Man of action: projected No. 1 draft pick Jay Bouwmeester��who, some say, is the best defenseman prospect to come along in ages��lets his play do the talking - NHL: draft preview

Jay Bouwmeester has a lot to brag about. He's a hulking, 6-3, 202-pound defenseman with a frame that reminds many observers of Blues star Chris Pronger. Plus, he skates like the wind. No wonder he's the consensus choice to go first overall in the NHL entry draft this weekend in Toronto. It's safe to say fame and fortune are in his immediate future.

But trying to get Bouwmeester, an 18-year-old Edmonton native, to talk--much less toot his own horn just a little--is a Herculean task. You want the strong, silent type? Bouwmeester could make a mime look like a blabbermouth.

When asked why he's the top-rated prospect by the NHL's Central Scouting Service, Bouwmeester (pronounced BOE-mees-ter) doesn't talk about his skills, size, work ethic or favorable attitude. Instead, he says it's because of his late birthday, which makes him older, by months, than some of the other players available.

True to a point, but it's telling that the kid attributes his accomplishments to the accident of his birthday. He's always dodging the spotlight. Bouwmeester's lack of ego is so refreshing it's almost disturbing.

"I'm thankful to be in this position," Bouwmeester says of his draft status. "You can't help but think about it once in a while, but you don't want to count anything before it has happened."

Others can't say enough about the kid who has been touted as the NHL'S next great defense-man.

"He's got a (Paul) Coffey-like stride, he sees the ice like (Phil) Housley, and he's big and rangy like Pronger," says Rick Carriere, general manager of the WHL's Medicine Hat Tigers, Bouwmeester's team for the last three seasons.

The offensive-minded Bouwmeester had 11 goals and 50 assists in 61 games last season, good for third in league scoring among defensemen.

"He's a phenomenal skater, he sees the ice well, has great lateral mobility, has a big shot and makes good decisions with the puck," Carriere says. "I hate to say it, but he can play at the pro level."

Carriere's disappointment is understandable. Bouwmeester, the cornerstone of the Tigers franchise, has another two years of major junior eligibility. But his size and skill are such that it's likely he'll be playing in the NHL sooner rather than later.

The Panthers won the draft lottery and will pick first overall. A trade is a possibility, but with a potential franchise player such as Bouwmeester available and the Panthers in a rebuilding mode, that seems unlikely.

"He's probably the best-skating defenseman any of us have ever seen," Tim Murray, director of amateur scouting for the Panthers, told reporters. "It's so rare that a guy that size is so agile and has such great speed."

In late December 1999, Bouwmeester and Senators prospect Jason Spezza joined Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros as the only players to have played for Canada at the World Junior Championships at 16.

"At the world junior training camp in Kitchener, there was a huge media gathering," says Barry Trapp, former director of scouting for Canada's national junior team and now director of amateur scouting for the Maple Leafs. "(Bouwmeester) took one spin around the ice, and you could hear a pin drop in that arena.

"He's a gem. God has given him a lot of talent, and he works hard. He's a complete package. If he stays healthy, he could play in the NHL 10 years or more."

Bouwmeester's response to the chatter that he should be meaner on the ice and more talkative off it is as economical as one of his powerful skating strides.

"You can't be someone you're not," he says. NHL teams, Florida in particular, just want him to be the player they think he can be.

Stephen Knight is an associate editor for Canadian Hockey Magazine and writes for Sportsnet.ca.

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London Knights power forward Rick Nash--a projected top-three pick--will have big skates to fill if he lives up to expectations.

Nash, a 6-3, 187-pound Brampton, Ontario, native who turned 18 on June 16, has been compared with some pretty high-caliber players.

Frank Bonello, director of the NHL's Central Scouting Service, likens Nash to a bigger version of Doug Gilmour.

"He's an extremely intelligent player, with great hockey sense, good vision, good anticipation, and he handles the puck very well," Bonello said in an interview with Canadian Hockey Magazine. The knock on Nash is his skating, but scouts aren't concerned about that because they believe he will get better.

Nash's favorite players are John LeClair and Mario Lemieux, but those familiar with him say he's more aggressive than those two stars.

"He's a Brendan Shanahan-type player," says Jim McKellar, assistant general manager of the Knights. "He's a two-way, physical player who goes to high-traffic areas with speed and with no fear."

After getting 31 goals and 35 assists in 58 games for the Knights in 2000-01, Nash was chosen as the OHL's rookie of the year. In his second year, Nash had 32 goals and 40 assists in 54 games.--S.K.

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