Few surprises at the top
Lecavalier, Legwand go 1-2 in NHL draft
Posted: Sunday June 28, 1998 12:06 AM
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The 6-foot-4, 180 pound Lecavalier from Rimouski Oceanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League was the No. 1 pick in the draft (AP) |
BUFFALO, New York (CNN/SI) -- The top four picks of Saturday's
NHL Entry Draft went according to plan.
Vincent Lecavalier, David Legwand, Brad Stuart and Bryan Allen were taken 1-4 as expected.
But from the fifth selection on down there were plenty of surprises -- showing a wide disparity in thinking between the NHL's Central Scouting Service and the teams' individual scouts.
"After the [first few picks], it was very unpredictable," Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Gauthier said.
Except for the expansion Nashville Predators trading positions with the San Jose Sharks to grab Legwand, trading activity was pretty uneventful.
The Philadelphia Flyers' Paul Coffey was involved in one of the few
significant deals of the day when he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for a
fifth-round draft choice.
"Paul can still skate," Blackhawks general manager Bob Murray
said of the 37-year-old 14-time All-Star defenseman. "He can carry the puck
out of his own zone. He has proven to be excellent with younger players. It was
an opportunity for us to get a guy who can help us immediately."
Defense was a high priority in the first round with teams
picking up 11 blue liners of the 27 players selected.
The 6-foot-4, 180-pound Lecavalier from the Quebec Major Junior
Hockey League's Rimouski Oceanic went No. 1 overall as expected.
Right behind him was Legwand, a center from the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers
who was also ranked No. 2 behind Lecavalier in the season's rankings.
The next two picks also went pretty much according to form, with
San Jose selecting Stuart from the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League -- the
first defenseman taken in the draft -- and the Vancouver Canucks picking
defenseman Allen from the OHL's Oshawa Generals. Allen was rated No. 3 by
Central Scouting and Stuart No. 4.
With the No. 2 pick, the expansion Predators picked Legwand, a center from the Ontario Hockey League's Plymouth Whalers (AP) | |
After that, the teams were pretty much all over the map in
relation to the CSS rankings.
With the No. 5 overall pick, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks came up
with Russian defenseman Vitaly Vishnevsky, the No. 2-rated
European. Dimitri Kalinin, a Russian defenseman rated No. 1 among
Europeans, wasn't selected until the No. 18 pick by the Buffalo
Sabres.
Mathieu Biron, a defenseman from the QMJHL's Shawinigan Cataractes rated
seventh by CSS, lasted until the 21st pick when he was selected by the Los Angeles Kings.
Among other first-round surprises: Mark Bell, a left wing from
the OHL, rated No. 16 in North America by the CSS, was the overall
No. 8 pick by the Chicago Blackhawks; Michael Rupp, rated No. 23,
was the No. 9 pick by the New York Islanders; Nikolai Antropov, the
No. 17-rated European, was the No. 10 pick by the Toronto Maple
Leafs; and Jiri Fischer, a defenseman from the QMJHL rated No. 9,
was the No. 25 pick by the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.
Even though Lecavalier pretty much knew he would be the No. 1
pick, he said he was nervous until his name was called.
"When your name is being called, it is the best part," he
said.
Despite his recognition as the best amateur hockey player in
North America, Lecavalier wasn't sure about his status with the
Lightning.
"We are going to have to see at camp," the 18-year-old star said when asked if he
expected to make the team right away. "I never went against guys in the NHL, so I
guess I'm going to have to see.
"I'm going to do my best. I'm going to hope for the best. ...
If I feel I'm not good enough, then I think it would be better off
to play junior and improve."
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The Sharks picked the first defenseman of the draft in Brad Stuart, who played for the Regina Pats in the Western Hockey League (AP) |
Legwand, meanwhile, saw a real opportunity for himself playing
with an expansion team.
"It's going to be a lot of hard work this summer, a lot of
working out," Legwand said. "Hopefully, I can step in next year."
The Colorado Avalanche had four picks in the first round,
drafting center Alex Tanguay from the QMJHL with the No. 12 pick;
defenseman Martin Skoula of the OHL with No. 17; defenseman Robyn
Regehr of the WHL with No. 19 and defenseman
Scott Parker from the WHL with No. 20.
Generally considered a weak draft for goaltenders, Patrick
Desrochers of the Sarnia Sting of the OHL was the first goalie picked on Saturday when
he went No. 14 to the Phoenix Coyotes. Ottawa picked goaltender Mathieu Chouinard, who played in the
QMJHL last year, with the next selection. They were the only goalies selected in the first round.
Other first-round picks:
Rico Fata, a center from the OHL, was selected No. 6 pick by the
Calgary Flames; Manny Malhotra, a center from the OHL, went No. 7
to the New York Rangers; Jeff Heerema, a right wing from the OHL,
was picked No. 11 by the Carolina Hurricanes and right wing Michael Henrich from
the OHL was selected No. 13 by the Edmonton Oilers.
Also, the Montreal Canadiens selected center Eric Chouinard of the QMJHL with
the No. 16 pick; Philadelphia went with center Simon Gagne of the
QMJHL with No. 22; Pittsburgh followed with center Milan Kraft of
the Czech Republic; the St. Louis Blues took Swedish defenseman Christian
Bachman; and the New Jersey Devils tabbed defenseman Mike Van Ryn and center
Scott Gomez. Van Ryn, a Canadian, played for the University of
Michigan and Gomez in the WHL last season.
Some familiar names came up in the draft when Montreal picked
Chouinard in the first round, Colorado picked Philippe Sauve in the
second and Calgary picked Shaun Sutter in the fourth. All are sons
of former NHL players, Guy Choinard, Bob Sauve and Brian Sutter.
The draft wound up when Philadelphia made Russian defenseman
Sergei Skrobat the 258th pick in the ninth round, capping nearly 10
hours of activity at the Marine Midland Arena.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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