Ducks Take Delight With Draft of Kilger : Hockey: Anaheim gets its center of choice, among other prospects, after defensemen go 1-2-3.

The Mighty Ducks, looking to get bigger on the forward lines, took advantage of an early run on defensemen to pick up Chad Kilger and two more top-30 prospects with their first three picks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft Saturday in Edmonton.

Kilger, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound center, was rated third in the final Central Scouting Bureau report, but the Ducks were able to grab him with the fourth pick overall after Ottawa (Bryan Berard), the New York Islanders (Wade Redden) and the Kings (Aki-Petteri Berg) went for defensemen.

“When you get the guy you wanted all along [Kilger], it starts the day off right,” Mighty Ducks director of player personnel David McNab said from the Edmonton Coliseum. “From start to finish, this group has a great deal of size, skill and strength. We are very pleased with this group of young prospects.”

Those prospects include right wing Brian Wesenberg (6-3, 173) and left wing Mike Leclerc (6-1, 205), both rated among the CSB’s top 30.

Kilger, who scored 42 goals, added 53 assists and had 95 penalty minutes last season with the Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League, gives the Ducks someone large to project on a scoring line with Paul Kariya, the Ducks’ first pick in the 1993 draft.

Scouting reports indicate Kilger has good skills in front of the net and is a strong playmaker out of the corner. Throw in size and speed and one can see what Coach Ron Wilson has in mind.

“We need a big skilled center man to play with Paul Kariya,” Wilson said from the floor of the draft after the pick was made. “We need people in the middle who can make plays.”

Wesenberg, rated 17th in the final CSB report, has the most room for growth, which is quite a statement for an 18-year-old.

According to scouting reports, Wesenberg, taken with the 29th pick overall, isn’t quite able to play a physical game just yet. Still, he had 17 goals and 27 assists with 81 penalty minutes for the Guelph Storm of the OHL last season. Given some time to develop, scouts expect him to be there when the game gets physical.

Leclerc, who had 25 goals and 44 assists while playing for the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars and Brandon Wheat Kings, has the size and is willing to get his nose dirty (128 PIM) in the corners. The knock on the 18-year-old left wing is his lack of speed.

That must be addressed before Leclerc, the 55th pick overall, makes the jump from juniors to the NHL.

Beyond the third round, NHL executives draft with diminished expectations for each player taken. Still, the Ducks stayed with size on the forward lines as their theme through the sixth round.

Having long since traded their fourth-round pick to Colorado, the Ducks had to wait until the fifth round to take right wing Igor Nikulin with the 107th pick overall. Nikulin, 6-1, 190 pounds, played with Cherepovets in Russia last season.

Paul Leboutillier, a 6-1, 198-pound right wing from the Red Deer Rebels of the WHL, went to the Ducks in the sixth round (144th pick overall).

Leboutillier (27 goals, 16 assists, 159 PIM) originally was the Islanders’ sixth-round pick in the 1993 draft. New York failed to sign him and he was placed back in the player pool.

The Ducks dipped into that pool to take defenseman Mike LaPlante (6-0 1/2, 185) in the seventh round with the 159th pick overall. LaPlante played last season with the Calgary Royals of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. He will attend the University of Wisconsin this fall.

The Ducks used their final pick in the draft to take goaltender Igor Karpenko (5-8, 158 pounds) in the eighth round. They traded their second pick in the sixth round to St. Louis for the Blues’ sixth-round pick in the 1996 draft. The Ducks had no selection in the ninth round because of a prior trade with the Islanders.