Not Much European Talent In Nhl Draft

He’s two years away from being drafted but he’s already making scouts drool.

Sergei Samsonov is being billed as the next Russian Rocket, along the lines of Pavel Bure of the Vancouver Canucks.

There’s little doubt that if Samsonov were eligible for the NHL draft in Edmonton on Saturday, he would be the top European selected.

But Samsanov won’t be eligible until 1997, so NHL teams must make do with the thin European crop.

“It’s not a good year for Europeans,” says Pierre Gauthier, assistant general manager of the Anaheim Mighty Ducks.

The top prospect is Finnish defenseman Aki-Petteri Berg, who missed the world junior championship with mononucleosis. He eventually recovered and had a strong second half of the season with Kiekko-67 of the Finnish First Division, Finland’s equivalent of the minor pro ranks.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, the son of a construction worker, likes to hit and has developed a reputation for his bruising style.

“No one ever told me to start hitting, so it’s just natural,” said Berg, who was the top-ranked European prospect in the midseason ratings. “Scott Stevens is a defenseman I admire. He can do it all - hitting, scoring, fighting, leading.”

Berg is considered the thirdbest overall prospect in the draft behind two other defenseman, top-ranked Bryan Berard and Wade Redden. Berg is followed in the rankings by a pair of Czechs - right wing Radek Dvorak and defenseman Miroslav Guren.

Dvorak missed the world juniors with a wrist injury and wasn’t ranked by the NHL’s Central Scouting Bureau in January.

Another Czech, defenseman Petr Buzek, is ranked fifth. However, he broke both his legs in a car accident last month and will be in hospital until August.

Russia has two potential firstrounders - left wing Alexei Morozov and center Dimitri Nabokov. Sweden, which has produced first-rounders Mats Sundin of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Denver’s Peter Forsberg, and Finland have little to offer.

There are a couple of finds in Jochen Hecht of Germany and goalie Igor Karpenko of Ukraine.

Karpenko was voted the top goalie at the world juniors and his heroics personally prevented the Ukraine from getting overwhelmed on the scoreboard each game.

Considering the lack of depth coming out of Europe, it’s little wonder teams can hardly wait for Samsonov’s availability.

Samsonov is a right-shot, left wing who ranks as an elite playmaker and goal scorer. He can play the finesse and power game.

“He’s probably the most skilled player in his age group in the world,” said one European-based scout for an Eastern Conference club.

“He’s very competitive around the net and in the corners in the offensive zone. He works the front of the net on the power play and gets a lot of goals off rebounds.”