NHL Draft : Kings Make Deal With North Stars, Wind Up With McBean

With a dose of last-minute wheeling and dealing, the Kings managed to pick the player they had longed for in the 1987 National Hockey League draft in Detroit Saturday, selecting defenseman Wayne McBean, a 6-foot-2, 185-pound junior with the Medicine Hat Tigers.

The selection of McBean was the result of late-hour discussions between King General Manager Rogie Vachon and North Star GM Lou Nanne.

The Kings had the sixth pick overall, but when No. 4 Minnesota was asked to declare, the North Stars called time out and soon announced they had transferred their pick to the Kings. The Kings gave the North Stars the sixth pick in the first round and the sixth pick in the third round.

The move was a coup for the Kings, who had wanted the highly rated McBean but were certain the defenseman would be gone by the sixth pick.

As expected, Buffalo selected center Pierre Turgeon first overall, and New Jersey selected center Brendan Shanahan second. The draft had been heavy with good defensemen, and the teams grabbed them. Eleven of the top 20 players picked were defensemen.

The surprise was when Boston, with the third pick overall, selected defenseman Glen Wesley. Wesley was rated No. 4 by the league’s Central Scouting Bureau, but McBean, at No. 6, was considered the best defenseman available. That opened the door for the Kings’ gambit.

“We had a conditional deal with Minnesota,” Vachon said, speaking via conference call to reporters here. “If Wesley was gone and McBean was still available, we’d switch. Minnesota was picking ahead of Pittsburgh, and we were afraid that Pittsburgh would take McBean (first).”

McBean, 18, has drawn praise from all quarters. Some scouts rated him the best player available at any position. He was the MVP of the Memorial Cup, the junior hockey championships, which Medicine Hat won.

McBean appears to be cast in the Paul Coffey mold. He’s an excellent skater, he carries the puck with skill and is big enough to hit and be hit.

McBean was one of four players the Kings brought to Los Angeles for a closer look. McBean had 53 points in 71 games with Medicine Hat.

“He’s got good hockey sense, he knows when to go into the play,” Vachon said. “He’s got all the skills, he’s going to score a lot of points for us.”

King Coach Mike Murphy, pressed to compare McBean to any NHL player, said: “He reminds me a little bit of myself, only this guy can skate and play hockey.”

Murphy and Vachon also likened McBean’s maturity and approach to hockey as similar to Jimmy Carson’s, the King rookie who, at 18, was the youngest player in the NHL last season.

McBean said his skating was his strength and that he wants to work on “everything else.”

Although both Vachon and Murphy thought the teen-ager has a chance to make the team, McBean was hesitant to claim a place.

“I’m not expecting to step in right now,” he said. “My attitude going into camp is to make the team. If I don’t, I won’t be disappointed. But I’ll give it my best effort.”

The Kings drafted another Medicine Hat player in the second round. They selected Mark Fitzpatrick, whom King goaltender coach Phil Myre called, “the goaltender of the future.” In the present, the Kings have six goaltenders under contract.

In the third round, the Kings got the big right winger they wanted when they drafted 6-3, 197-pound Ross Wilson. Wilson had 28 goals and 11 assists in 66 games with Peterborough last season.

Notes The New York Rangers picked 10th in the first round and plucked an obscure defenseman. After the murmuring died in Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena, it began to be clear why GM Phil Esposito chose Jayson More. Scouting reports on More read: “Likes to hit . . . plays a highly tough and physical game.” Another clue as to More’s usefulness--he’s had 217 penalty minutes in 64 games. . . . Mike Murphy said he believes that McBean will get bigger. “His older brother is 6-3, 245,” Murphy said. “Wayne will probably go to 6-2, 6-3, and 205 to 210. if he gets any fatter than that, it’ll be my problem.” . . . The Calgary Flames, already one of the biggest and most physical teams in the league, added two mammoth players to their roster. The Flames got the first college player of the draft, 6-3, 205-pound Bryan Beasley and picked up 6-4, 210-pound Kevin Grant in the second round.