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Sunday, June 24, 2001

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Yesterday was the day for smiles at the NHL Entry Draft. The day Ilya Kovalchuk donned the sweater of the Atlanta Thrashers and made history as the first Russian to go No. 1. The day R.J. Umberger made history as the first Western Pennsylvanian to go in the first round.

There were hugs and handshakes, kisses and backslaps all around.

Today will be decidedly different.

Today, nobody makes the glorious walk to the stage and podium to be greeted by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman or their new employers. Nobody has to fight their way through a slew of microphones or cameras. Nobody hears the cheers of the crowd. It starts with Round 4 at 9 a.m. today and it continues until Round 9 is complete, roughly 5 p.m.

And as the draft nears its end comes the saddest sight of all, the suit-and-tie teen-agers still sitting in the stands, still waiting for their call to the NHL. The parents, not daring to show they’ve lost faith in their child, usually stick it out, too. They don’t cringe or flinch with each name that is announced, but they seem to sink a bit lower in their seats.

At this point, most clubs are using their ninth-round picks to take high-risk Europeans, almost none of whom attend the event. Last year in Calgary, this practice prompted one angry father to stand and yell toward the draft tables, “At least take somebody who cared enough to show up!”

Then come the final picks ... 287 ... then 288 ... then only one is left.

The name of another faceless player is called out, and the show is over. The parents usually lean over to embrace the child, and the family rises slowly to leave. Usually there are about two dozen or so families who exist in this fashion.

Of course, most of these players will end up with tryout contracts or minor-league deals. And many of them actually will make it to the NHL. But for this one day, that figures to be small solace.

Icy chips

If Mario Lemieux is serious about topping Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals -- and there is no reason to doubt him -- he had better find himself some big-time playmaking wingers. Assuming he fulfills his expectation of playing one season in the Penguins’ new arena, he would play through the 2005-06 campaign. That gives him five more years and has him playing until he’s 40. He has 648 goals, meaning he would need to average 49.4 goals per year the rest of the way.

Don’t look for too many players taken yesterday to appear in the NHL next season. The first round of 2000 produced only five players who appeared in a game this past season: No. 1 overall pick Rick DiPietro with the Islanders, No. 3 Marian Gaborik with the Wild, No. 4 Rostislav Klesla with the Blue Jackets, No. 6 Scott Hartnell with the Predators and No. 28 Justin Williams with the Flyers. And of those, the one who came closest to making an impact on his team was Gaborik, who led Minnesota in scoring with 36 points.

Rob Blake’s agent is starting to make noises that his client might try unrestricted free agency if the Avalanche don’t give him a huge offer. That means $10 million a year.

Scott Bowman announced at the draft yesterday the formation of the NHL Coaches Association. It’s not a union, but it will allow the coaches to improve pensions, benefits and marketing rights. The NHL is the last of the four major leagues to have such a coalition. Bowman will be president.

Jeremy Roenick plans to test unrestricted free agency July 1. He is angry with the Coyotes’ recent wave of cost-cutting measures and wants no part of any rebuilding process. He said the teams he is targeting are the Red Wings, Kings, Stars and Flyers. Roenick, 31, had 30 goals and 46 assists last season. He is expected to seek a salary of $7 million to $8 million.

Cliff Fletcher had an easy time defending all his trades and salary dumps in Phoenix: “The bottom line is this team was never very good. There has not been a first-round playoff win in 14 years. Where are the results? There are no results.”

Latest S.O.S. for hockey in Alberta: The province tried to come up with a sports lottery that would benefit -- equally -- the Flames and Oilers. But the initial plan, which was to net $5 million for each club, was whittled down to a total of $2 million. That figure won’t even allow the Flames to cover Brad Werenka’s salary.

What were the Thrashers trying to accomplish by sending mixed signals to No. 1 pick Ilya Kovalchuk? They spent most of the week entertaining offers for the choice and didn’t acknowledge Kovalchuk was the best player until calling his name yesterday. When Russian scouts proclaim he might be the best player in that country’s history, why not give him a vote of confidence?

Word on the floor yesterday is that it no longer is a matter of if the Sabres will trade Dominik Hasek. It’s when.

The Flyers and Red Wings were working on a deal to swap Eric Lindros for Brendan Shanahan and Slava Kozlov, but a no-trade clause in Shanahan’s contract has either stalled or killed the proposal.

Not all of those late-round stories have unhappy endings, by the way. The final pick of the 1993 draft was a Swedish kid named Hans Jonsson. Just goes to show that nice guys really do finish last.

Dejan Kovacevic can be reached at dkovacevic@ post-gazette.com.