Pint-sized power play specialist Cory Murphy was the Finnish Elite MVP before signing with Florida as a free agent last March. Dale MacMillan/Getty Images

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4. Cory Murphy, Florida Panthers defenseman. The rookie claims to stand 5'' 8½" and weigh 174 pounds, which might be true if he were measured in his skates. Indeed, he might be the smallest defenseman in the league. Florida usually hides him on the third defense pair, at least until it has a power play. Then the spotlight shines on a surprisingly able quarterback, an indispensable asset in a league that seemingly has become more about special teams than the NFL. Murphy might not have a Sheldon Souray slapshot, but he has wonderful vision and creativity. He moves the puck smartly into the proper areas. While he is sometimes slow making decisions with the puck five-on-five -- he had grown accustomed to the larger international ice surfaces -- the extra time and room that the former Colgate University blueliner has on the power play allows him to practice the art that he nurtured in the Finnish and Swiss leagues the past six seasons. (The comparisons to Detroit's Brian Rafalski are misleading. Although the thick-legged, smallish Rafalski developed professionally in Finland after a U.S. college career, he is markedly stronger and a superior defender to Murphy.)

Murphy scored at least 11 goals while playing the truncated European schedule the past five years, a total that the Panthers' free-agent steal could match in the NHL. "Even if he plays against the third and fourth lines," says Florida assistant coach Mike Kitchen, "that's going to open up some offensive opportunities for him."

5. Trevor Timmins, Montreal Canadiens director of player recruitment and development. Maybe Timmins looks this good because the bar was set so low by the occasionally embarrassing Canadiens' drafting of the past two decades. (In 1992, Montreal drafted Kelli Corpse. After a run of stiffs, it was nice to see the Canadiens choose an actual Corpse.) While his track record can't compare with Conte's or the estimable job that assistant general manager David McNab and hockey operations director Bob Murray do for general manager Brian Burke in Anaheim, the anonymous Timmins has been doing some creditable spade work in rebuilding a Canadiens infrastructure that finally includes younger players with significant upside, especially first-line winger Christopher Higgins and defenseman Mike Komisarek.

Timmins drafted four NHL-worthy players in 2003 (including defenseman/forward Mark Streit at No. 262), four in 2004 (assuming defenseman Alexei Yemelin ever leaves Russia) and another four in 2005, including, with the No. 5 overall pick, goalie Carey Price, the rookie who might prove to be the home run that the Canadiens last hit when they took Roy. Despite public pressure to take hometown star Angelo Esposito, a forward whose stock plummeted in the draft, Montreal coolly picked defenseman Ryan McDonagh, Minnesota's 2007 Mr. Hockey. Although it was widely panned locally, personnel men around the NHL have praised McDonagh's selection, at No. 12.