Johnson, Pushor Selected by Thrashers

Congratulations, Matt Johnson and Jamie Pushor. You are now Atlanta Thrashers. The King enforcer and the Mighty Duck defenseman were two of the players the NHL’s newest team plucked from 26 existing teams in Friday’s expansion draft at Boston.

The Thrashers also picked up . . . well, you would have to be an NHL scout to recognize some of the players. Defenseman Petr Buzek of Dallas, left wing Phil Crowe of Ottawa and right wing Alexei Yegorov of San Jose--any of those names ring a bell?

Atlanta selected goaltenders Trevor Kidd of Carolina (later traded to Ottawa), Norm Maracle of Detroit and Corey Schwab of Tampa Bay, passing on more experienced veterans such as Grant Fuhr of St. Louis and Ron Tugnutt of Ottawa.

About the most recognizable name among the 26 Thrashers is Hull. But it’s not Brett Hull. Try Jody Hull, a right wing from Philadelphia.

The Thrashers made several additional personnel moves after the expansion draft. Most noticeable was the acquisition of defenseman Ulf Samuelsson from Detroit for future considerations.

So much for the veterans. The Thrashers join the rest of the teams in selecting from the world’s top 18-year-olds in today’s entry draft. The Thrashers have the second pick behind Tampa Bay.

The Kings don’t have a first-round pick, having sent the eighth overall selection to the New York Islanders as part of the Ziggy Palffy trade. The Kings have a compensatory pick in the second round, three third-round picks and two fourth-round picks.

The Ducks, who learned this week they lost free agent right wing Tomas Sandstrom to a Swedish club team, pick 15th overall. Sandstrom, 34, had 15 goals and 32 points in 58 games for the Ducks last season.

Unlike recent entry drafts, there is some uncertainty as to the No. 1 pick.

“I’ve got a guy picked out, but I won’t say who it is,” Tampa Bay General Manager Rick Dudley told a Tampa reporter earlier this week.

There’s a good chance it will be Czech center Patrik Stefan, who played last season for the Ice Dogs and is the top-rated player in the entry draft by the NHL’s central scouting service.

But questions about Stefan’s health after he suffered a season-ending concussion have opened the door to other possibilities. The Hockey News ranked Czech right wing Pavel Brendl and Swedish left wing Daniel Sedin ahead of Stefan. Sedin’s twin, Henrik, is fourth-ranked.

“As far as I know, he’s fine,” said King General Manager Dave Taylor, who scouted Stefan often last season. “I think because it was Patrik Stefan and he’s only 18, they didn’t want to take any chances and rush him back.”

But, Taylor quickly added, “If I was picking high, I’d ask for the doctor’s reports.”

Pierre Gauthier, Duck president and general manager, was his usual cagey self in the days leading up to the draft. “We won’t tell anyone who we’re going to pick because we don’t know yet,” he said.

The Ducks have made a habit of picking European players in the first round. They have done so in three consecutive drafts, selecting Russian defenseman Vitali Vishnevsky fifth overall last year.

“A good player is a good player,” Gauthier said. “We don’t think of them as being different [from North American players].”

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Expansion Draft

Players selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the NHL expansion draft Friday:

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PLAYER P TEAM Kelly Buchberger F Edmonton Petr Buzek D Dallas Brett Clark D Montreal Sylvain Cloutier F Chicago Phil Crowe F Ottawa Kevin Dean D New Jersey Peter Ferraro F Boston Maxim Galanov D Pittsburgh Johan Garpenlov F Florida David Harlock D N.Y. Islanders Jody Hull F Philadelphia Matt Johnson F Kings Tomi Kallio F Colorado Trevor Kidd G Carolina Norm Maracle G Detroit Jamie Pushor D Ducks Corey Schwab G Tampa Bay Darryl Shannon D Buffalo Steve Staios F Vancouver Mike Stapleton F Phoenix Chris Tamer D N.Y. Rangers Mark Tinordi D Washington Yannick Tremblay D Toronto Ed Ward F Calgary Terry Yake F St. Louis Alexei Yegorov F San Jose

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