INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE NOTEBOOK / DANA HADDAD : Scoring Ability Makes Gulls’ Kvartalnov Attractive in NHL Draft

When Dmitri Kvartalnov first stepped on American soil last fall to play hockey for the Gulls, he could not speak a word of English. But he figured the accent he puts on his offensive game could be translated by NHL scouts.

The Russian forward scored 60 goals in 77 games to lead the IHL. He added 58 assists, which gave him a league-best 118 points. He was both the IHL’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player.

Along the way, Kvartalnov has learned a few English words and some important dates.

“June 20 . . . NHL draft,” the normally stoic Kvartalnov would say with a smile and a wink late in the season.

The Americans in his company would smile, wink in response.

Today is June 20.

Kvartalnov is at home in Voskresensk in the Commonwealth of Independent States, awaiting a call from his New York agent and word of his next business address. It’s likely to be New York (Rangers), Detroit, Edmonton or Minnesota.

“I think it’ll be one of those four teams because they have shown the most interest and they all have Russian players, which is a key,” said Don Waddell, the Gulls’ vice president of hockey operations and Kvartalnov’s former coach. “I’d be surprised if he doesn’t go in the mid-second round.”

No Gull was selected in the in Thursday’s expansion draft by the Ottawa Senators or the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many will show up in NHL camps as free agents.

NHL scouts are concerned about Kvartalnov’s age (26), toughness and durability and the fact he doesn’t play much defense. But they consider his scoring ability rare.

“I would take Dmitri in the late first round, because there’s not any player out there that can score you 30 to 40 goals,” said veteran winger Robbie Nichols, Kvartalnov’s line mate last season. “If he’s there when Detroit picks second, he’s going to Detroit. They watched 20 of his games; they sent all of their brass out to see him. They know how good he is.”

The Red Wings have the 22nd pick in the first round and, barring a trade today, will also choose 22nd in the second round, which is second to last. The Oilers choose 13th in the first round and the Rangers last at 24th. The North Stars, having given their 10th pick in the first round to San Jose, won’t draft until the second round.

There are those who are not high on the 5-10, 175-pounder. Hartford Whalers’ General Manager Brian Burke told USA Today: “He needs a compass and a road map to find his own end of the rink,” criticizing his defense. Thanks to his 60 goals, Kvartalnov had a plus-minus rating of plus-14 with the Gulls.

“He certainly is an interesting player,” said Les Jackson, North Stars director of player personnel. “I’m not concerned about his defense at all. He’s a very talented scorer and he’s immediate help. But he’s not a long-term investment. He might play four or five years, which is the average.

“He’s got to make a club right away; the future is now. I don’t know who really likes him, and I don’t know where he’ll fall.”

This year’s coach: The Gulls plan to hire their third coach in three years around July 1. The man conducting the hunt for the second year in a row is Waddell, who named himself coach last year when he could not find a satisfactory replacement for Mike O’Connell. Former Buffalo Sabres Coach Rick Dudley, former New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs head man Doug Carpenter and Rob Laird, coach of the American Hockey League’s Baltimore Skipjacks, are the front-runners.

But Waddell, attending league meeting in Montreal, said he expects to talk to other candidates after he draft. Carpenter is a long shot, he said, and Gull assistant coach Charlie Simmer is still being considered. Simmer’s two-year contract with the Gulls expired May 31. Waddell said he’s leery of hiring a guy with no head-coaching experience, and Simmer has none.

“I’m presently unemployed, but I’ve talked to Donnie and (owner Fred Comrie),” Simmer said. “I’ve had good feedback, but nothing concrete. I’m confident in my ability and I contributed a lot last year. So, if it’s not here, then someplace else.”

Simmer, the former King who dabbles in real estate here in the off-season, is also talking to the Kings’ IHL-affiliate Phoenix Roadrunners, along with several clubs in the resurrected Central Hockey League.

IHL coast-to-coast: The IHL’s decision to realign into two conferences and four three-team divisions Thursday is another indication that it is becoming professional hockey’s top farm league. Ten years ago, the league’s geographic influence didn’t reach beyond the Great Lakes, with four teams in Michigan, and others in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin.

With the Muskegon franchise moving to Cleveland and new teams in Atlanta and Cincinnati, the IHL has not only moved into three major markets but has expanded coast-to-coast.

“It’s very positive,” Waddell said. “For once the league is looking at the future. It is easier to expand when you have three teams in each league.”

Cities interested in future IHL franchises are Denver, Sacramento, Las Vegas and Charlotte, N.C.

Gulls well represented: Two Gulls players, Nichols and defenseman Alan Hepple, are also meeting in Montreal with the IHL Player Relations Committee. Nichols and Hepple, members of the five-man executive board, want concessions from the NHL collective bargaining agreement signed in April. They are asking for a portion of trading-card revenues and, for the eighth year in a row, are trying to hammer out a pension plan.

The IHL is the only professional minor league with a player relations board. The rewards for the approximately 600 players are medical and dental plans, disability insurance, meal money, paid travel to training camp and paid travel for players’ wives and children.

Nichols joked, “See, we’re not just dumb hockey players.”

One-liners: Public relations assistant Lisa Katz has left the Gulls for a similar position with Tampa Bay. . . . Winger Ron Duguay has been invited to try out for the Lightning, but only after friend and team general manager Phil Esposito asked him to be the team’s radio color announcer. Waddell said Duguay will be back with the Gulls if Tampa Bay doesn’t keep him. . . . Former Gulls play-by-play announcer Ron Oakes, replaced by Norm Ulrich last month, might also be in the running for a job in Tampa Bay. “I want to get myself relocated because I want to stay in the game,” he said. “I certainly don’t feel washed up. I think you know it when you are. I worked very hard to get hockey back here.” . . . Former Gull Coach O’Connell has his third job in three years, moving from Boston Bruins assistant to head coach at Providence of the American Hockey League.