Kings’ Defenseman Is Big, but Ducks’ Is a Big Surprise

The Mighty Ducks followed their recent NHL draft-day method of operation Saturday, which is to say they picked a player no one in the arena knew from Adam.

Bursts of applause from a crowd of 10,000 at Marine Midland Arena followed the announcements of other first-round picks, but the silence was deafening when the Ducks selected defenseman Vitaly Vishnevsky, 18, from Kharkov, Ukraine.

Vitaly who?

General Manager Jack Ferreira insisted Vishnevsky was the best player available when the Ducks picked fifth overall.

“He plays with a real edginess,” Ferreira said. “He’s a guy with an ingredient we need within our organization.”

The rest of the draft went just about as expected. Tampa Bay selected center Vincent Lecavalier from Rimouski of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League first overall.

The Kings used their first-round pick to select 6-foot-6 defenseman Mathieu Biron from Shawinigan of the QMJHL. Biron was ranked seventh by the Central Scouting Service among skaters, but dropped into the Kings’ lap at No. 21 overall.

“We ranked him one of the top 12 and we feel fortunate to get him,” King General Manager Dave Taylor said. “We’ve been in a building process since [Wayne] Gretzky left [2 1/2 years ago]. We’re starting to get some youth, size and strength in our organization.”

Nashville and San Jose provided some early excitement, swapping first-round picks.

The Predators moved up to No. 2 overall and the Sharks dropped to third. Nashville then selected center David Legwand from Plymouth of the Ontario Hockey League and San Jose took defenseman Brad Stuart from Regina of the Western Hockey League.

In a move involving one of the best offensive defensemen in history, the Philadelphia Flyers traded veteran Paul Coffey, 37, to the Chicago Blackhawks for a fifth-round choice. Coffey immediately agreed to a two-year contract with the Blackhawks.

The Vancouver Canucks selected defenseman Bryan Allen from Oshawa of the OHL, fourth overall, and it appeared everything was set for the Ducks to take well-regarded center Manny Malhotra from Guelph of the OHL fifth overall.

Malhotra, Allen, Stuart and forward Mark Bell traveled to Anaheim for informal interviews and trips to Disneyland in the last few weeks.

Instead, the Ducks opted for Vishnevsky, who has an aggressive style of play that has been compared to that of Darius Kasparaitis. He has also been described by a scout as “a loose cannon.”

Picking a European shouldn’t have come as a surprise, although according to many sources around the league the Ducks would be better off with more players from Moose Jaw than Moscow.

It’s the fourth time in six drafts they have gone for a European in the first round. Three of the four have been defensemen.

The results have been mixed, with Oleg Tverdovsky (second overall in 1994) and Ruslan Salei (ninth overall in 1996) advancing to the NHL. The Ducks traded Tverdovsky to get Teemu Selanne from Winnipeg in 1996. Salei was among the Ducks’ best defensemen last season.

But last year’s first-round pick, Mikael Holmqvist of Sweden, has not yet signed a contract with the Ducks. Holmqvist, a center, had only two goals and five points in 41 games for his Swedish club team last season.

“I didn’t know that,” Ferreira said when asked about his habit of picking Europeans in the first round. “Believe me, that’s a total coincidence.”

Vishnevsky, speaking through an interpreter, said he expects to play junior-level hockey in Russia again next season.

“My thoughts are that I could come to North America right away, but in order to improve my skills I need to play in Russia one more year,” said Vishnevsky, who had 15 goals and 22 points in 60 games for his Russian club team, Yaroslavl 2.

Vishnevsky, 6-foot-1 and 187 pounds, also was the youngest player for Russia at the 1998 World Junior championships in Finland. Ferreira saw him play in person at the European Junior championships in Sweden.

“I’m very strong physically, a tough player, a good shooter,” Vishnevsky said when asked to assess his strengths. “The offensive game is very successful and the power play specifically.”

Asked about his weaknesses, he added, “Actually, everything needs much improvement, but my slap shot specifically.”

The knock against the Kings’ Biron is that he’s not physical enough--at least that was Biron’s opinion of himself.

“When I was young, playing pee-wee, you couldn’t check other guys,” Biron said. “When I’d touch them, they’d just fall down and I’d go to the penalty box. So that’s why maybe I’m not so tough now.”

Biron is expected to spend another season playing junior-level hockey at Shawinigan.

“He’s a project,” Taylor said. “He’s a couple of years away from playing in L.A. He’s come a long way. He was only in his first year of junior this year. These guys are probably three years down the road [from playing in the NHL].”

In the second round, the Ducks selected another physical defenseman and the Kings took a crafty, although smallish, forward.

The Ducks drafted Stephen Peat, who had 189 penalty minutes in 63 games for Red Deer of the Western Hockey League.

“Vitaly is a higher-skilled player. Peat has a stay-at-home defensive style,” Ferreira said when asked to compare Peat to Vishnevsky.

The Kings picked Justin Papineau, a 5-10 1/2 center who had 41 goals and 94 points in 66 games for Belleville of the OHL.

“He might really turn into a home run for us,” Taylor said. “His drawback is his size and strength right now. He’s only 160 pounds.”

NHL Notes

Former Chicago Blackhawk coach Craig Hartsburg told the Chicago Tribune he expects to have a second interview with Mighty Duck General Manager Jack Ferreira this week. Hartsburg and Butch Goring, coach of the International Hockey League’s Utah Grizzlies, are believed to be the favorites to replace Pierre Page as Duck coach. Ferreira said he plans to interview former King coach Barry Melrose and Ice Dog Coach John VanBoxmeer later this week.

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DUCK PICKS

NO. 1 PICK

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Player Ht. Wt. P Vitaly Vishnevsky 6-1 187 D

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The book on Vishnevsky: Played last season with Yaroslavl 2 in the Russian Junior League. He is regarded as a well-rounded defenseman with a mean streak, which is just what the Ducks need. He’s an excellent skater and excels on the power play. He had 15 goals and 22 points in 60 games last season. However, he said he expects to continue sharpening his skills in Russia next season. Continues a pattern of European picks in the first round by the Ducks. Vishnevsky was the fifth overall selection.

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THE REST *--*

Rd. Player P From 2. Stephen Peat D Western 3. No pick* 4. Viktor Wallin D Sweden 5. No pick** 6. Trent Hunter RW WHL 7. Jesse Fibiger D Minn.-Duluth 8. David Bernier RW Quebec 9. Pelle Prestberg W Sweden 9. Andreas Andersson G Sweden

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* Traded to Colorado for Scott Young

** Compensation to Calgary for hiring coach Pierre Page.

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KING PICKS

NO. 1 PICK *--*

Player Ht. Wt. P Mathieu Biron 6-6 212 D

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The book on Biron: Played last season for Shawinigan fo the Quebec Major League. Scouts say he’s a good skater and very agile for a player his size. He has strong puckhandling skills and is regarded as an accurate passer. Biron said he needs to play more aggressively and to use his size more to his advantage. He had eight goals and 36 points in 59 games last season. His older brother, Martin, plays in the Buffalo Sabres’ organization. Biron was the 21st overall selection.

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THE REST *--*

Rd. Player P From 2. Justin Papineau C Ontario 3. Alexy Volkov G Russian Jr. 4. Kip Brennan D Ontario 5. Joe Rullier D Quebec 6. Tomas Zizka D Czech 7. Tommi Hannus C Finland 8. Jim Henkel C New England 9. Matthew Yeats G Montreal

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