Comparisons Begin For Teen Hockey Star

As he unlaced his skates in the Pittsburgh Penguins’ locker room following a youth hockey clinic, soon-to-be NHL No. 1 draft pick Joe Thornton found himself assigned to Jaromir Jagr’s locker.

“Maybe it’s because of my hair,” said Thornton, whose curly blond locks tumble Jagr-style in an unruly mass from beneath his helmet.

Maybe it’s because of his game.

He will not be 18 until next month, but at an age when most of his contemporaries consider pressure to be choosing the right color tux for the prom, Thornton will soon carry the weight of a franchise upon his Eric Lindros-sized shoulders.

Jagr, Lindros. Already the comparisons and the pressure have begun, even though the Boston Bruins, anxious to rebuild after missing the playoffs for the first time in 30 years, have yet to officially make him No. 1.

That will occur today at the Civic Arena. The 6-foot-4 Thornton, who loves to play pickup basketball and looks like a small forward, said, “I’ll be relieved when it happens.”

After that, the tension and drama of the daylong draft will unfold as teams begin choosing from what NHL Central Scouting calls the best pool of talent in at least four years.

“Most of us know we’ll be going to the minors for at least a year or two,” top prospect Brad Ference said. “We don’t expect to make the NHL next season. The only guy guaranteed an NHL spot is Joe.”

Thornton’s coronation as a No. 1 pick might have occurred last year if he had been old enough. Thornton was rated higher than 1996 No. 1 pick Chris Phillips of Ottawa by at least one NHL team, but, at only 16, he was not eligible to be drafted.

Last season, Thornton had 41 goals and 122 points in 59 games for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the Ontario Hockey League and was the only player in the draft to make Canada’s World Junior Championship team.

Now, Thornton is being discussed in such wondrous terms by Bruins fans - he already has received thousands of pieces of fan mail - that Boston general manager Harry Sinden is trying to curb the hysteria.

“I’ve been trying to calm them down a little,” he said.

Following Boston in the draft will be San Jose, the Los Angeles Kings and, with their consecutive picks, the New York Islanders. Also drafting in the top 10 will be Calgary, Tampa Bay, Boston again, Washington and Vancouver.