Finn Skater’s Style, Spirit Wows Scouts

Only twice in NHL draft history have Europeans been No. 1 picks. This year could be the third.

Finnish defenseman Aki-Petteri Berg has rushed to the head of the class.

“He’s a marvelous skater with great NHL size,” Ottawa Senators president-general manager Randy Sexton said of the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Berg. “He’s a good offensive player.”

With the No. 1 pick in today’s draft, the Senators could take the highly-regarded Berg.

Berg is rated the No. 1 European by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau - an assessment with which many scouts agree. Rated with Berg among the top three are Bryan Berard and Wade Redden, rugged defensemen from the Canadian junior ranks.

“Berard, Redden and Berg are definitely the three best,” Kevin Prendergast, director of hockey operations for the Edmonton Oilers, said.

There is no consensus No. 1 pick this year, though - which might allow a European such as Berg to be taken ahead of the usually popular North American players.

That would make him the third European to be selected No. 1 overall in the past seven years after none was made the top pick in the previous 26.

Mats Sundin, a center, was the first European selected No. 1, in 1989 by the Quebec Nordiques. Roman Hamrlik, a defenseman, was picked No. 1 by Tampa Bay in 1992. Only one other European has been selected as high as No. 2 - Russian Alexei Yashin in 1992 by Ottawa.

Now along comes Berg, who has impressed NHL scouts with his skill and spirit.

“He’s a big guy, powerful and very physical,” Calgary scout Tom Thompson said.

Berg was good enough to play in the Finnish League, but spent most of last season developing with Kiekko-67, the Finns’ version of Canadian juniors.

Other highly-rated Europeans: Czech forwards Petr Sykora and Radek Dvorak.

Sykora, who played in the International Hockey League last season with the Detroit Vipers, was a potential top three pick until a shoulder injury knocked him out of action early in the season.

Dvorak is another highly skilled player who saw limited playing time because of a broken wrist.

But both are still projected as first-round draft choices today.

Other Europeans who could go high - Czech defenseman Petr Buzek and Russian forwards Alexei Morozov and Dimitri Nabokov.

Sweden has sent over the most players from Europe so far: 198. The Central Red Army Team in Russia has had the most players drafted of any European team: 33.

Interest in Europeans has been very high at recent drafts. In 1992, a record 83 international players were taken - including a record 11 in the first round. Last year, 80 were drafted - the second highest total.

Because the draft has been reduced from 11 to 9 rounds, it’s not likely that the record for the number of European selections will be broken today.

The Florida Panthers signed right wing Jason Podollan, who played the past four seasons with the Spokane Chiefs.

The following fields overflowed: KEYWORD = DEFENSEMAN SEEMS LIKELY TOP PICK BY OTTOWA IN TODAY’S NHL DRAFT