League smells the teen spirit; some of the top prospects in this June's draft are sure to make a sudden impact as NHL teams learn to embrace their adolescent draft picks - 2002 NHL Draft Preview

Hockey Digest, Summer, 2002 by Tom Worgo

THE NBA IS FILLED WITH players who haven't reached their 20th birthday, and now the teenage invasion threatens to take over the NHL.

The success of Atlanta Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk and New York Rangers goalie Dan Blackburn--successful teenage rookies and 2001 first-round picks--has prompted organizations to think more about high first-round picks making their rosters as teenagers.

With clubs pouring millions of dollars into their high picks, management is thinking that it might as well have these players on their team instead of competing in the minors, juniors, or overseas.

The 2002 entry draft in Toronto this June should provide some insight into the teenage trend, though overall it's not considered a great draft.

"I think it [Kovalchuk and Blackburn] have opened some eyes," Atlanta GM Don Waddell says. "It's always been in the past that these guys take some time to develop and every player is different. It's one thing to jump into the league and another to do it and have success.

"There are 18-year-old players capable of jumping right into the league and having success. If you put a player in the right situation and the right surroundings, there's no reason why he might not have success."

Not every NHL club shares the same philosophy as the Thrashers.

The Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils, for instance, like their rookies to have a couple more years of seasoning.

"The philosophy in our organization is to be very patient," says Ross Mahoney, Washington's director of amateur scouting. "We have sent all of our draft picks back to juniors and to college for a number of years. Then it's on to the American Hockey League. It's a lot easier for them to learn, make mistakes, and gain confidence at that level and slowly work their way into the NHL."

But every team at some point faces a dilemma of whether or not to keep an 18-year-old player on its roster or send him to back to juniors or elsewhere.

"Every once in a while, there is a player that may come along that is so exceptionally skilled that maybe he can step in," Mahoney says. "But you wonder about the physical maturity of the player, the mental part."

This year's draft has a few elite players, but not many. Kyle Woodlief, the chief scout and publisher of "The Redline Report," says flat-out that "it's a bad draft."

It's not expected to produce a standout group of first-round picks like say the 1998 draft, which was highlighted by forwards Vincent Lecavalier, Scott Gomez, Alex Tanguay, Simon Gagne and defensemen Brad Stuart, Martin Skoula, and Jiri Fischer.

"I would say there are three top goaltenders that could go in the first round," Woodlief says. "There is a very poor power forward crop. Defense is the only area where there is a couple of top-end players and some decent depth."

"The Redline Report" has pegged the top prospects as defenseman Jay Bouwmeester of the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers, left wing Rick Nash of the Ontario Hockey League's London Knights, Finnish goalie Kari Lehtonen, Russian defenseman Anton Babchuk, center Scottie Upshall of the WHL's Kamloops Blazers, and Finnish defenseman Joni Pitkanen.

"We have six guys ranked that would be top 10 picks in just about any draft," Woodlief says.

If any one player from this year's draft crop is prepared to make the immediate jump to the NHL, it's the multiskilled Bouwmeester, who turns 19 in September, He's probably the draft's closest thing to a can't-miss prospect.

History isn't on his side, though. Only four defensemen have gone No. 1 overall since 1969.

Both the NHL's central scouting bureau, Hockeysfuture.com, and "The Redline Report" rank Bouwmeester as the top player available. He's a standout two-way performer with outstanding skating ability, a rocket shot, and tremendous vision.

"To have his type of skating ability at his size is highly unusual," Woodlief explains. "He could really be a top power-play quarterback in the NHL for a long time. He is extremely mature. When you are talking to him, you think you are speaking to a 30-year-old veteran."

Atlanta GM Waddell says of Bouwmeester. "He is a defenseman that will play in the league for a long time."

Finnish goalie Lehtonen is easily the top netminder in the draft. He has great reflexes, rarely gets caught out of position, and plays the angles really well.

And don't rule out Lehtonen being the top pick. In 2000, the New York Islands made goalie Rick DiPietro the first goalie to be taken No. 1 overall since Michel Plasse was taken with the first pick by Montreal in 1968.

"He certainly has star potential," Woodlief says of Lehtonen.

Adds Waddell: "He certainly looks like he's going to be a special player."

Nash reminds scouts of young John LeClair or Keith Tkachuk. He's very physical, has good hands, and is excellent finisher.

Russian defender Babchuk plays the game with a real mean streak and is a ferocious hitter. For such a big player, he's an excellent skater.

Scouts love Upshall's versatility and toughness. He can play center or on either wing. "He is a little bit of a version of Nash," says the Capitals' Mahoney. "He is kind of similar to Bouwmeester, too. He is big, possesses skating ability, and passes the puck very well."