Ducks Get a Peek at Potential Prospects

ANAHEIM — Three big, friendly youngsters stood in a conference room at Anaheim Arena on Wednesday, greeting the cameras and casting glances at the Mighty Ducks’ logo.

In a little more than a week, one of those 18-year-olds could become the first Duck selected in the NHL entry draft.

The Ducks will get their first players in the expansion draft next Thursday in Quebec City. Except for some quality goaltenders, many of the players available will be NHL backups and castoffs, fringe players and players who are too old or overpaid.

Those players will be next year’s team, but one of the keys to the long-term future of the franchise lies in the June 26 entry draft, which is where defenseman Chris Pronger and centers Chris Gratton and Rob Niedermayer come in.

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau ranks them Nos. 2, 3 and 4 in the draft behind presumed No. 1 choice Alexandre Daigle of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Victoriaville Tigres. He will almost certainly go to the Ottawa Senators, barring a trade.

The Ducks--who will toss a coin with the Florida Panthers and pick either fourth or fifth--are expected to take either fifth-rated Paul Kariya or one of the three who were brought to Anaheim for physicals and interviews.

Kariya, a left wing who led Maine to the NCAA Division I title and won the Hobey Baker Award as U.S. college hockey’s best player this year, did not make the trip because accepting travel expenses would be a violation of NCAA rules, and he might return to Maine for another season.

The others, who all played juniors this season in the Canadian Hockey League--which comprises the Quebec, Ontario and Western leagues--are being flown to various cities by teams with high picks as they wait out the last few days before the draft.

“It’s out of my hands now,” said Gratton, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound center who had a 109-point season for the Kingston Frontenacs. “I spent some sleepless nights trying to picture where I was going to go.”

Pronger, a towering defenseman who is almost 6-6, also has to wait and see.

“Any of the five expansion teams would be a great place to play,” said Pronger of the OHL’s Peterborough Petes. “Everything right now is out of our control.”

Niedermayer, a 6-2, 200-pound center who is an exceptionally fast skater, has the advantage of the experience of his older brother, New Jersey Devil defenseman Scott Niedermayer, who was taken third overall in 1991.

“It’s a big advantage to have seen what he went through,” said Niedermayer of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers. “I was able to have a warning about all the pressure of your draft year.”

Pierre Gauthier, who is the Ducks’ assistant general manager and will take the lead with General Manager Jack Ferreira on the team’s entry draft selections, says he isn’t being coy when he says the team will be happy with any one of the four players. The Ducks will choose behind Ottawa, San Jose, Tampa Bay and possibly Florida, depending on the coin toss.

“When you look at kids 17, 18 years old, you look at two things: One is talent, the second is character,” Gauthier said. “Some have more talent and less character. Some have more character and less talent.

“We see people here who have a lot of talent and show a lot of leadership and character. Whoever we get, we’ll get a very strong person with a lot of talent and a lot of character.”

Whoever he is, the Ducks’ first pick quite possibly won’t play in the NHL next year, but might play on a lower level such as in juniors or, in Kariya’s case, college or even the Canadian Olympic team.

“I hope they don’t play (in the NHL),” Gauthier said. “I strongly believe that kids at 18, unless they’re really ready, should not play in the National Hockey League. Their development, physical and mental, should go on at a level where they can dominate. I’m not saying they won’t (play in the NHL next year). But I assure you that is not a factor in our evaluation, whether they will play next year. We’re getting a player for what they’re going to do between the ages of 20 and 30.”

They’re still practically kids, after all. As if to confirm that, Gratton spoke up about the trio’s afternoon plans. They were going to Disneyland.

“We’re going to go check out some rides,” he said.