Twin thrashers: as our co-rookies of the year Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley take flight, they have given the woebegone Atlanta franchise hope that someday it may soar - All-Rookie Team

Hockey Digest, Summer, 2002 by John Kreiser

THE ATLANTA THRASHERS ARE going through the usual growing pains all new NHL franchises must endure. They're hoping, though, that rookies Ilya Kovalchuk and Dany Heatley will speed the growth process.

The third-rear Thrashers finished with the NHL's worst record this season, but they've uncovered a pair of gems in their first-year forwards. Kovalchuk, the first player taken in last June's entry draft, was the runaway leader in goals among rookies with 29 before going down with a season-ending shoulder injury on March 10. Heatley, taken No. 2 overall in 2000, was No. 2 in goals and the top scorer by far among rookies.

So who's better? It's hard to say--so hard that for the first time HOCKEY DIGEST is naming co-rookies of the year.

Kovalchuk is the flashier player. He just oozes talent--think of Pavel Bure with an extra 20-30 pounds and a lot more jam. At age 18, he made the jump to the NHL and was also good enough to earn a berth on the Russian Olympic team. One of his Olympic teammates, Igor Larionov, was playing internationally before Kovalchuk was born.

His speed, skill, shot, and strength all indicate that the left wing should become one of the NHL's elite players. Anyone who doubted his skill only had to watch the NHL's YoungStars Game during All-Star weekend, when Kovalchuk scored six goals and added an assist, earning the game's MVP award.

"He's going to be a great player," says New York Islanders center Alexei Yashin, a teammate, of Kovalchuk's on the Russian Olympic squad, where the teenager had a goal and two assists in six games and didn't look out of place. "He's got lots of speed and skill, and he wants to be the best."

He's not shy about telling everyone, either. Kovalchuk plays with a confidence that borders on cockiness and has made no secret of his desire to be the best player in the NHL. "Maybe I was nervous at first, but after that, things have gone quite well," says Kovalchuk, a left wing who wears No. 17 in honor of Soviet great Valeri Kharlamov and was the first Russian player ever selected No. 1 overall in the draft.

Top pick or not, Kovalchuk had to learn some lessons. At one point, coach Curt Fraser benched him for a game for poor defensive play. But he saw the light, and was a fixture in the lineup until his injury.

For much of the season, he was also a linemate of Heatley, who's two years older and came to the Thrashers after opting to stay for an extra season at the University of Wisconsin. Heatley, who was born in Germany and raised in Calgary, has had no trouble communicating with the Russian Kovalchuk on the ice. "He's a great player," Kovalchuk says. "He's fun to play with."

Heatley had a good time playing with Kovalchuk, too. "I think Ilya and I hit it off right away," says Heatley. "We were paired together right from the start, and we're going through the same rookie stuff together."

Heatley, a right wing, doesn't have quite as much offensive upside as Kovalchuk, but he came to the NHL as a much more polished two-way skater--he's far more defensively responsible than his oft-times linemate. He's also the type of player other players want to follow--look for him to be named the team's captain in the not-too-distant future.

Playing on the worst team in the NHL is a double-edged sword. On one hand, there's plenty of ice time for both youngsters, and there's little pressure to win. On the other, the losing can get repetitious, and no team wants to discourage its best young talent by steeping them in an atmosphere of losing.

But for Heatley, the chance for he and Kovalchuk to play and grow at the NHL level outweighs any potential harm from playing for a cellar-dweller.

"It's been vital to play in the NHL every day," he says. "We're both going through the same things together, so it's easier to break in and learn to play with each other. When you play with a guy, you learn to know what he does and what you'll do. You learn to look for each other. We're just trying to go out, help each other, and help the team win."

While there's been little pressure on Heatley and Kovalchuk to succeed, the same can't be said of Eric Cole, who as a first-year player earned a regular berth with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Southeast champs. He edged out first-year players like Florida's Kristian Huselius, Detroit's Pavel Datsyuk, and Chicago's Mark Bell for the third spot on our line.

Cole doesn't have the scoring numbers of Heatley and Kovalchuk, but he's been a solid contributor offensively on a line with Rod Brind'Amour and Bates Battaglia. He's also by far the busiest hitter among all rookies and will finish among the league leaders in hits, giving the Canes a physical presence up front that they've lacked in past seasons.

Cole isn't concerned about the lack of attention he's gotten in the shadow of Kovalchuk and Heatley.

"I don't mind at all," he says. "There's no reason to take anything away from Ilya and Danny because they're having tremendous seasons. I'm content to stay low-key and stay under everyone's radar because it's easy to adjust."