The next big thing: looking for an heir to the superstar throne? Look no further than Bruins center Joe Thornton, a fast-developing power forward with the skills and toughness to dominate the league - NHL

Early in the spring of 1997, a large party of Bruins scouts and management flew to Toronto on a mission that would forever change the future of the team.

Harry Sinden, general manager at the time, assistant Mike O'Connell, longtime club official Tom Johnson and scouts Scott Bradley and Daniel Dore piled into Toronto-based scouting coordinator Bob Tindall's Mercury Grand Marquis and drove two hours to Guelph to see an OHL playoff game between the Guelph Storm and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds.

They didn't make the trip to see a playoffs game between two bitter rivals; they made the trip to watch 17-year-old Greyhounds center Joe Thornton, regarded at the time by many as the next big thing.

The Bruins--who missed the playoffs that season for the first time in 29 years--had the No. 1 selection in the entry draft three months later and were considering their options. Though Seattle Thunderbirds (WHL) center Patrick Marleau was regarded by some as Thornton's equal among prospects--Boston's western scouts favored Marleau--Sinden & Co.'s trip to Guelph ended the debate.

"Joe was a tiger on the ice," Tindall says. "He was riding guys, he was challenging their bench. You could just see a fire in his eyes that you didn't see when Joe was off the ice. I remember after Sault Ste. Marie scored a goal, he skated right past the Guelph bench and just rubbed it in. It was like, `Screw you guys.'

"To me, playing a very tough game on the road like that, Joe showed the ability to play the big game. Whether that was the determining factor in Harry's mind, I don't know. But it certainly was for me."

Nearly five years later, with the perfect clarity of hindsight, it appears the Bruins made the right decision. Over the courses of their young careers, Thornton has been more productive. He is averaging a point per game this season; San Jose's Marleau about half that.

In each of his five NHL seasons, Thornton has improved, to the point where he now is a budding superstar. Thornton's combination of size (6-4, 220 pounds), speed and skill--and more of the toughness he displayed that night in Guelph--has made Thornton one of the top offensive forces in the game. He is particularly adept at holding the puck down low, giving big, strong defenders more than they can handle.

Bruins defenseman Sean O'Donnell compares Thornton with Jaromir Jagr, Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg, players he says are "almost impossible to stop." Adds O'Donnell, who tried to stop Thornton last season while with the Wild and later the Devils: "You just try to force him into areas of the ice where it's harder for him to make plays. That's the best you can do."

Thornton, 22, is having his best season. He has a shot at the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading points scorer, played in his first All-Star Game, was an alternate for the gold medal-winning Canadian Olympic team and, most important for Bruins fans, is leading Boston back into the playoffs after a two-year absence.

"I've put a lot of hard work into this, and it's starting to pay off" Thornton says. "My goal every year has been to get better, and I think I have played better and better. As long as I keep getting better, I'll be satisfied."

His numbers have been more than satisfying. Through 63 games, the Bruins were 17-0-1-0 when Thornton scored a goal and 26-6-2-3 when he recorded a point.

At various times Thornton--who last season switched from No. 6 to No. 19, in honor of his longtime hero, Steve Yzerman--has been likened to centers Jean Beliveau, Eric Lindros, Mark Messier and Mike Modano. Sinden, now president of the Bruins, sees Thornton as a bigger version of two-way standout Ron Francis of Carolina.

Regardless, Thornton clearly has earned the respect of opponents. "For Joe, the sky's the limit," Flyers winger Rick Tocchet says. "When you have a guy playing center who's that big, who can skate that way and shoot the puck ... you're talking superstar status."

Canadiens defenseman Stephane Quintal says, "He's a great kid, he's got a great attitude, and he's got all the talent in the world. He's got the physique, the speed, the skill, a good shot. He's got everything. One-on-one, he's so strong, he's really hard to stop. I think he's going to be a superstar in this league."

Flyers star Mark Recchi especially likes Thornton's skill with the puck. "Obviously he's big and strong and he can skate, but he probably has the nicest set of hands for a big guy of anyone except Mario (Lemieux)," Recchi says. "You just don't see big guys with hands like that too often."

Flyers center Jeremy Roenick likes Thornton's makeup--on and off the ice."You know what my favorite thing about Joe Thornton is?" Roenick asks. "He's just the nicest kid you could ever meet. To have that kind of talent, and that kind of personality and attitude, I just think the world of him. I think he's going to take over this league and be one of its best ambassadors for a long time."

Thornton long ago won over Boston fans, not only with his rough-and-ready play but his enthusiasm and humility. Five years after he first strolled into the Bruins' dressing room, shaggy-haired, wide-eyed and as joyful as a puppy, he has changed very little.

"That's a part of Joe that I don't ever want him to change, that kid approach that he brings to the rink every day," teammate Don Sweeney says. "Things seem to roll off him pretty easily. If something bad happens to him--a bad night, or when he wasn't picked for the Olympic team, whatever--Joe just laughs and says, `Oh, it's OK.'"

Many players could learn from Thornton's attitude about hockey--and life.

"I have fun coming to the rink every day," he says. "I enjoy playing hockey for a living. Every day I wake up, I think I've got the best job in the world. I do. I'm just really happy to be doing what I'm doing."

The three Bruins coaches for whom Thornton has played took different approaches in handling him, yet each might have been the ideal mentor for him at the time.

Pat Burns, who coached Thornton in his first three-plus NHL seasons, was determined to protect the youngster from the sort of lofty expectations and pressure that hindered previous No. 1s such as Alexandre Daigle, Chris Phillips and Brian Lawton. Though the Bruins' front office wanted Thornton to have a large role right away, Burns limited his ice time. Thornton played in 55 games as a rookie, recording a scant seven points.

Given a bit more responsibility in his second season, Thornton jumped to 16 goals and 25 assists in 81 games. In his third year at age 20, he increased his totals to 23 goals and 37 assists.

Burns' successor, Mike Keenan, took the opposite approach midway through last season,publicly challenging Thornton to play better.

"Joe Thornton has the potential to be the best centerman in the league," Keenan said in January 2001. "It's up to him. He has no excuses. It's time for Joe to decide whether he wants to be the hockey player he's capable of being, or whether he just wants to participate."

Keenan's words had the desired effect: In his final 39 games last season, Thornton scored 25 goals and set up 22, finishing with 37 goals and 34 assists in 72 games.

Thornton's third coach, Robbie Ftorek, hasn't resorted to extreme measures. He hasn't had to.

"I've just let Joey play," Ftorek says. "I really like the way he plays the game."

As good as Thornton is, there are areas in which he needs to improve:

* He too often looks first to pass rather than shoot.

"Joe's a gifted shooter, but he's also a nice player, which means he wants to pass the puck to other guys," Ftorek says. "I like players to be semi-selfish. If there's a scoring opportunity, take it.... We can't forget that what we're trying to do is score goals."

* He loses too many faceoffs--he had a winning percentage of 48.76 through 61 games this season. (Yanic Perreault of the Canadiens leads the league with a winning percentage of 61 percent.) "But he's thinking a lot about that, he's asking questions, he's trying to improve," Ftorek says.

* He's not yet consistent from game to game. "If there's one thing that makes an All-Star player, it's consistency," Sinden says. "Ronnie Francis is a great example. You can count on him to play hard every night. Joe's getting better and better at that all the time, but some nights he's not what he should be. It's probably an issue of maturity."

With that maturity will come consistency--and leadership. "I think there'll come a time, a little bit like it did with Ray Bourque, when Joe really understands how important he is to his teammates," Sinden says. "I don't think Joe's reached that point yet. He has the tools to become one of the guys all the other players count on. When you get to that status, you're a real leader."

* He hasn't yet figured out how to play without the puck.

"He has a lot of room to improve, in all three zones," Sinden says. "I don't think he's quite comfortable in what he should do when the other team has the puck. I want to see him go to the puckcarrier more. As a centerman, you can do that--you can force the play all the time."

* And, of course, there's the infamous Thornton temper. He has been suspended three times in the last two years, for a total of seven games. Along with Bruins Bill Guerin and Martin Lapointe, Thornton will not allow a smaller teammate to be abused.

"It's a great trait," Sinden says. "But he's got to pick his spots a little better."

Thornton is hardly apologetic about his latest suspension, three games as a result of cross-checking the Hurricanes' Rod Brind' Amour.

"I'm not going to change my style for anybody," Thornton says. "I've just got to keep playing my game. It's been working for me so far."

Thornton injured his shoulder in the practice before he was to return from the suspension. He apparently will need surgery after the season, but Thornton said he would play through it--more evidence he was going to let nothing slow him this season.

To his peers, Thornton's competitiveness--even his temper--is a plus. "I really like that mean streak," says Tocchet, who knows a thing or two about playing with skill and a nasty edge. "The way the rinks are now, the game is so crowded it's hard to find room. You've heard a lot of superstars complain that they get held all the time and there's no room to play the game. Well, maybe Joe, with that mean streak, won't get held as much. Maybe he creates some room for himself that way."

That aspect of his game adds another problem for opponents, as if he weren't already a major headache.

"He's just the whole package--the toughness, the skill, the great hands and shot," Sweeney says. "They just don't usually build big, strong centermen like that."

The Bruins are glad they made at least one.

RELATED ARTICLE: Thorn in the side.

In a 7-4 win against the Capitals in early January, Bruins star center Joe Thornton showed how he can change a game with his all-around play. In 14:19 of action, he:

* Had six shots.

* Scored three goals.

* Contributed one assist.

* Pounded the Capitals' Rob Zettler in a fight, resulting in a five-minute penalty.

* Broke even on 28 faceoffs.

* Was plus-3. --S.H.

RELATED ARTICLE: The race for the Ross.

Let's get real. The player who claims the Art Ross Trophy as the league's top point producer will win by default. This year's award winner ought to have a Roger Marls-style asterisk and footnote:

* Pittsburg's Mario Lemieux would have won had he played a full season.

In the 24 games he played, Lemieux had 31 points--an average of 1.3 points per game that easily exceeds the pace of the league's top scorers. Lemieux's total projects to 106 points in a full schedule of 82 games.

But in the real world, Calgary right winger Jarome Iginla looks like he will bring home the trophy.

Iginla, 24, is having a breakthrough year, and his confidence was boosted further by a fine showing for Team Canada in the Olympics. Through 65 games, he had 77 points and a 10-point lead in the race for the Ross. Plus, Iginla's Flames have an advantageous schedule, with eight of their final 12 games at home.

The rest of the field:

The Canucks' current six-game trip hurts the chances of Markus Naslund (67 points in 65 games). He'll have to make a big run in the team's final 10 games, seven of which are at home.

Joe Sakic (67 points in 66 games) and the Avalanche have come on strong after a slow start. Don't bet against the veteran center making a late but ultimately futile run at Iginla.

It's unlikely Adam Oates (64 points in 62 games) will make a big move. He faces the most difficult schedule, with 10 of the Capitals' final 15 games on the road.

The trophy push for Joe Thornton (62 points in 61 games) was dealt a serious blow when he was suspended three games for cross-checking Hurricane Rod Brind'Amour. He also is battling a shoulder injury.

Jeremy Roenick (63 points in 63 games) seemingly has a favorable schedule, with 11 of his final 17 games at home. But the Flyers will be busy, with three sets of back-to-back games and one stretch of five games in seven nights, so fatigue could keep him from high Art. --SH

Stephen Harris covers the Bruins for THE SPORTING NEWS and the Boston Herald.

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