTON Kostitsyn is believed to be the most talented of the organization&rsquo;s prospects.He has a quick shot, good hands and is considered a good passer. He is a strong skater and has a solid build. This is his first year in North America, so Kostitsyn must learn to play defense better and improve his consistency.Slowly, the Belarussian appears to be growing more comfortable with the culture and language, while his epileptic seizures have been brought, under control with a change in medication.Acquired: 2003 draft, 10th overall.2. CHRIS HIGGINS, LW, HAMILTON The Canadiens were disappointed by Higgins&rsquo; slow start during his second AHL season, although his production has improved in the second half. It didn&rsquo;t help his confidence when he was switched between center and the wing, but he has proven to be more adept on the wing due to his good shot.He&rsquo;s a good skater, but isn&rsquo;t that physical. He works hard and is determined to take the next step.Acquired: 2002 draft, 14th overall.3. ALEXANDER PEREZHOGIN, LW, OMSK Suspended for a year by the AHL following a stick-swinging incident, Perezhogin has been banished to Russia for the season, although management believes there would have been a spot for him in Montreal.Following a slow start last season, Perezhogin took off in the second half, producing points while using speed and agility to his advantage.Although he&rsquo;s not as flashy as Kostitsyn, Perezhogin can be effective if used on a scoring line. He is creative offensively, but needs more strength.Acquired: 2001 draft, 25th overall.4. YANN DANIS, G, HAMILTON Danis has succeeded in overcoming two obstacles.Coming from U.S. college, he had to adjust to a heavier workload with fewer practises-the opposite of what he&rsquo;s accustomed to. Also, Danis is playing for an offensively-challenged team, which places extra pressure on him. But he has handled it well and is having a solid season.He has proven to be steady and displays a good amount of composure, adjusting quite nicely to the pro level. The Canadiens believe they&rsquo;ve found their goalie of the future.Acquired: Signed as free agent, March, 2004.5. KYLE CHIPCHURA, C, PRINCE ALBERT Chipchura was enjoying a solid season before lacerating his Achilles tendon during a practise and would have been a prospect to play for Canada at the World Junior Championship.He had producing offensively and all facets of his game were improving at the time of his injury. Chipchura has good hockey sense and character. He is a leader on and off the ice, but his skating and speed require improvement.Acquired: 2004 draft, 18th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-02914/8382680-1-eng-US/f0022-022.jpg" title="f0022-02" width="286" height="403"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDREI KOSTITSYN</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Andrei Kostitsyn, RW, 20, Hamilton (AHL), &#9668; 41-10-6-16-10 Overall 212. Chris Higgins, LW, 21, Hamilton (AHL), 50-15-15-30-27 Overall 473. Alex Perezhogin, LW, 21, Omsk (Rus.), 34-9-16-25-12 Overall 574. Yann Danis, G, 23, Hamilton (AHL), 14-11-5, 2.39 GAA, .924 SP5. Kyle Chipchura, C, 19, Prince Albert (WHL) 28-14-18-32-326. Tomas Plekanec, LW, 22, Hamilton (AHL), 53-20-20-40-40Has talent despite small size, but must make adjustment to pro schedule.Acquired 2001 draft, 71st overall7. Ron Hainsey, D, 23, Hamilton (AHL), 41-2-7-9-29Has the talent, but hasn&rsquo;t remained in NHL due to lack of consistency and maturity.Acquired 2000 draft, 13th overall8. Marcel Hossa, LW, 23, Mora (Swe.), 42-17-5-22-67Perhaps time in Europe will help talented player combine all his skills.Acquired 2000 draft, 16th overall9. Mark Streit, D, 27, ZSC Lions (Switz.), 41-14-24-38-44Talented offensively and captained Swiss national team.Acquired 2004 draft, 262nd overall10. Maxim Lapierre, C, 19, P.E.I. (QMJHL), 54-18-23-41-122Big, strong, fast and physical; must be able to anticipate better.Acquired 2003 draft, 61st overall &#9632;

f0022-01

Search for new formula

<div class="byline">BY DAVID BOCLAIR</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-03694/8382725-1-eng-US/f0022-032.jpg" title="f0022-03" width="300" height="330"></div>Early on, the Nashville Predators rushed many of their top draft picks into the NHL. Things finally have started to slow down.For the second time in three years, all the Predators&rsquo; top 10 prospects are Nashville draft picks, including two who were selected as far back as 1999.Unlike Scott Hartnell or David Legwand who never have played a game in the minor leagues, players such as Ryan Suter, Scottie Upshall and Brian Finley not only are being given an opportunity to develop their games, but also are being asked to prove their worth before they are advanced.Here are the top five prospects:1. RYAN SUTER, D, MILWAUKEE When dis cussing Suter, it is hard to ignore his bloodlines. Fortunately for the Predators, they believe the same holds true when watching him play.From the moment he arrived in Milwaukee for his first professional season his understanding and overall hockey sense were evident.He plays with a bit of an edge yet never loses his poise. A shoulder injury early in the season was a minimal setback. His leadership qualities were evident and further developed by his stint as captain of Team USA at the World Junior Championship.Acquired 2003 draft, seventh overall.2. SHEA WEBER, D, KELOWNA He has continued to impress franchise officials with his physical play and willingness and ability to take care of things in his own end.Weber represents a welcome departure from the smaller, quicker blueliners currently in Nashville.His play was central to Kelowna&rsquo;s triumph at the Memorial Cup and Canada&rsquo;s gold medal effort at the WJC. He is not a dominant two-way player, but has an understanding of the game that allows him to join the attack.Acquired: 2003 draft, 49th overall.3. TIMOFEI SHISHKANOV, LW, MILWAUKEEUnlike Upshall, Shishkanov is ahead of the curve in terms of his physical development. In one season in major junior and one and a half in the AHL, he consistently has shown he can hold his own in physical battles. He possesses good offensive skills yet some would like to see him become much more selfish.Shishkanov is expected to continue his growth as he becomes more comfortable with the culture.Acquired: 2001 draft, 33rd overall.4. SCOTTIE UPSHALL, LW, MILWAUKEE He still has not shaken the injury bug that has daunted him for more than a year.Wrist and thumb ailments caused him to miss part of this season. Knee surgery cost him two months of 2003-04 and then a broken hand knocked him out of the playoffs. From the moment he was drafted, there were concerns about his size and durability. He has added size, but the durability has yet to come.Upshall&rsquo;s competitiveness and savvy are undeniable, as is his production when he has been in the lineup.Acquired: 2002 draft, sixth overall.5. ALEXANDER RADULOV, LW, QUEBEC Any analysis of Radulov begins with his passion for the game, which has not diminished in the least during his first season in North America.He has his motor running from the time he steps on the ice for pre-game warmup until the final buzzer sounds. As expected, he has produced plenty of offense in his first season of major junior.Acquired: 2004 draft, 15th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0022-04505/8382718-1-eng-US/f0022-042.jpg" title="f0022-04" width="284" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN SUTER</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Ryan Suter, D, 20, Milwaukee (AHL), &#9668; 37-3-11-14-50 Overall 92. Shea Weber, D, 19, Kelowna (WHL), 46-11-23-34-89 Overall 133. T. Shishkanov, LW, 21, Milwaukee (AHL), 45-15-13-28-24 Overall 374. Scottie Upshall, LW, 21, Milwaukee (AHL), 36-8-15-23-40 Overall 385. A. Radulov, LW, 18, Quebec (QMJHL), 51-29-35-64-60 Overall 466. Brian Finley, G, 23, Milwaukee (AHL), 26-12-3, 2.17 GAA, .925 SPShowing consistency commensurate with his reflexes and flexibility.j Acquired 1999 draft, sixth overall7. Andrew Hutchinson, D, 24, Milwaukee(AHL), 52-10-28-38-50Always offense-minded, he is developing an all-around game suited for the NHL.Acquired 1999 draft, 54th overall8. Libor Pivko, LW, 24, Milwaukee (AHL), 32-3-11-14-32Versatile prospect with good size and speed projects as a defensive stopper in the NHL.Acquired 2000 draft, 89th overall9. Kevin Klein, D, 20, Milwaukee (AHL), 39-4-7-11-14Started slowly, but has made steady gains with increased playing time.Acquired 2003 draft, 37th overall10. Grigori Shafigulin, C, 20, Yaroslavl (Rus.), 34-2-3-5-45Good defensive instincts to go with good size served him well at WJC.Acquired 2003 draft, 98th overall &#9632;

f0022-03

Sticking with their own

<div class="byline">BY RICH CHERE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-011120/8382763-1-eng-US/f0023-012.jpg" title="f0023-01" width="295" height="329"></div>With a legitimate chance each spring to win the Stanley Cup, the New Jersey Devils have spent the last few years giving up prospects in order to acquire veteran help.Although the well hasn&rsquo;t run dry, the Devils may finally be seeing the effects of their trades.&ldquo;Are we bereft of talent? Absolutely not,&rdquo; said director of scouting David Conte. &ldquo;But we&rsquo;ve had a huge amount of guys from our organization that are now playing somewhere else in the league. Look around the league. You can put a pretty good team together from the guys we&rsquo;ve lost or traded. Was it worth it? Sure.&rdquo;Three Cup rings confirm it was worth it.Here are the top five prospects:1. ZACH PARISE, C, ALBANY Selected to play in the AHL All-Star Game in his rookie season, Parise has lived up to being the best young prospect in the system. The 20-year-old needs to get stronger, but his sense of where to be on the ice stands out. &ldquo;He is as advertised,&rdquo; Conte said. &ldquo;He plays from goal line to goal line. He has skill and character.&rdquo;The Devils wondered how Parise might react to having to play in the AHL rather than the NHL-he left North Dakota after two years to sign an NHL deal-but he has used the experience to take the next step in his development. Avoiding the potential pressure that comes with NHL press, Parise will be ready when the league resumes.Acquired: 2003 draft, 17th overall.2. TRAVIS ZAJAC, C, NORTH DAKOTA Most college freshmen would consider 12 goals a successful season. The 6-foot-2,205-pound center had that at the halfway point I and is only getting better.The Devils have not interfered in his progress, but the reports say the key to his scoring success are his hands. The bonus so far has been that Zajac is a solid defensive player as well as a dangerous scorer.Acquired: 2004 draft, 20th overall.3. ALEXANDER SUGLOBOV, RW, ALBANY While there are nights when the Russian looks like a budding Pavel Bure or Alexei Kovalev, the Devils demand he become a two-way player before he reach the NHL.He has struggled with the defensive aspect of the game and is obviously having trouble in that area. Suglobov had to overcome a wrist injury, but his defensive breakdowns have been glaring.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a game-breaker,&rdquo; Conte said, &ldquo;but sometimes trying to break a game open one way, a guy can break it open the other way.&rdquo;Acquired: 2000 draft, 56th overall.4. ARI AHONEN, G, ALBANY How would you feel if Martin Brodeur was ahead of you and your minor league team was playing poor defense in front of you?Ahonen went 11/2 months without a victory and, in some games, didn&rsquo;t play up to his potential. The Devils, who take comfort in the fact it took Dominik Hasek some time to go from playing in Europe to succeeding in the NHL, still believe Ahonen will make it.Acquired: 1999 draft, 27th overall.5. TOOMAS PIHLMAN, LW, ALBANY No one works harder than the Finnish winger, but it has become evident he will not be a scorer.Pihlman went 32 games without a goal this season. His confidence has been shaken, but the Devils are hoping he could turn into another solid player in the mold of a Jay Pandolfo.Acquired: 2001,48th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-02785/8382756-1-eng-US/f0023-022.jpg" title="f0023-02" width="279" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">ZACH PARISE</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Zach Parise, C, 20, Albany (AHL), &#9668; 47-11-23-34-38 Overall 72. Travis Zajac, C, 19, N. Dakota (WCHA), 30-12-12-24-10 Overall 413. Alex Suglobov, RW, 23, Albany (AHL), 46-14-14-28-384. Ari Ahonen, G, 24, Albany (AHL), 8-14-1, 3.34 GAA, .903 SP5. Tuomas Pihlman, LW, 22, Albany (AHL), 42-3-5-8-296. Aaron Voros, C, 23, Albany (AHL), 45-9-12-21-118Big, skinny offensive-minded pivot needs to bulk up in order to avoid injuries.Acquired 2001 draft, 229th overall7. Adrian Foster, C, 23, Albany (AHL), 31-6-4-10-16Finally healthy, he has centered Albany&rsquo;s Finn Line and is making up for lost time.Acquired 2001 draft, 28th overall8. Cam Janssen, RW, 20, Albany (AHL), 47-1-1-2-215A cocky fighter who has taken on all AHL heavyweights; must work on defense.Acquired 2002 draft, 117th overall9. Teemu Laine, RW, 22, Tampere (Fin.), 46-7-8-15-34Cooled off after great start, catches opponents off guard with his blazing speed.Acquired 2000 draft, 39th overall10. Krisjanis Redlihs, D, 24, Albany (AHL), 40-0-10-10-12Not great in front of his own net, but shows signs of being a fine puck distributor.Acquired 2002 draft, 154th overall &#9632;

f0023-01

Paid price for winning

<div class="byline">BY PETER BOTTE</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-03581/8382801-1-eng-US/f0023-032.jpg" title="f0023-03" width="295" height="326"></div>Three straight playoff berths mean the New York Islanders haven&rsquo;t drafted in the top 10 since 2000, after nearly a decade of doing so during their lean years throughout the 90s.The organization has at least stockpiled a decent passel of skilled forwards for the future, with their last three first round picks allocated to picking the best European forward available. Their top three defensive prospects all are logging serious AHL minutes for Bridgeport.Here are the top five prospects:1. PETTERI NOKELAINEN, C, LAPPEENRANTA The name that keeps coming up when hockey people talk about the Islanders&rsquo; 2004 first round pick is Dallas forward Jere Lehtinen, a two-time Selke Award winner. But there&rsquo;s doubt whether Nokelainen has enough speed to have that much of a two-way impact at the NHL level.The Isles are hoping to get Nokelainen to North America next summer. Following his five-point showing for Finland in the recent WJC tournament, GM Mike Milbury was ecstatic.&ldquo;Without argument, he was the best player on Team Finland,&rdquo; Milbury said. &ldquo;We love the way he plays, the way he works. He&rsquo;s going to play for us-and probably sooner than anyone expected.&rdquo; Acquired: 2004 draft, 16th overall.2. ROBERT NILSSON, LW, OJURGARDEN Few doubt that Kent Nilsson&rsquo;s son possesses the offensive skills to put up numbers in the NHL, but it might not be enough for him to make the jump unless he improves his defensive ability.Because of ice-time issues, Nilsson has been shuffled between Djugarden in the Swedish Elite League and second-division Hammarby, and has shown an ability to score against players in his own age group.Milbury called him &ldquo;easily one of the five most talented players&rdquo; in the world juniors.Acquired: 2003 draft, 15th overall.3. SEAN BERGENHEIM, LW, BRIDGEPORT Following a brief NHL stint last season, the Isles permitted Bergenheim to conclude his year in Finland before coming back to join Bridgeport during the lockout.In his first full North American campaign, the hardworking winger has rediscovered his scoring touch to go with a pinball mentality that has the organization envisioning another Jason Blake.Acquired: 2002 draft, 22nd overall.4. JEREMY COLLITON, RW, PRINCE ALBERT Canadian junior coach Brent Sutter raved about the gritty winger and used Colliton on a line with phenom Sidney Crosby until a knee injury prematurely ended his second consecutive world juniors stint.Colliton is averaging more than a point-per-game this season for Prince Albert.Said Milbury: &ldquo;He didn&rsquo;t just make what a lot of people are calling one of the best Canadian junior teams in history. Before he got hurt, he was playing on the first line. We&rsquo;re looking forward to him becoming a pro.&rdquo;Acquired: 2003 draft, 58th overall.5. BRUNO GERVAIS, D, BRIDGEPORT One of the traits scouts point to when discussing this defenseman is his lack of panic.This demeanor has served Gervais well during his comeback from reconstructive knee surgery.He steadily regained form while logging minutes in every situation in his first year at Bridgeport.Gervais nearly made the Islanders out of training camp last season with a poised and low-mistake defensive game.Acquired: 2003 draft, 182nd overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0023-04423/8382794-1-eng-US/f0023-042.jpg" title="f0023-04" width="281" height="401"><figcaption class="caption-body">PETTERI NOKELAINEN</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Petteri Nokelainen, C, 19, Lappeenranta &#9668; (Fin.), 42-11-4-15-26 Overall 362. Robert Nilsson, LW, 20, Djurgarden (Swe.), 17-0-1-1-6 Overall 693. Sean Bergenheim, LW, 21, Bridgeport (AHL), 42-13-10-23-454. Jeremy Colliton, RW, 19, P. Albert (WHL), 37-15-23-38-215. Bruno Gervais, D, 20, Bridgeport (AHL), 44-3-11-14-346. Ryan Caldwell, D, 23, Bridgeport (AHL), 41-1-6-7-33Scratched one game for shaky blueline play; returned to lineup as fourth line center.Acquired 2000 draft, 202nd overall7. Chris Campoli, D, 20, Bridgeport (AHL), 47-7-17-24-48Has earned coaching staff&rsquo;s trust by displaying excellent two-way ability.Acquired 2004 draft, 227th overall8. Igor Volkov, RW, 22, Ufa Salavat (Rus.), 43-15-12-27-38Showing great finish around net in NHL-laden Russia super league.Acquired 2003 draft, 246th overall9. Frans Nielsen, C, 20, Malmo (Swe.), 43-6-7-13-6Must improve speed and finishing ability before making jump to Big Apple.Acquired 2002 draft, 87th overall10. Evgeni Tunik, RW, 20, St. Petersburg (Rus.), 4-0-0-0-10Isles hope demanding coaching legend Boris Mikhailov pushes winger to potential.Acquired 2003 draft, 53rd overall &#9632;

f0023-03

Forward with the future

<div class="byline">BY LARRY BROOKS</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-011195/8382839-1-eng-US/f0024-012.jpg" title="f0024-01" width="302" height="327"></div>If the mailing address still wasn&rsquo;t Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y., you wouldn&rsquo;t know they were the Rangers, not after the change the team underwent approaching last year&rsquo;s NHL trade deadline.The quick-fix-approach that had become synonymous with the organization-that, not incidentally, had fixed absolutely nothing while the team somehow missed the playoffs seven straight seasons-was abandoned. Actually, it-wasn&rsquo;t only abandoned, it was reversed, and in the most dramatic fashion.A Ranger team that had majored in collecting high-priced veterans was suddenly dispatching them as quickly and as efficiently as possible. Indeed, in an eight-day period beginning last March 2, the Rangers dealt nine veterans in exchange for a dozen prospects and a stockpile of six future first-or second-round draft selections that has provided quantity-if still questionable quality-within the organization.Nothing like starting all over again.Here are the top five prospects:1. FEDOR TYUTIN, D, ST. PETERSBURG Tyutin proved himself NHL-ready with his gritty 24-game performance for the Rangers the second half of last season.Although under contract, the Rangers permitted the defenseman to return to Russia after playing the first month of the year with the AHL Wolf Pack so he would be exposed to more elite competition. It&rsquo;s a redundant exercise for Tyutin, whom the Rangers believe will be a cornerstone for years.Acquired: 2001 draft, 40th overall.2. AL MONTOYA, G, MICHIGAN It has been a letdown season in many aspects for Montoya, who returned to Michigan for his junior season after negotiations fell through with the Rangers last summer.He developed a number of bad habits through the first half of the year that included a disappointing performance in failing to defend gold at the world juniors. He has rebounded to an extent in the second half. Keep this in mind: Montoya has displayed no loss of confidence.Acquired: 2004 draft, sixth overall.3. LAURI KORPIKOSKI, LW, TURKU The winger, whom the Rangers believe may have been the steal of last year&rsquo;s draft, has delighted management as he develops overseas in an elite environment playing a support role on a veteran squad.He has outstanding instincts on both sides of the puck. It&rsquo;s only a matter of time before he projects himself into the NHL.Acquired: 2004 draft, 19th overall.4. HENRIK LUNDQVIST, G, FROLUNDA The goaltender continues to hone his game while playing at an elite level in his native Sweden.Indeed, with a shot to be Sweden&rsquo;s No. 1 in the World Championship, there&rsquo;s little left for Lundqvist to conquer before jumping to the NHL. He plays big while challenging shooters in a manner consistent with NHL netminders.Acquired: 2000 draft, 205th overall.5. HUGH JESSIMAN, RW, DARTMOUTH After spurning contract offers to return for his junior year at Dartmouth in the hope of establishing himself as a dominant collegian, Jessiman sustained severe ankle ligament damage in early November that has kept him sidelined since.The Rangers believed it would take time for Jessiman to develop. This lack of a season has undoubtedly set back the timetable on the 6-foot-5 winger&rsquo;s ETA on Broadway.Acquired: 2003 draft, 12th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-02852/8382832-1-eng-US/f0024-022.jpg" title="f0024-02" width="284" height="401"><figcaption class="caption-body">FEDOR TYUTIN</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Fedor Tyutin, D, 21, St. Petersburg (Rus.), &#9668; 23-3-2-5-16 Overall 252. Al Montoya, G, 20, Michigan (CCHA), 21-6-3, 2.69 GAA, .893 SP Overall 313. Lauri Korpikoski, LW, 18, Turku (Fin.), 35-0-3-3-10 Overall 604. Henrik Lundqvist, G, 22, Frolunda (Swe.), 40 GP, 1.73 GAA, .938 SP Overall 675. Hugh Jessiman, RW, 20, Dartmouth (ECAC), 4-1-1-2-66. Maxim Kondratiev, D, 22, Togliatti (Rus.), 42-1-2-3-49Used escape clause to leave Hartford and play in Russia at more elite level.Acquired Trade with Toronto, March, 20047. Nigel Dawes, LW, 20, Kootenay (WHL), 48-34-18-52-28Goal-producing winger also proving himself adept at filling checking role.Acquired 2003 draft, 149th overall8. Bruce Graham, C, 19, Moncton (QMJHL), 41-22-17-39-44Was on his way to establishing himself as offensive prospect before breaking his leg.Acquired 2004 draft, 51th overall9. Ivan Baranka, D, 19, Everett (WHL), 51-7-12-19-44Continuing to make steady progress in Kevin Constantine&rsquo;s conservative system.Acquired 2003 draft, 50th overall10. Zdenek Bahensky, C, 19, Saskatoon (WHL), 52-13-15-28-77Made quick adjustment in North America with physical presence and consistent edge.Acquired 2004 draft, 73th overall &#9632;

f0024-01

A change in philosophy

<div class="byline">BY BRUCE GARRIOCH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-03606/8382877-1-eng-US/f0024-032.jpg" title="f0024-03" width="304" height="327"></div>A look at the list of prospects brings a smile to the face of Ottawa Senators GM John Muckier.While Muckier hasn&rsquo;t been afraid to gamble by trading away top prospects Jakub Klepis (Buffalo) and Tim Gleason (Los Angeles) at the NHL trade deadline to try to win a Stanley Cup, he hasn&rsquo;t robbed the franchise&rsquo;s future&ldquo;The cupboard is not bare&hellip;it&rsquo;s not bare at all,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;If you&rsquo;re going to win a Stanley Cup you have to be willing to take chances. The core of our team is young and we&rsquo;re a contender. We should feel good about the position we&rsquo;re in.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects:1. ANDREJ MESZAROS, D, VANCOUVER The Senators look at this guy as a can&rsquo;t miss. He&rsquo;s big, tough and physical. The decision to come to North America this season to play junior has worked out well for Meszaros because he&rsquo;s made a strong adjustment to the game.&ldquo;We feel that if there had been a camp, he would have had a good opportunity at making our team,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;He might be a young player, but he&rsquo;s got the body of man.&rdquo;Meszaros captained Slovakia at the WJC.Acquired: 2004 draft, 23rd overall.2. PATRICK EAVES, C, BOSTON COLLEGE The Senators had a short conversation with Eaves about coming out of school this year, but he made the decision to stay.It was probably the right choice, but there&rsquo;s a good chance he&rsquo;ll either start with the Senators next season or play with the club&rsquo;s AHL affiliate. A candidate for the Hobey Baker Trophy as the top NCAA player, Eaves has twice been named player of the month in Hockey East this year.&ldquo;What we&rsquo;ve got to do is get Mr. Eaves to come out of school,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s been the best player on his college team and he&rsquo;s really developed by getting, stronger.&rdquo;Acquired: 2003 draft, 29th overall.3. RAY EMERY, G, BINGHAMTON This is a make-or-break year for Emery&mdash;and the best way to describe it so far has been up and down. Emery admits he has struggled with his focus.He was looking forward to the opportunity to go into camp and push Martin Prusek for the backup job behind starter Dominik Hasek. That chance never came and it has been difficult on Emery.&ldquo;He has the ability to play in the NHL, but he needs to get the opportunity,&rdquo; Muckier said.Acquired: 2001 draft, 99th overall.4. ALEXEI KAIG0R0D0V, C, MAGNITOGORSK The Senators like this guy, but they haven&rsquo;t been able to convince him to come to North America. The 22-year-old wants a guarantee he&rsquo;s going to play in the NHL and the Senators haven&rsquo;t been able to give it to him. That said, he&rsquo;s skilled and is one of the top scorers in the Russian league.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s on the borderline right now of playing in the NHL,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s a smart player and he has a good shot. We haven&rsquo;t given up on him at all. We&rsquo;d like to have him here.&rdquo;Acquired: 2002 draft, 47th overall.5. KIRILL LYAMIN, D, CENTRAL ARMY A young prospect with a lot of growing up to do, Lyamin has a good shot and can move the puck. But there&rsquo;s no rush getting him into the system.&ldquo;This guy is a long-term project,&rdquo; Muckier said. &ldquo;I thought he should have played for Russia&rsquo;s junior national team, but I would think he&rsquo;ll have a good opportunity next year.&rdquo;Acquired: 2004 draft, 67th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0024-04421/8382870-1-eng-US/f0024-042.jpg" title="f0024-04" width="284" height="401"><figcaption class="caption-body">ANDREJ MESZAROS</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Andrej Meszaros, D, 19, Vancouver (WHL), &#9668; 45-8-24-32-74 Overall 202. Patrick Eaves, C, 20, Boston College (HE), 27-16-23-39-0 Overall 323. Ray Emery, G, 22, Binghamton (AHL), 16-15-3, 2.64 GAA, .909 SP Overall 504. Alexei Kaigorodov, C, 22, Magnitogorsk (Rus.), 48-14-29-43-40 Overall 555. Kirill Lyaman, D, 19, Central Army (Rus.), 28-2-10-12-886. Christoff Schubert, D, 23, Binghamton (AHL), 53-6-13-19-71Floundered and was nearly given up on, but has become a top defenseman in the AHL.Acquired 2001 draft, 127th overall7. Brandon Bochenski, RW, 23, Binghamton (AHL), 49-21-21-42-10Not a great skater, but he has a natural touch around the net and is an AHL all-star.Acquired 2004 draft, 223th overall8. Alexander Nikulin, C, 20, Central Army (Rus.), 16-3-3-6-0Strong with the puck, but must gain strength to play at the NHL level.Acquired 2004 draft, 122th overall9. Shawn Weller, LW, 18, Clarkson (ECAC), 24-2-8-10-60In his freshman year at Clarkson after being drafted out of high school. Needs seasoning.Acquired 2004 draft, 77th overall10. Billy Thompson, G, 22, Binghamton (AHL), 12-7-1, 2.63 GAA, .910 SPHas equaled an American League career high in wins already this season.Acquired Trade with Florida, Oct., 2002 &#9632;

f0024-03

Gambling with the future

<div class="byline">BY WAYNE FISH</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-011077/8382915-1-eng-US/f0025-012.jpg" title="f0025-01" width="299" height="324"></div>It has been 30 years since a center drafted by the Flyers was named a first team NHL allstar; 18 years since a home-grown goalie achieved that honor.Bob Clarke and Ron Hextall left some big skates to fill and it&rsquo;s way too early to predict if centers Jeff Carter and Mike Richards or goalie Antero Niittymaki will be able to do so someday.But at least they, and several other promising youngsters, have the Flyers excited about their development system.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re certainly happy with our group,&rdquo; said assistant GM Paul Holmgren, who oversees per-sonnel. &ldquo;The potential of this bunch is strong.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects:1. JEFF CARTER, C, SAULT STE. MARIE Since being drafted in 2003, the London native has added 25 pounds (to 207) to his 6-foot-3 frame. Now he&rsquo;s strong enough to get through the toughest traffic, as witnessed in the World Junior Championship. &ldquo;His team is in a dogfight for the playoffs and he&rsquo;s producing,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s pretty well-rounded.&rdquo;From an offensive standpoint, the Flyers believe Carter is ready for the NHL, but his defense still needs some improvement.Acquired: 2003 draft, 11th overall.2. MIKE RICHARDS, C, KITCHENER Team Canada&rsquo;s captain at the WJC talks softly, but carries a big stick. In terms of style of play, Richards is already being compared to Flyers&rsquo; 1990 first round pick Mike Ricci.A pelvic stress fracture at mid-season slowed his progress, but Holmgren is confident he will continue to make gains come playoff time.&ldquo;He doesn&rsquo;t have the offensive flair of Carter, but the leadership and the other intangibles he brings are very good,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;Ricci has played for 15 years so if he (Richards) turns out like that, it would make me pretty happy.&rdquo;Acquired: 2003 draft, 24th overall.3. ANTERO NIITTYMAKI, G, PHILADELPHIA When the Phantoms rolled off an AHL-record 17-game winning streak earlier this season, Niittymaki was right in the middle of it all, prompting GM Bob Clarke to predict he would challenge for the No. 1 goalie spot on the Flyers once hockey resumed.Now in his third season since coming over from Finland, Niittymaki continues to make improvements on challenging the shooter, cutting down angles and limiting rebounds.Acquired: 1998 draft, 168th overall.4. PATRICK SHARP, C, PHILADELPHIA After splitting last season between the Flyers and Phantoms, Sharp has become one of the AHL&rsquo;s top offensive threats this season. He has scored a number of clutch goals, be it near the end of regulation, in overtime or shootout.Coach John Stevens has been experimenting with him at wing, perhaps mindful of Carter and Richards being in the system.Acquired: 2001 draft, 95th overall.5. DENNIS SEIDENBERG, D, PHILADELPHIA It has taken Seidenberg nearly all of this season to completely recover from a catastrophic broken leg the German Olympian suffered last season.&ldquo;The issue is going to be how he does with physical confrontations in front of the net and in the corners with bigger guys,&rdquo; Holmgren said. &ldquo;When he gets to the NHL, players are going to be bigger.&rdquo;He has a hard, accurate point shot, but hasn&rsquo;t been getting as much power play time of late.Acquired: 2001 draft, 172nd overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-02737/8382908-1-eng-US/f0025-022.jpg" title="f0025-02" width="280" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body">JEFF CARTER</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Jeff Carter, C, 20, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL), &#9668; 43-23-32-55-34 Overall 52. Mike Richards, C, 20, Kitchener (OHL), 35-19-29-48-55 Overall 233. A. Nittymaki, G, 24, Philadelphia (AHL), 18-14-4, 1.97 GAA, .924 SP Overall 654. Patrick Sharp, C, 23, Philadelphia (AHL), 46-16-20-36-385. D. Seidenberg, D, 23, Philadelphia (AHL), 50-6-17-23-336. R.J. Umberger, C, 22, Philadelphia (AHL), 50-13-16-29-21Canuck castoff enjoyed a good rookie years using natural skills and big-time shot.Acquired Signed as free agent, June, 20047. Randy Jones, D, 23, Philadelphia (AHL), 43-4-13-17-22Worked hard on speed, skating last summer, but needs to develop consistency.Acquired Signed as free agent, July, 20038. Ben Eager, LW, 21, Philadelphia (AHL), 38-2-4-6-133Outstanding skater loves to hit, but needs work on play away from puck.Acquired Trade with Phoenix, Feb., 20049. Stefan Ruzicka, RW, 20, 0. Sound (OHL), 48-32-27-59-47Good hands and quick feet; must pay attention to his defensive play.Acquired 2003 draft, 81st overall10. Ryan Potulny, C, 20, Minnesota (WCHA) 33-23-12-35-14Smart with the puck; is more of a finisher than a playmaker.Acquired 2003 draft, 87th overall &#9632;

f0025-01

A list of future all-stars?

<div class="byline">BY JERRY BROWN</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-03506/8382953-1-eng-US/f0025-032.jpg" title="f0025-03" width="295" height="328"></div>The Coyotes&rsquo; &lsquo;future&rsquo; was dragged into the NHL last season, with Freddie Sjostrom, Jeff Taffe and Matthew Spiller all playing more than 50 games while a half-dozen other prospects made their NHL debuts.So with all three joining the likes of organizational blue-chippers like David LeNeveu and Keith Ballard with the Utah Grizzlies this season, the team was talking big in terms of both development and icing an upper-division American League team. Neither has panned out.The Grizzlies are the worst team in the league and the season has been a disappointment from a development standpoint. The Coyotes may have to look to the class of 2004 for their next star.Here are the top five prospects:1. KEITH BALLARD, D, UTAH Ballard was Utah&rsquo;s only AHL all-star selection, despite a minus-24 rating. A forward until he went to college, he makes many mistakes in his own zone, although Coyotes officials feel a lot of the problems stem from &ldquo;trying to do too much.&rdquo;But for his first pro season out of the University of Minnesota, Phoenix is encouraged, although underwhelmed to this point. The Coyotes still see him as a top-four defenseman.Acquired: Trade with Colorado, March, 20042. BLAKE WHEELER, C, GREEN BAY The Coyotes&rsquo; surprise first round draft pick is leading the Gamblers in scoring and preparing to head to the University of Minnesota.Having added an inch (up to almost 6-foot-5) and 20 pounds (up to 205), Wheeler was selected to the USHL All-Star Game.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s a young man who has a tremendous amount of talent and ability and he&rsquo;s making a great amount of progress,&rdquo; said Gamblers coach Mark Mazzoleni.Acquired: 2004 draft, fifth overall.3. DAVID LENEVEU, G, UTAH LeNeveu was good last year on a bad Springfield team and has been even better this year on a lousy Utah team.Although he plays a completely different style, many in the organization make a comparison to former Coyote Sean Burke because &ldquo;he&rsquo;s always in the right spot and the right position.&rdquo;But his mental focus and intensity is what makes many feel he&rsquo;s a future NHLer. The goalie of the future in Phoenix is a one Coyote race.Acquired: 2002 draft, 46th overall.4. ENVER LISIN, RW, AK BARS Lisin is playing in the Russian Super League on the same team as Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richard, Alexei Kovalev, Ilya Kovalchuk and Alexei Zhitnik.His claim as perhaps the fastest skater in the world was only strengthened by his WJC per-formance. Normally a shooter and finisher, he tried passing the puck more with Ovechkin on his line and the results were mixed. Scouts feel he is beginning to define himself and understand how to use his strengths to his advantage.Acquired: 2004 draft, 50th overall.5. RANDALL GELECH, RW, UTAH The jump from major junior to the AHL is a huge one, but Gelech has made it better than others.He got off to a slow start but earned a spot on the second line. He has an accurate shot, deceptive quickness and a good nose for the puck in scoring situations.The Coyotes see Gelech as a third line center possibility because of his size and checking ability. He&rsquo;s nowhere near being ready, but his first few months in the AHL show promise.Acquired: 2003 draft, 208th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0025-04333/8382946-1-eng-US/f0025-042.jpg" title="f0025-04" width="283" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body">KEITH BALLARD</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Keith Ballard, D, 22, Utah (AHL), 49-2-17-19-74 Overall 702. Blake Wheeler, C, 18, Green Bay (USHL), 41-15-19-34-203. David LeNeveu, G, 21, Utah (AHL), 20-2-0, 2.98 GAA, .907 SP4. Enver Lisin, RW, 18, Ak Bars (Russia), 44-5-4-9-45. Randall Gelech, RW, 21, Utah (AHL), 49-11-8-19-586. Martin Podlesak, C, 22, Utah (AHL), 10-0-1-1-24Fully recovered from a severe concussion, he is out for the season with a shoulder injury.Acquired 2001 draft, 45th overall7. Kiel McLeod, C, 22, Utah (AHL), 45-8-5-13-57Goal machine in junior hasn&rsquo;t duplicated per-formance in the pros. Must work on skating.Acquired 2001 draft, 53th overall8. Igor Knyazev, D, 22, Khmik (Russia), 20-0-1-1-49After two years in the AHL, went back to Russia. Once had can&rsquo;t-miss label.Acquired Trade with Carolina, June, 20039. Logan Stephenson, D, 19, Tri-City (WHL), 44-5-6-11-55A physical presence with a real mean streak. Wait and see how he takes to the next level.Acquired 2004 draft, 35th overall10. Jakub Koreis, C, 20, Utah (AHL), 49-2-2-4-48The skating has improved, the results have not. Ex-super teen now just a role player.Acquired 2002 draft, 19th overall &#9632;

f0025-03

Catching the eve of 99

<div class="byline">BY JOE STARKEY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-011209/8382991-1-eng-US/f0026-012.jpg" title="f0026-01" width="302" height="329"></div>Three consecutive bottom-five finishes have helped the Pittsburgh Penguins stock their cupboards with all kinds of treats.The team has been built from the goal outward, with a prospective franchise goaltender, a wealth of talented young defensemen and a world-class forward in Russian center Evgeni Malkin. There is no shortage of gritty young forwards. Pure scorers, however, are hard to find, although the franchise has some candidates in that category.Here are the top five prospects.1. EVGENI MALKIN, C, MAGNITOGORSK Malkin put on a few pounds, but still needs to fill out his 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame.His performance at the WJC, in which he finished fourth in scoring and helped Russia to final, showed he probably could have played in the NHL this season. His size, reach, smarts, skill and toughness were on full display when he got a chance with elite players.His stats in the Russian league won&rsquo;t blow anyone away, but they&rsquo;re up from last season, and Pens scout Mark Kelley says the numbers are a function of playing in a low-scoring league.Acquired: 2004 draft, second overall.2. MARC-ANDRE FLEURY, G, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON He&rsquo;s only 172 pounds and only in his second year of pro hockey, but Fleury is proving to be a workhorse.He fended off the competition at Wilkes-Barre to start 20 of 26 games before the all-star break. By that point, he&rsquo;d already broke team record for victories in a season (19) and was on pace to shatter record for appearances (46, held by Sebastien Caron).Fleury has been solid, displaying the cat-like reflexes and side-to-side quickness the Penguins saw early last season. Acquired: 2003 draft, first overall.3. RYAN WHITNEY, D, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON In his first full pro season, Whitney&rsquo;s year has mirrored that of his team: slow start, impressive recovery. He came on strong before the all-star break and remains the top defense prospect in the organization.Nobody questions his skating or passing, but his willingness to play physical can be an issue. However, he responds to coach Michel Therrien&rsquo;s prodding.A 6-foot-4 power-play quarterback, he figures to be NHL-ready when play resumes. At 202 pounds, he could bulk up.Acquired: 2002 draft, fifth overall.4. NOAH WELCH, D, HARVARD Named captain of Harvard, Welch (6-foot-4,212 pounds) continues his steady rise toward the NHL.After nearly turning pro before the season, he returned for his senior year under coach Ted Donato and has shown some improved skill in addition to his usual toughness. After netting zero power play goals last season, Welch was leading the team with five this season.His skating also has improved, thanks to summer sessions with Boston-area instructor Paul Vincent, who was the Tampa Bay Lightning&rsquo;s summer development coach from 2000-02.Acquired: 2001 draft, 54th overall.5. KRIS BEECH, C, WILKES-BARRE/SCRANTON He was leading the team in scoring and has developed into a premier set-up man in AHL, but questions remain about his skating.Beech has shone on the top line with Matt Murley and Michel Ouellet and was fourth in the league in assists going into the all-star break. His vision and passing touch are unquestioned.Acquired: Trade with Washington, July, 2001.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-02861/8382984-1-eng-US/f0026-022.jpg" title="f0026-02" width="287" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">EVGENI MALKIN</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Evgeni Malkin, C, 18, Magnitogorsk (Rus.), &#9668; 41-10-15-25-20 Overall 42. M-A Fleury, G, 20, Wilkes-Barre (AHL), 19-10-3, 2.47 GAA, .905 SP Overall 63. Ryan Whitney, D, 21, Wilkes-Barre (AHL), 51-5-21-26-60 Overall 354. Noah Welch, D, 22, Harvard (ECAC), i 24-5-7-12-665. Kris Beech, C, 23, Wilkes-Barre (AHL), 50-10-43-53-1366. Ryan Stone, C, 19, Brandon (WHL), 53-21-45-66-112Continuing to impress scouts with combination of grit and scoring.Acquired 2003 draft, 32nd overall7. Colby Armstrong, RW, 22, Wilkes-Barre (AHL), 51-13-22-35-62Has surpassed career highs in every category, but still needs to put on more weight.Acquired 2001 draft, 21st overall8. Ben Eaves, C, 22, Wilkes-Barre (AHL), 24-3-4-7-8Returned Dec. 11 from broken knee cap; looking for niche in first pro season.Acquired 2001 draft, 131st overall9. Michel Ouellet, RW, 22, Wilkes-Barre (AHL), 51-30-21-51-31Franchise&rsquo;s top goal-scoring prospect tied for AHL lead in goals; played in All-Star Game.Acquired 2000 draft, 124th overall10. Sergei Anshakov, LW, 21, Salavat (Rus.), 14-6-1-7-2After scoring no goals with Central Army, speedster has six in 14 games with new club.Acquired Trade with L.A., Nov., 2003 &#9632;

f0026-01

Fully stocked at the top

<div class="byline">BY DERRICK GOOLD</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-03699/8383029-1-eng-US/f0026-032.jpg" title="f0026-03" width="302" height="328"></div>Turtle-like in their recovery from prospectsapping trades nearly four years ago, the St. Louis Blues have been slow and steady in their attempt to restock their talent pool.Finally they have traction. With a quarter century of lower-half draft picks, creative gem-in-the-rough acquisition is still the mandate, as four of the top prospects are free agent signings. But central scouting talent is back, as draft picks do top the list. &ldquo;We had an empty cupboard for awhile,&rdquo; said GM Larry Pleau.Here are the top five prospects:1. MAREK SCHWARZ, G, VANCOUVER First the Czech came overseas to play, then he wowed as the top goalie in the world juniors and now he&rsquo;s clearly the young turk of the Blues&rsquo; future.An aggressive, athletic goalie, Schwarz &ldquo;has adjusted real well,&rdquo; said goaltending coach Keith Allain. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s a lot of benefit to have him (playing in the WHL). He&rdquo;s doing what he has to do to get better.&rdquo;At the WJC he had a.923 save percentage against the top players in his age group in the world. He&rsquo;s exciting to watch.Acquired: 2004 draft, 17th overall.2. CARL SODERBERG, C, MALMO The big bod ied, slick-touch center has spent most of the season with Malmo and is still seeking the scoring touch he has shown at other levels.At the world juniors, Soderberg flashed the hot he was recognized for, scoring four goals in six games. At 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds, Soderberg is a smooth skater and explosively intriguing talent-if he develops his physical presence.Acquired: 2004 draft, 49th overall.3. DAVID BACKES, C, MINNESOTA STATE Considered by at least a few opposing coaches as one of the top players in the WCHA, Backes is a sophomore averaging more than a point-per-game at Mankato.The Blues&rsquo; No. 2 prospect a year ago, he has improved and is developing a pro-style game. Backes has also proven timely: scoring an unassisted winning goal against Wisconsin in overtime and the game-winner with 3.8 seconds remaining vs. North Dakota.Acquired: 2003 draft, 62nd overall.4. DENNIS WIDEMAN, D, WORCESTER So far a steal of a free-agent acquisition, Wideman had five points in his first pro game.A rookie of the year candidate in the AHL, Wideman led Worcester in scoring and was the only defenseman in the top 10 in AHL scoring. The surprises haven&rsquo;t ebbed and Wideman is now slotted as the latest in the line of young Blues blueliners.&ldquo;We thought he would just be offense, but he has been much more,&rdquo; said GM Larry Pleau. &ldquo;He gambles too much at this age, but he&rsquo;s smart enough to figure it out.&rdquo;Acquired: Signed as free agent, June, 2004.5. ROMAN POLAK, D, KOOTENAY A teammate of Schwarz&rsquo;s on the Czech team during the WJC, Polak hopped the pond to launch his North American career after being drafted.Billed as an offensive defenseman with a booming shot, Polak was a plus-2 during the WJC. Fleet and sturdy on his skates, Polak&rsquo;s first year on this continent will include a transition into the physical crunch.The day he was drafted, the Blues called him a &lsquo;North American-style&rsquo; player. He took the first flight over and has shown a steady adaptation as his decision-making improves.Acquired: 2004 draft, 180th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0026-04509/8383022-1-eng-US/f0026-042.jpg" title="f0026-04" width="287" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">MAREK SCHWARZ</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Marek Schwarz, G, 18, Vancouver (WHL), &#9668; 20-19-3, 2.77 GAA, .895 SP Overall 292. Carl Soderberg, C, 19, Malmo (Swe.),; 34-0-5-5-83. David Backes, C, 20, Minn. State (WCHA), 30-14-15-29-364. Dennis Wideman, D, 21, Worcester (AHL), 52-8-22-30-435. Roman Polak, D, 18, Kootenay (WHL), 50-4-14-18-696. Aaron Mackenzie, D, 23, Worcester (AHL), 51-1-12-13-64Signing out of Denver isn&rsquo;t flashy, but very steady and ultra-competitive.Acquired Signed as free agent, Oct., 20037. Jon DiSalvatore, RW, 23, Worcester (AHL), 51-15-14-29-24Blues unsure if he&rsquo;s a scoring line winger or a third line winger with a scoring past.Acquired Signed as free agent, June, 20048. Jay McClement, C, 21, Worcester (AHL), 52-8-17-25-35Defense-oriented center is still learning and must bulk up to reach next level.Acquired 2001 draft, 57th overall9. Blake Evans, C, 24, Worcester (AHL), 51-12-19-31-50Has sizzling intensity, but must learn to hone consistent fire and in-game instinct.Acquired Signed as free agent, April, 200110. Konstantin Zakharov, LW, 19, Worcester (AHL), 35-3-3-6-12Scoring whiz in junior has skittered in first pro season; learning curve will be flatter.Acquired 2003 draft, 101st overall &#9632;

f0026-03

Diamonds in the rough

<div class="byline">BY ROSS MCKEON</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-011156/8383067-1-eng-US/f0027-012.jpg" title="f0027-01" width="299" height="327"></div>Considering the Sharks ice one of the youngest teams in the American League with Cleveland, the organization is pleased with the progress of recent draft picks and the kind of learning curve they&rsquo;re on this lockout season. San Jose is well stocked at all positions, again strong in goal and on defense.There is more versatility up front-a departure from the past-but it was only a matter of time before those voids were filled, since the Sharks addressed those needs in recent drafts.Here are the top five prospects:1. MILAN MICHALEK, LW, CLEVELAND He has not played this season due to a third surgical procedure on the same knee in a year.After sustaining his second torn ACL last season, Michalek opted for a new procedure-ligament taken from another part of his body to repair the knee. Consequently, there has been no rush to get Michalek back on the ice, as he continues to rehab and strive toward an expected full recovery. It&rsquo;s doubtful he&rsquo;ll play anywhere this season.Acquired: 2003 draft, sixth overall.2. CHRISTIAN EHRHOFF, D, CLEVELAND This German rearguard has made tremendous strides this season, a year in which he doesn&rsquo;t feel the pressure to excel for promotion.In addition to his attention to detail in the defensive zone, something lacking last year, Ehrhoff leads the team in shots because opponents are leery to block his lasers and he has been accurate from the point to get pucks on net. Ehrhoff is a competitor and has proven he truly wants to improve.Acquired: 2001 draft, 106th overall.3. MARCEL GDC, C, CLEVELAND He&rsquo;d be a sure-fire NHLer all season had it not been for the lockout. Thanks to his impressive showing after debuting in last year&rsquo;s Stanley Cup playoffs, Goc is in demand.The versatile forward has shown no negative affects of having to play another season in the minors due to the lockout. He has provided steady leadership and continued to improve the offensive side of his game. He played the better part of the first half of the season with a broken bone in his wrist, which prevented him from shooting the puck with authority. Goc moved to wing while battling back from injury.Acquired: 2002 draft, 20th overall.4. STEVE BERNIER, RW, MONCTON What&rsquo;s most impressive about Bernier is he has learned how to play to win, instead of just playing for stats.He has shaken the reputation of being a onedimensional player by taking a leadership role-designated captain this season and by working on the other parts of his game-namely, his conditioning and skating. Some observers are saying he&rsquo;s making strides similar to those Jonathan Cheechoo made prionto his turning pro.Acquired: 2003 draft, 16th overall.5. MIROSLAV ZALESAK, RW, LITVINOV Out of options for Cleveland without signing an AHL-exclusive deal, Zalesak went to Europe instead.With plenty of minor league seasoning already in his portfolio, Zalesak is drooling for an extended shot in the NHL. At 25, the time for him is now.Skating, scoring potential and savvy in the offensive zone are his obvious strengths, but Zalesak must pay attention in his own zone. He needs to strike a balance to keep coaches happy.Acquired: 1998 draft, 104th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-02787/8383060-1-eng-US/f0027-022.jpg" title="f0027-02" width="281" height="398"><figcaption class="caption-body">MILAN MICHALEK</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Milan Michalek, RW, 20, Cleveland (AHL), &#9668; 0-0-0-0-0 Overall 282. Christian Ehrhoff, D, 22, Cleveland (AHL), 52-9-17-26-58 Overall 753. Marcel Goc, C, 21, Cleveland (AHL), 49-12-21-33-194. Steve Bernier, RW, 19, Moncton (QMJHL), 58-29-33-62-945. Miroslav Zalesak, RW, 25, Litvinov (Czech), 24-6-5-11-106. Dimitri Patzold, G, 22, Cleveland (AHL), 13-12-3, 2.46 GAA, .918 SPMaking good progression and does right things when not playing as well.Acquired 2001 draft, 107th overall7. Doug Murray, D, 24, Cleveland (AHL), 27-3-6-9-26Making a lot of little plays to get the puck out; physical play is a bonus.Acquired 1999 draft, 241st overall8. Mike Morris, RW, 21, Northeastern (HE), 26-14-14-28-14Unselfish leader playing winning style of hockey for below-average team.Acquired 2002 draft, 27th overall9. Josh Hennessy, C, 20, Quebec (QMJHL), 54-31-39-70-29Team captain getting his points, but needs more consistency.Acquired 2003 entry draft, 43rd overall10. Lukas Kaspar, RW, 19, Ottawa (OHL), 45-17-26-43-34Started strong and flattened out; was so-so at World Juniors, but is picking it up again.Acquired 2004 draft, 22nd overall &#9632;

f0027-01

Plenty of foreign content

<div class="byline">BY TOM JONES</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-03563/8383105-1-eng-US/f0027-032.jpg" title="f0027-03" width="299" height="327"></div>For years, the Tampa Bay Lightning had a big enough problem fixing the NHL team to worry about what was going on in the minors.Now that the NHL ship has been righted, the Lightning can spend more time developing players in the system.&ldquo;We&rsquo;re finally doing it the way it should be done,&rdquo; said GM Jay Feaster. &ldquo;We have eight or nine players who could step into the NHL right now and be able to play a little. Five or six years ago, they would already be here.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects:1. MIKE EGENER, D, SPRINGFIELD Egener&rsquo;s season was initially thrown out of whack because of an injury, but he has rebounded to be one of Springfield&rsquo;s top defenseman.The key has been his positioning. Once he favored going for the big hit at the expense of taking himself out of position. Now, he has found the crucial, but delicate balance of remaining physical, but playing smart.Springfield coach Dirk Graham has identified Egener as one of the team&rsquo;s most consistent blue-liners. Feaster said Egener would be a serious candidate to play in the NHL right away.Acquired: 2003 draft, 34th overall.2. ANDY ROGERS, D, PRINCE GEORGE Rogers has put together an impressive season despite some obstacles.First, he had a pesty and painful high-ankle sprain that took longer than expected to heal. Then he was traded from Calgary to Prince George. The Lightning would love to get him under contract and move him along next season, but the lockout has put I those plans on hold.The Lightning made Rogers their top pick in last summer&rsquo;s draft because of his poise.Acquired: 2004 draft, 30th overall.3. DOUG O&rsquo;BRIEN, D, SPRINGFIELD O&rsquo;Brien has suffered a bit because of his teammates.Springfield&rsquo;s defense, particularly the veterans, struggled early in the season and O&rsquo;Brien&rsquo;s duties were increased. It might have been a case of asking the rookie pro to do too much too soon. O&rsquo;Brien was sent to Johnstown (ECHL) to regain his confidence.Since his return, he has played his best hockey of the season and the Lightning feel he&rsquo;s again moving in the right direction.Acquired 2003 draft, 192nd overall.4. GERARD DICAIRE, D, SPRINGFIELD Dicaire missed nearly three months after surgery during training camp to remove a boil on his lower back.During that time, he couldn&rsquo;t skate, ride a bike, exercise or, in some cases, sit in a chair. When he finally could make it back to the lineup, he had a death in his family that forced him to leave the team briefly.So, all in all, Dicaire&rsquo;s season just has not gotten on track. When he has played, he has been OK, which is fine under the circumstances.Acquired: 2002 draft, 162nd overall.5. PAUL RANGER, D, SPRINGFIELD The Lightning is top-heavy with defenseman, but Feaster thinks Ranger might be the most talented and most physically gifted of the bunch. He makes a great first pass out of the zone, skates well and does a solid job positionally in his own end. The problem? Consistency.&ldquo;There&rsquo;s no question he has the talent,&rdquo; Feaster said. &ldquo;We just have to get the intensity level to match the talent level.&rdquo;Acquired: 2002 draft, 183rd overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0027-04396/8383098-1-eng-US/f0027-042.jpg" title="f0027-04" width="282" height="401"><figcaption class="caption-body">MIKE EGENER</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Mike Egener, D, 20, Springfield (AHL), &#9668; 1 32-2-2-4-1412. Andy Rogers, D, 18, Prince George (WHL), 15-1-2-3-313. Doug O&rsquo;Brien, D, 21, Springfield (AHL), 45-2-6-8-354. Gerard Dicaire, D, 22, Springfield (AHL), 26-1-2-3-125. Paul Ranger, D, 20, Springfield (AHL), 42-1-4-5-306. Evgeny Artukhin, RW, 21, Springfield (AHL), 38-6-7-13-94The Lightning like the way this 6-foot-5, 245-pound Russian plays on the edge.Acquired 2001 draft, 94th overall7. Nick Tarnasky, C, 20, Springfield (AHL), 51-5-7-12-81Feaster targets him as third-or fourth-liner for Lightning within two years.Acquired 2003 draft, 287th overall8. Alexander Polushin, RW, 21, Central Army (Rus.), 11-3-3-6-4Has great hands, heart and skating ability. His star has fallen last couple of years.Acquired 2001 draft, 47th overall9. Adam Henrich, LW, 21, Springfield (AHL), 41-7-11-18-36Having problems adjusting to pro game. Can&rsquo;t rely on moves that worked in junior.Acquired 2002 draft, 60th overall10. Ryan Craig, C, 23, Springfield (AHL), 51-18-10-28-42Needs to work on quickness and mobility. Pays the price, Lightning like his heart.Acquired 2002 draft, 255th overall &#9632;

f0027-03

Champs on the defensive

<div class="byline">BY KEN CAMPBELL</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-011196/8383143-1-eng-US/f0028-012.jpg" title="f0028-01" width="298" height="330"></div>His actions at the trade deadline might not suggest it, but Toronto GM John Ferguson really does have an eye to the future-and he may not like what he sees.After trading away first-and second-round choices and two good prospects last year for future Hall of Famer Brian Leetch-for what might be a limited run-Ferguson knew he was compromising the organization&rsquo;s future for what turned out to be a short and failed Stanley Cup run.Follow that up with the fact Toronto gave up their first round pick-along with prospect Brad Boyes-the previous year to get Owen Nolan and it&rsquo;s easy to see why the Leafs are not exactly brimming with future NHL stars.Here are the top five prospects:1. CARLO COLAIACOVO, D, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S Colaiacovo is far and away the best defenseman on the Baby Leafs, but a number of rather bizarre injuries have hampered his progress as a pro. Still, St. John&rsquo;s coach Doug Shedden values Colaiacovo&rsquo;s play.&ldquo;When he&rsquo;s out of the lineup, any game we win is a bonus,&rdquo; Shedden said.Colaiacovo is a terrific skater and has outstanding instincts for jumping into offensive situations. The only question is whether or not he&rsquo;s big enough and durable enough to handle the rigors of an NHL season.Acquired: 2001 draft, 17th overall.2. ALEXANDER STEEN, C, MODO There are observers inside and outside of the organization who feel Steen is the Leafs&rsquo; best prospect.The son of former NHLer Thomas Steen, the Winnipeg-born center plays a responsible two-way game and has a high level of grit. He was playing the third line behind Peter Forsberg and Mattias Weinhandl with MoDo, but was moved to a line with Markus Naslund when Forsberg went down with an injury and the two have been very good.Acquired: 2002 draft, 24th overall.3. STAFFAN KRONWALL, D, DJURGARDEN The Leafs got solid NHL defensemen in Tomas Kaberle and Danny Markov with low picks and are hoping to continue with Kronwall.There&rsquo;s nothing flashy about Kronwall, but he has the size, toughness and mobility to make the NHL. He has developed into a reliable defenseman and is already in his third year playing in Sweden.Acquired: 2002 draft, 285th overall. |4. MIKAEL TELLQVIST, G, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S Tellqvist undoubtedly would have been the Leafs&rsquo; backup this season, but has had to share the crease with NHL refugee Jean-Sebastien Aubin.Aubin has played so well that there is talk the Leafs could sign him to an NHL deal after the lockout, which would once again cloud Tellqvist&rsquo;s future. He was overcoming his second concussion of the season in early February. He may be a regular NHLer one day, but few observers see him as a long-term No. 1 goalie.Acquired: 2000 draft, 70th overall.5. JEREMY WILLIAMS, RW, ST. JOHN&rsquo;S Williams was a ninth round pick in the Western League and was a low pick in the NHL, largely because of his size and defensive deficiencies.But his offensive instincts are sound and his calling card is his shot, which Shedden often uses on the point on the power play and in shootout situations. Williams&rsquo; skating has improved, but he still needs to improve his foot speed if he wants to make it to the NHL level.Acquired: 2003 draft, 220th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-02834/8383136-1-eng-US/f0028-022.jpg" title="f0028-02" width="281" height="402"><figcaption class="caption-body">CARLO COLAIACOVO</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Carlo Colaiacovo, D, 22, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL), &#9668; 35-3-15-18-39 Overall 332. Alexander Steen, C, 20, MoDo (Swe.), 44-8-8-16-24 Overall 423. S. Kronwall, D, 22, Djurgarden (Swe.), 30-1-4-5-394. Mikael Tellqvist, G, 25, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL), 14-12-0, 2.70 GAA, .918 SP5. Jeremy Williams, RW, 21, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL), 50-11-13-24-106. Roman Kukumberg, LW, 24, Nizhnekamsk (Rus.), 44-9-9-18-34Projected to be a penalty killer and defensive specialist at the NHL level.Acquired 2004 draft, 113th overall7. Kyle Wellwood, C, 21, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL), 52-25-37-62-18Has great offensive skills, but must become more devoted to conditioning.Acquired 2001 draft, 134th overall8. Pierre Hedin, D, 27, MoDo (Swe.), 31-3-4-7-28Veteran went home to Sweden this season and has been disappointing.Acquired 1999 draft, 239th overall9. Ian White, D, 20, St. John&rsquo;s (AHL), 54-4-16-20-42Moves the puck well and can run a power play, but he&rsquo;s only 5-foot-9.Acquired 2002 draft, 191th overall10. Robbie Earl, LW, 19, Wisconsin (WCHA), 30-17-19-36-34Good skater with skill who nearly made Team USA at the World Junior Championship.Acquired 2004 draft, 187th overall &#9632;

f0028-01

Neglecting the future

<div class="byline">BY ELLIOTT PAP</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-03615/8383181-1-eng-US/f0028-032.jpg" title="f0028-03" width="302" height="326"></div>It has been a half decade since the Vancouver Canucks had a prospect, or twin prospects, who were turning heads in the hockey world. Daniel and Henrik Sedin were the last truly elite newcomers in the organization, but they haven&rsquo;t turned into all-stars and there&rsquo;s nothing to indicate Vancouver has anyone with more promise in its system.Nonetheless, GM Dave Nonis says he&rsquo;s reasonably pleased with his current group of prospects.&ldquo;You&rsquo;d always like to have more but, in a 30-team league, it&rsquo;s becoming increasingly difficult,&rdquo; Nonis said. &ldquo;I think our list has improved dramatically in the last two years.&rdquo;Here are the top five prospects:1. RYAN KESLER, C, MANITOBA The Livonia, Mich., native is drawing raves for his progress. Kesler added 15 pounds to his frame since his rookie pro year and has thrived at 210 pounds.&ldquo;Ryan is exceeding expectations,&rdquo; Nonis said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s become one of the best two-way players in the American League. He&rsquo;s putting up decent numbers offensively and excelling defensively.&rdquo;Last season, Kesler bounced around between the Manitoba Moose (33 games), the Canucks (28 games) and the U.S. junior team that won gold. This season, he has prospered by staying in one place and shone in the shooting competition at the recent AHL skills competition.Acquired: 2003 draft, 23rd overall.2. ALEX ADLD, G, MANITOBATicketed for a spot with the big club this season, Auld is enjoying his best campaign and has finally become a bona fide No. 1 netminder at the AHL level. He also suited up for Canada at the Spengler Cup, which further boosted his confidence.&ldquo;Alex had an average start, but has been outstanding since Dec.l,&rdquo; Nonis said. &ldquo;By all accounts, he was also outstanding at the Spengler Cup and I think it helped him dramatically.&rdquo;Acquired: Trade with Florida, May, 2001.3. JASON KING, LW, MANITOBA A streak scorer his whole career, the King of Cornerbrook, Nfld., is again going in spurts this season. An AHL all-star, King is on pace for a 40-goal year.&ldquo;Jason has played pretty well overall, but I think he can be even better,&rdquo; Nonis said. &ldquo;He&rsquo;s always been a bit of a streaky player and that&rsquo;s probably something he has to overcome. Still, he can put the puck in the net and you can never have enough of those guys.&rdquo;Acquired: 2001 draft, 212th overall.4. CORY SCHNEIDER, G, BOSTON COLLEGE Forget his flawed cameo appearance for the U.S. at the 2005 World Junior Championship, Schneider is having a superb freshman season for the Eagles.The 6-foot-2 redhead from Salem, Mass., was undefeated through 11 starts in college and is gaining rave reviews for his composure and technical game.&ldquo;He&rsquo;s got the tools, size, quickness and mental strength to become an excellent goalie,&rdquo; Nonis remarked. &ldquo;The rest is up to him.&rdquo;Acquired: 2004 draft, 26th overall.5. KIRILL KOLTSOV, D, OMSK AVANGARD Always an enigma, the talented blueliner was true to form when he bolted from the Manitoba Moose at Christmas to return home to Russia.He was enjoying an improved season in the American League before his departure. An undersized offensive defensemen along the lines of Brian Rafalski, Koltsov had been cutting down his defensive mistakes.Acquired: 2002 draft, 49th overall.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0028-04427/8383174-1-eng-US/f0028-042.jpg" title="f0028-04" width="285" height="400"><figcaption class="caption-body">RYAN KESLER</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Ryan&rsquo;Kesler, C, 20, Manitoba (AHL), &#9668; 51-20-20-40-56 Overall 162. Alex Auld, G, 24, Manitoba (AHL), 18-7-4, 2.33 GAA, .918 SP Overall 663. Jason King, LW, 23, Manitoba (AHL), 52-23-24-47-204. Cory Schneider, G, 18, Boston Col. (HE), 9-0-4, 1.69 GAA, .924 SP5. Kirill Koltsov, D, 22, Omsk (Rus.), 11-1-1-2-286. Tomas Mojzis, D, 22, Manitoba (AHL), 52-5-12-17-44A great skater, rebounding nicely from a disappointing 2003-04 rookie pro season.Acquired Trade with Toronto, Sept., 20027. Alexander Edler, D, 18, MoDo (Swe.), 22-6-15-21-32Lanky teen among the top-scoring defenseman in the Swedish junior league.Acquired 2004 draft, 91th overall8. Kevin Bieksa, D, 23, Manitoba (AHL), 52-8-17-25-126Bowling Green grad&rsquo;s all-round performance as rookie pro has impressed management.Acquired 2001 draft, 151th overall9. Evgeny Gladskikh, RW, 22, Magnitogorsk (Rus.), 33-9-9-18-16Slowed by a shoulder injury after a solid start on Magnitogorsk&rsquo;s first line.Acquired 2001 draft, 114th overall10. Marc-Andre Bernier, RW, 19, Halifax (QMJHL), 51-20-16-36-45Canuck brass would like to see improvement in Bernier&rsquo;s consistency and work ethic.Acquired 2003 draft, 60th overall &#9632;

f0028-03

Canucks Moose hunting

<div class="byline">BY DAVE FAY</div><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-011063/8383219-1-eng-US/f0029-012.jpg" title="f0029-01" width="300" height="328"></div>The Capitals have an excellent base for a competitive team in the future. But club officials are saying the future might be a few years away.Left winger Alexander Ovechkin, the 19-year-old Russian wunderkind, is the centerpiece around which the Capitals will rebuild. Some pieces already are in place; others have yet to be found. The forwards have gotten stronger, while defense and goaltending have slipped a notch. Here are the top five prospects:1. ALEXANDER OVECHKIN, LW, DYNAMO &ldquo;I don&rsquo;t think you could ask any more from an individual,&rdquo; said GM George McPhee.Ovechkin was voted the top forward at the WJC, exhibiting slippery moves and keen hockey sense. He is a character individual off and on the ice, unselfish and a leader. His production with Dynamo Moscow has nearly matched all of last season-even though he has missed a month with an injury.The Capitals say he has worked hard to get stronger since he was drafted and that was evident at the WJC in Grand Forks.Acquired: 2004 draft, first overall.2. ERIC FEHR, RW, BRANDON For the second straight year, Fehr failed to crack the veteran Canadian national junior lineup, but went back to Brandon committed to proving he still was among the elite players in his age group.Fehr is stronger and bigger (now about 200 pounds) and working to improve in those areas. His offensive production is well ahead of last year and he is on pace to score 50 goals for a second consecutive season.Acquired: 2003 draft, 18th overall.3. MAXIME OUELLET, G, PORTLAND Stats aside, Ouellet is not playing as well as he did last season. There are a variety of reasons, including the fact he has not adjusted well to the new AHL goalie rules. He also has been bothered by a rash of injuries to defensemen in Portland and also a poor defensive effort at times by forwards.Ouellet is a goalie who relies on consistency and he has been unable to find his rhythm.Acquired: Trade with Flyers, March, 2002.4. BOYD GORDON, C, PORTLAND Gordon has dramatically improved since last season-especially in terms of his offensive game.Gordon is a good skater, plays well at both ends and has exceptionally good hockey smarts. He has bulked up, allowing him to get through traffic easier, something he had trouble with in the past. He is starting to work closer to the net and shoot more-and naturally is scoring more.Acquired: 2002 draft, 17th overall.5. JAKUB KLEPIS, RW, PORTLAND Klepis is one of the best surprises to land in Portland.He has average size, but is strong on his feet and is a crafty 1-on-1 player. He sees the ice well, has a good shot and finds a way to get to the net.The Czech winger has good offensive instincts, but must shoot more. He possesses great speed.Acquired: Trade with Buffalo, March, 2004.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0029-02717/8383212-1-eng-US/f0029-022.jpg" title="f0029-02" width="284" height="399"><figcaption class="caption-body">ALEXANDER OVECHKIN</figcaption></div><h2>ON THE HORIZON</h2>1. Alexander Ovechkin, LW, 19, M. Dynamo &#9668; (Rus.), 31-10-12-22-30 Overall 12. Eric Fehr, RW, 19, Brandon (WHL), 54-42-33-75-54 Overall 563. Maxime Ouellet, G, 23, Portland (AHL), 15-20-3, 2.90 GAA, .911 SP4. Boyd Gordon, C, 21, Portland (AHL), 51-13-14-27-295. Jakub Klepis, RW, 20, Portland (AHL), 49-10-11-21-556. Nolan Yonkman, D, 23, Portland (AHL), 15-0-1-1-35Working hard to recover from second major knee injury and playing efficiently.Acquired 1999 draft, 37th overall7. Shaone Morrisonn, D, 22, Portland (AHL), 47-4-9-13-43Strong, great skater, but still is learning the craft and two-way positioning.Acquired Trade with Boston, March, 20048. Jakub Cutta, D, 23, Portland (AHL), 42-0-5-5-59Maturity has finally caught up with talent; becoming very reliable defender.Acquired 2000 draft, 61st overall9. Tomas Fleischmann, 20, LW, Portland (AHL), 46-6-11-17-14Great skater, great hands, must learn that good things can happen when you shoot.Acquired Trade with Detroit, Feb., 200410. Brooks Laich, C, 21, Portland (AHL), 39-11-5-16-8Struggling to find his way; needs to be more efficient playing without the puck.Acquired Trade with Ottawa, Feb., 2004 &#9632;

f0029-01

Russian star leads pack

<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-011099/8383309-1-eng-US/f0031-012.jpg" title="f0031-01" width="293" height="375"><figcaption class="caption-body">Mike Brophy&nbsp;Senior Writer</figcaption></div>The big question now that the 2004-05 NHL season is canceled is, do we trust two men who couldn&rsquo;t even sit in the same room together during the most important negotiation in the history of the NHL to partner up and work together for the good of the game?Or more specifically, wouldn&rsquo;t the NHL be a much better place without Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow?Those are the most important questions the owners and players must ask themselves about the two men they entrusted to represent them to plot what is best for the good of the game moving forward.Ah, the good of the game. Don&rsquo;t let NHL commissioner Bettman or NHL Players&rsquo; Association director Goodenow fool you. They care not for what serves the game best, but only for what best serves their own sides interest.<h2>PERSONALITY CLASH</h2>With pure, unadulterated greed the overriding force driving a senseless lockout to cancelation of the season, it is hard to imagine the same two principals who allowed a multibillion dollar industry to shrink before our very eyes being left in charge of the future. Their antagonistic relationship can only do more harm than good.Had Goodenow come forward and acknowledged the need for the players to help the economics of the game a lot earlier and had Bettman not been so militantly married to the notion of linking salaries to revenues in order to protect sensible owners from their maverick brethren, we could have had NHL hockey from the get-go this year. Had common sense prevailed two years ago, hockey wouldn&rsquo;t be in the unenviable position of having to try to win back fans in some markets who may never come back.But no, each man wanted a victory and not a solution.It is time for owners and players to forge a bond and fully understand what they hold in the palm of their hands. Hockey will never challenge baseball, basketball or football in the United States, but it was a nice little $2 billion cottage industry.The sport is clearly in dire need of an overhaul before it once again can be counted among the major sports in the U.S., but it will never happen with Bettman and Goodenow running the show. Through the lockout, each man did what he felt was in the best interest of his side. In the process, the lack of trust they have for one another only deepened and it is naive to think they can now kiss.and make up and be buddy-buddy moving forward.What the NHL needs more than anything is a commissioner and a union leader who share a common goal of growing the sport.<h2>MISGUIDED LEADERSHIP</h2>Goodenow was good for the players up to this negotiation. Under his direction, NHL salaries rose to heights never imagined, but there are many who concede he has not been good for the game. Power can be as dangerous as it is seductive and Goodenow thinks himself invincible. Remember, even Superman had to be wary of kryptonite.It was obvious listening to players the past few months they were not educated as to how they could survive under a salary cap system and just look where their no-cap mentality has them now.<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-02733/8383302-1-eng-US/f0031-022.jpg" title="f0031-02" width="612" height="936"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-03549/8383295-1-eng-US/f0031-032.jpg" title="f0031-03" width="642" height="981"><figcaption class="caption-body">DEAL BREAKERS&nbsp;Gary Bettman and Bob Goodenow failed to get the NHL back on the ice and must go.(BETTMAN: BRUCE BENNETT/GETTY IMAGES; GOODENOW: IHA)</figcaption></div>As for Bettman, where to begin? He had his chance to run the NHL and he bombed. That BusinessWeek would rank him among the worst managers of 2004 is indicative of what others think about his performance. One can only imagine how inept those ranked ahead of him are.<h2>BETTMAN WANTED MORE</h2>I don&rsquo;t think Bettman ever had any intention of negotiating a deal so NHL hockey could be played this year. He was on a mission to crush the union and to get rid of Goodenow and nothing more. Every time the union offered something-and give the players credit, they did all the bending-Bettman cried out for more.Together, Bettman and Goodenow are responsible for the most crippling obstruction hockey has ever faced. They have taken the game off the ice, and for that, they must go.The sooner the players get rid of Goodenow, the sooner they will be back playing. Same goes for the owners and Bettman.Hockey is a beautiful game and its athletes are among the toughest, most committed and gifted in the world.Players and owners have an opportunity right now to join hands and attempt to rebuild the game and make things right. But to do that, they must first make two very bold decisions: dump Gary and dump Bob-for the good of the game. I<blockquote class="pullQuote">&ldquo;WHAT THE NHL NEEDS MORE THAN ANYTHING IS A COMMISSIONER AND A UNION LEADER WHO SHARE A COMMON GOAL OF GROWING THE SPORT.&rdquo;</blockquote><h2>Next Issue</h2><div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-04417/8383288-1-eng-US/f0031-042.jpg" title="f0031-04" width="528" height="658"><figcaption class="caption-body">(STEVE BABINEAU/SPORTS ACTION)</figcaption></div>March 15, 2005&lt; Goalie Zone 2004-05: Our annual issue dedicated to the men in the crease, including AHL All-Star Game MVP Ryan Miller of Rochester&gt; Where does the NHL and union go from here to ensure a 2005-06?<div class="figure-block image-block"><img src="/var/site_2854/storage/images/media2/images/f0031-05326/8383281-1-eng-US/f0031-052.jpg" title="f0031-05" width="703" height="498"><figcaption class="caption-body">The Denver Pioneers are aiming to defend their NCAA Frozen Four championship. (ELSA/GETTY IMAGES)</figcaption></div><h2>Upcoming In The Hockey World</h2>Here&rsquo;s what to look for in the coming weeksTues., Feb. 22&nbsp;25th anniversary of U.S. Olympic team&rsquo;s &lsquo;Miracle On Ice&rsquo;Wed., March 9&nbsp;Canadian women&rsquo;s national championship begins in Sarnia, Ont.Sun., April 3&nbsp;Women&rsquo;s World Championship begins in Linkoping, SwedenSat., April 9&nbsp;NCAA Frozen Four championship final in Columbus, OhioSun., April 17&nbsp;Final day of AHL regular seasonSat. April 30&nbsp;IIHF World Championship begins in AustriaFor the latest news, visit <a href="http://TheHockeyNews.com">thehockeynews.com</a> &#9632;

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March 1, 2005

Keen on golden prospects

Prospects gain maturity

Opening Faceoff

SCOREBOARD