Islanders Net an Impressive Gain

After making history on the first day of the NHL entry draft, the New York Islanders made waves that might be felt for years.

The Mighty Ducks and Kings, however, made picks that might not pay off for a while. With the 12th pick, the Ducks chose forward Alexei Smirnov, who spent most of last season with Tver of the Russian Division 1 League. With the 20th pick, the Kings took left wing Alexander Frolov, who had 40 points in 36 games with Yaroslavl 2 of the Russian Division 2 League. Both are expected to remain in Russia next season.

The Islanders used the top pick to claim Rick DiPietro of Boston University, the first goalie chosen first overall since the NHL instituted an amateur draft in 1969. General Manager Mike Milbury also traded goalie Kevin Weekes and prospect Kristian Kudroc to Tampa Bay for the fifth pick, which he used to obtain high-scoring left wing Raffi Torres of the Ontario Hockey League.

Continuing his transformation of a club that has missed the playoffs the last six seasons, Milbury traded center Olli Jokinen--acquired from the Kings a year ago--and goalie Roberto Luongo to Florida for wingers Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish. Milbury capped a whirlwind day by dealing 1997 first-round pick Eric Brewer, former King Josh Green and a second-round pick to Edmonton for All-Star defenseman Roman Hamrlik.

“We’ve been promising the future for a long time, and the future is close to arriving,” said Milbury, whose club got an infusion of cash and energy from new owners Charles Wang and Sanjay Kumar.

The key is DiPietro. The top-ranked goalie in North America, he was voted the best goalie at the world junior championships while playing for the U.S. DiPietro, 18, said he’s prepared to become the Islanders’ starter.

“It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s something I really want to jump into and handle,” he said.

In a draft that lacked stellar scorers but had depth, a record-tying 15 European players were chosen in the first round. Top-ranked North American prospect Dany Heatley of the University of Wisconsin went second, to the Atlanta Thrashers, Slovakian left wing Marian Gaborik was chosen third, by Minnesota, and Czech defenseman Rostislav Klesla went fourth, to Columbus.

The Ducks were delighted to obtain the 6-foot-3, 211-pound Smirnov, who was ranked third among European skaters. Reports say Smirnov has breakaway speed, a good shot and strength along the boards. “The thing we like most about Smirnov--and I’ll take DiPietro out of this statement--but when he’s on, when he’s playing his best game, it’s the best in all the draft,” General Manager Pierre Gauthier said.

He attributed Smirnov’s inconsistency last season to Smirnov having played the wing instead of his natural center position. Smirnov’s scoring totals with Tver were not available, but he had nine goals and 12 points in 27 games for Dynamo 2 of the Russian second division in 1998-99. He also had three goals and seven points in six games in the under-18 World Championships.

“In principle, I would like to play another year in the Super League in Russia,” Smirnov said through a translator. “But maybe there is a chance I will come to training camp in September, and after that, everything is to be determined.”

The Ducks, who had traded their second-round pick to Calgary for goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, dealt their third, fourth and fifth picks to Montreal for the Canadiens’ second-round pick, 44th overall. They used it on Russian Ilja Bryzgalov, ranked first among European goalies. He had a 1.36 goals-against average for Lada Togliatti of the Russian Elite League this season and excelled at the world junior championships, compiling tournament bests in goals-against average (0.77) and save percentage (.971) in four games.

“The upside [for both picks] is enormous,” Gauthier said. “There’s a reasonable chance Smirnov can be a first-line player down the line. There’s a reasonable chance Bryzgalov will be a number one goalie down the line. . . .

“I’m sure the fans will all say, ‘Hey, hey, how about next year? We want to win now.’ But today we didn’t have to give up anything to get these players.”

King General Manager Dave Taylor relied on his scouts in choosing the 6-3, 191-pound Frolov. “He has good speed and great hands, a good shot and he’s great around the net,” Taylor said. “With that big body, it helps him protect the puck. He needs to develop a little more strength. We had him higher than 20th on our list.”

Frolov will play for the Soviet Wings next season but has his sights set on Los Angeles. “I want to play in the NHL very much. It is my dream,” he said. “I want to win the Stanley Cup for the Los Angeles Kings. I hope after a couple of years I will be ready to play in the NHL.”

The Kings’ second-round pick, Swedish defenseman Andreas Lilja, has a chance to make the club next season. Lilja, who will be 25 in July, had eight goals, 19 points and 88 penalty minutes for Malmo of the Swedish Elite League last season and played for Team Sweden in exhibition games before the World Championships.

At 6-3, 215 pounds, Lilja could bring size and strength to a defense that lost both when Sean O’Donnell was claimed by Minnesota in Friday’s expansion draft. “I think we’ll see how he plays in training camp,” Taylor said. “He’s close to the NHL right now. He’s a strong, physical, stay-at-home defenseman with a big shot from the blue line and a good first pass out of the zone. We think he can [be the] fifth or sixth defenseman.”

In the third round the Kings took center Yanick Lehoux from Baie-Comeau of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Lehoux, who had 31 goals and 92 points in 66 games last season, will be invited to the Kings’ development camp next month.

The draft will conclude today, with the final six rounds.

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The Colorado Avalanche traded defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh and the second-round pick it had acquired from Columbus to Carolina for defenseman Nolan Pratt, a first-round pick and two second-round picks.

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Staff writers Jim Hodges and Elliott Teaford contributed to this story.

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NHL Draft

Players selected Saturday by the Mighty Ducks and the Kings:

MIGHTY DUCK SELECTIONS

12. Alexei Smirnov, Left Wing Tver, Russia

44. (from Montreal) Ilja Bryzgalov, Goalie Togliatti, Russia

KING SELECTIONS

20. Alexander Frolov, Left Wing Yaroslavl, Russia

54. Andreas Lilja, Defenseman Malmo, Sweden

86. Yanick Lehoux, Center Baie-Comeau, QMJHL