 |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
|||||||||||
|
That's Staal, folks Carolina takes Francis-like center with No. 2 pickPosted: Saturday June 21, 2003 5:27 PMUpdated: Saturday June 21, 2003 9:55 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- The Carolina Hurricanes hope Eric Staal lives up to his billing as the next Ron Francis. Carolina selected Staal out of the Ontario Hockey League with its top pick and second overall in the NHL Draft on Saturday. He is the franchise's highest pick since the former Hartford Whalers selected Chris Pronger second in 1993. "Based on what he's done so far in his young hockey career it's not unrealistic to think that he'll have big production in the National Hockey League," Carolina general manager Jim Rutherford said. "We like everything about him. This is almost like us winning the lottery. He's a big guy with great character and with a high skill level." Rutherford said he had no interest in moving up in the draft to get the top pick from Florida. Pittsburgh did and took goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. "For the future of our franchise Eric Staal was the best fit for us," Rutherford said. "If we would have been picking first overall Staal would have been the guy we were taking. There are a lot of good players in this draft, but in our view Eric Staal has the biggest upside." The 6-foot-3 center had 39 goals and 59 assists last season in 66 games in junior hockey and was rated as the top overall player in the draft by NHL Central Scouting. Staal could be a perfect fit to replace the aging Francis when he retires. Francis, fifth all-time with 1,758 career points, will be 41 in March and is in the final year of a two-year contract. "I don't want to compare any player to anyone," Rutherford said. "Ron Francis has had a great career. He's heading to the Hall of Fame and for us to start tagging a name to Eric Staal would be unfair. But he's certainly coming in with great credentials and he will be an exceptional player for us." Staal doesn't mind the comparison to one of hockey's greatest playmakers. "Being compared to him is pretty cool for me, but I know I am a long way away," Staal said. "I feel really comfortable at center, being able to roam the ice and do your thing." Carolina also made a trade more than an hour before taking Staal, sending defensemen David Tanabe and Igor Knyazev -- both former first-round draft picks -- to Phoenix for defenseman Danny Markov and a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2004. The Hurricanes finished last in the NHL in goals this past season, so Staal will get a long look in September. "We're going to bring him to camp and follow his progress," Rutherford said. "We won't rule it out, but he's very young and we'll be very careful with his development. The last five No. 1 overall picks jumped straight to the NHL. "I would love to play (in the NHL) next year," Staal said. "I know it's a huge step from juniors, but I am going to work as hard as I can and do my best in camp. It should be a lot of fun and I'm going to soak in as much as I can." Staal's main goal in the next few months will be to get stronger. Carolina hopes the center can eventually add 20 to 30 pounds of muscle to his 182-pound frame. "I know I can improve on that and that's what I'm going to do this summer," he said. Carolina also had the first pick in the second round, 31st overall, and took University of Michigan defenseman Danny Richmond. Richmond is on the small side at 6-0, 175, but plays with a mean streak, something that caught the eye of the Carolina scouts. "Despite his size, he's on the tougher, gritty side -- a lot of the things you look for in a defenseman," Rutherford said. Rutherford said Richmond will likely return to the Wolverines for further development. He had 22 points in 43 games in his first season there last year. Carolina has nine picks in Sunday's second day of the draft, including three in the fourth round. |
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||
