Prized Prospects, Potent Pros: CHL Rookies of the Year

Originally published in Prospects Hockey in 2003

By Lucas Aykroyd

Kids. It’s so hard to predict how they’ll turn out. Flamboyant rock star David Lee Roth was the son of an eye doctor. The father of French painter Paul Cezanne originally wanted his son to become a lawyer. Talk about surprises!

However, as a parent organization, the Canadian Hockey League provides a pretty solid guide in terms of forecasting where its talented young players will end up. The CHL instituted its Rookie of the Year award in 1988 to honor the top newcomer out of three finalists from the WHL, OHL and QMJHL.

Each winner from 1988 through 1998 has gone on to become a proven NHL contributor, playing upwards of 300 games in the big league. In fact, Martin Gelinas is primed to join the 1,000-game club in 2003-04 with the Calgary Flames.

More recent winners such as Pavel Brendl and Dan Blackburn have already had a taste of NHL ice and should ultimately enjoy long careers.

Let’s examine four intriguing characters who have done anything but burn out since first emerging as “child stars.”

Martin Gelinas
Year: 1987-88
QMJHL Team: Hull Olympiques

From shooting stars like Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux to lesser-known luminaries like Patrice Lefebvre and Simon Gamache, Quebec has always been heavenly for forwards who can put the puck in the net. Martin Gelinas maintained that tradition in his first year with the Hull Olympiques, notching 63 goals and 68 assists.

“I didn’t know what to expect coming in,” Gelinas said. “But I was fortunate to play with two talented players in Benoit Brunet and Marc Saumier. They helped me out quite a bit and probably gave me the opportunity to win that award.”

Saumier earned 166 points that year and Brunet got 143, so they benefited from suiting up alongside Gelinas as well. While Saumier never made the NHL, Brunet would have a 539-game run, mostly with the Montreal Canadiens.

Gelinas shone as Hull marched to a Memorial Cup berth. It was an exciting spring, with the league-leading Olympiques rallying from a 3-to-1 deficit against Drummondville in the QMJHL finals. Gelinas totaled 33 points in 17 playoff games.

Although his team didn’t capture the Memorial Cup, the solidly built left wing was named the tournament’s most sportsmanlike player. He made an impression on Trevor Linden, then captain of the champion Medicine Hat Tigers.

“He was really determined, a hard-working guy and very powerful,” Linden recalled. “He skated well. One of those guys who’s always knocking on the door.”

Lord Stanley’s door, that is. It didn’t take long for Gelinas to sip Stanley Cup champagne. Originally drafted eighth overall by Los Angeles in 1988, he was shocked to find himself involved in the famous Wayne Gretzky trade that summer. “I was disappointed at first, because I was going to go to L.A. and play right away,” Gelinas admitted.

But heading to Edmonton worked out for Gelinas, even though it took a bit longer for him to crack the Oilers’ lineup. He joined Joe Murphy and Adam Graves on the “Kid Line” as Edmonton won its fifth Cup in 1990.

The Shawinigan native would also reach the NHL finals with Vancouver (1994) and Carolina (2002). Showing his character, he blossomed as a 30-goal man with the Canucks in 1996 and 1997 despite the team’s struggles. Today, Gelinas continues to hustle and sacrifice his body. This 33-year-old represents so much of what is good about Canadian hockey.

Petr Nedved
Year: 1989-90
WHL Team: Seattle Thunderbirds

Do you remember your first New Year’s resolution for 1989? Petr Nedved sure does. On January 2 that year, the 17-year-old Czech defected from his Communist homeland to play hockey in North America. It happened in Calgary, just after he had led the Mac’s midget tournament with 26 points in nine games.

Seattle GM Russ Farwell believed Nedved could keep racking up the points in major junior. He obtained Nedved’s rights from the Moose Jaw Warriors, and it paid off big-time.

The Liberec-born center electrified Seattle fans with his skills in his lone WHL campaign, posting 65 goals and 80 assists. That remains the league record for rookie points. Small wonder that Nedved became the first European Rookie of the Year for the WHL and the CHL.

But Nedved’s early NHL career had its ups and downs. He was drafted second overall by Vancouver in 1990, behind Owen Nolan and ahead of Keith Primeau, Mike Ricci and Jaromir Jagr. The expectations were huge. Yet with limited ice-time in his debut season, Nedved scored just 16 points in 61 games.

“He had the skill to play in the NHL,” said Bob McCammon, who coached Nedved that year. “His problem was that he wasn’t strong. He had trouble with faceoffs in his own end. He wasn’t good defensively. It takes some players longer to develop than others, and he was a little slower.”

In 1992-93, Nedved finally broke through with a 38-goal, 71-point performance. Much of his success came from his great wrist shot. Trevor Linden, who has played with snipers like Markus Naslund and Jaromir Jagr, said Nedved “may have the best wrist shot” out of any of them.

Since then, Nedved’s accomplishments have piled up. He became the first Czech-born and trained player to suit up for Team Canada, as he won a silver medal at the 1994 Olympics. Nedved soared with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96, earning 99 regular season points and 20 more in the playoffs. And especially alongside fellow Czechs like Jan Hlavac and Radek Dvorak, the 6-3, 200-pound veteran has been one of the most consistent scoring threats for the New York Rangers since 1998.

Jeff Friesen
Year: 1992-93
WHL Team: Regina Pats

In recent years, you probably haven’t heard about Karry Biette unless you follow the British League. But this stocky center from Estevan was key to Jeff Friesen’s success as a Pats rookie.

“He and Karry were very close, and Karry took him under his wing,” said former Regina coach Al Dumba. “Karry was our captain. He realized Jeff had a super talent and helped him along with things you need to do in terms of game day preparation.”

Dumba didn’t want to put too much pressure on Friesen, but the youngster overachieved: “When he came in at age 16, we hoped he could score 20 or 25 goals. We thought that would be incredible. Then when he got 45, we just couldn’t believe it.”

With 83 points in 70 games, plus a team-best 17 playoff points, the swift-skating left wing was a clear-cut choice as CHL Rookie of the Year.

“Jeff was blessed with a million-dollar set of legs,” said Dumba. “That was his biggest asset. He had a strong trunk area and was really able to skate.”

Friesen quickly jumped to the NHL, cracking the league’s All-Rookie Team with San Jose in 1995. The Meadow Lake native earned a reputation as the heart and soul of the Sharks in his seven seasons there. He also represented Canada at four IIHF World Championships, winning silver in 1996 and gold in 1997.

Following a brief stay with Anaheim, Friesen demonstrated his clutch scoring ability with 10 goals for the New Jersey Devils en route to the 2003 Stanley Cup. And guess which former junior teammate he flew in for the final game? Karry Biette.

Joe Thornton
Year: 1995-96
OHL Team: Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds

In 1997, Joe Thornton became only the second 17-year-old ever drafted number one overall, after Pierre Turgeon (1987). Hailed as a franchise player for the Boston Bruins, the big center from London, Ontario certainly fit the description of a “hockey prodigy.”

As a rookie with the Greyhounds, Thornton tallied an impressive 30 goals and 46 assists, playing alongside Rico Fata. The next season, Thornton climbed to 122 points and had the entire hockey world talking about him. “He has the quality of an Eric Lindros and the personality of a Jean Beliveau,” said Tampa Bay Lightning scout Angelo Bumbacco.

None of this came as a surprise to his father Wayne: “Joe is an extremely competitive person and he hates to lose. The only thing he cares about is helping the team win.”

But Thornton’s 1997-98 NHL rookie campaign would prove extremely frustrating. Not only did he stumble to seven points in 55 games, taking only 33 shots on goal, but he was also held off the scoresheet as Boston fell to Washington in the first round of the playoffs.

It looked even worse because fellow Bruin and 1997 draftee Sergei Samsonov won the Calder Trophy as the NHL Rookie of the Year.

“It was disappointing for me to only end up getting seven points and I spent a lot of time on the bench, but the experience will help me this year,” Thornton said philosophically as he headed into 1998-99.

He improved to 41 points that year. After three more seasons in the 60-to-70 point range, he took a quantum leap to 101 in 2002-03, finally emerging as the superstar the Bruins had envisioned.