The News and Observer from Raleigh, North Carolina • C10

JESSACA 8985 FINAL EDITION FILM 10C THE NEWS OBSERVERSUNDAY, JUNE 27, 2004 10C, Sunday, June 27, 2004 RALEIGH JUNE 26-27 NHL DRAFT 66. WASHINGTON SAMI LEPISTO Jokerit (Finland) 67. PITTSBURGH NICK JOHNSON rw, St. Albert (AJHL) 68, CHICAGO ADAM BERTI lw, Oshawa (OHL) 69. CAROLINA (FROM WASHINGTON) CASEY BORER St.

Cloud State (WCHA) 70. CALGARY (FROM COLUMBUS) BRANDON PRUST c-lw, London (OHL) 71. BUFFALO (FROM PHOENIX) ANDREJ SEKERA Trencin Jr. (Slovakia) 72, COLORADO (FROM N.Y. RANGERS) DENIS PARSHIN lw, CSKA (Russia) 73.

N.Y. RANGERS (FROM FLORIDA) ZDENEK BAHENSKY rw, Litvinov (Czech Republic) 74. ANAHEIM (FROM CAROLINA) KYLE KLUBERTANZ Green Bay (USHL) 75. ANAHEIM TIM BRENT Toronto-St. (OHL) 76.

ATLANTA SCOTT LEHMAN Toronto-St. (OHL) 77. OTTAWA (FROM L.A.) SHAWN WELLER lw, Capital District (EJHL) 78. MINNESOTA PETER OLVECKY Trencin Jr. (Slovakia) 79.

MINNESOTA (FROM BUF) CLAYTON STONER Tri-City (WHL) 80. N.Y. RANGERS (FROM EDM) BILLY RYAN Cushing Academy, Mass. 81. NASHVILLE VACLAV MEIDL Plymouth (OHL) 82.

N.Y. ISLANDERS SERGEI OGORODNIKOV Tver (Russia) 83. ST. LOUIS VICTOR ALEXANDROV rw, Novokuznetsk (Russia) 84. MONTREAL ALEXEI YEMELIN Samara (Russia) 85.

PITTSBURGH (FROM CAL) BRIAN GIFFORD Moorhead HS, Minn. 86. DALLAS JOHN LAMMERS lw, Lethbridge (WHL) 87. OTTAWA (FROM COL) PETER REGIN c-w, Herning Jr. (Denmark) 88.

WASHINGTON (FROM NEW JERSEY) CLAYTON BARTHEL Seattle (WHL) 89. OTTAWA JEFF GLASS Kootenay (WHL) 90. TORONTO JUSTIN POGGE Prince George (WHL) 91. VANCOUVER (FROM SAN JOSE) ALEXANDER EDLER Jamtland (Sweden) 92. PHILADEPHIA ROB BELLAMY rw, New England (EJHL).

93. COLUMBUS (FROM VAN) DANIEL LACOSTA Owen Sound (OHL) 94. SAN JOSE (FROM BOS) THOMAS GREISS Koln (Germany). 95. LOS ANGELES (FROM SJ) PAUL BAIER Deerfield Academy, Mass.

96. COLUMBUS ANDREI PLEKHANOV Nizhnekampsk (Russia) 97. DETROIT JOHAN FRANZEN Linkoping (Sweden) 98. COLUMBUS (FROM TB) DUSTIN BOYD Moose Jaw (WHL) THIRD ROUND surprise a great one Gretzky, Coyotes select agile Minnesota right wing with fifth pick of draft BY DANE HUFFMAN STAFF WRITER RALEIGH The first man to the podium for the Phoenix Coyotes on Saturday was general manager Mike Barnett. The crowd in the RBC Center responded with muted applause and waited for the fifth pick overall in the NHL draft.

Then Barnett yielded to the managing partner, Wayne Gretzky. Suddenly, the face of biggest star beamed from the colossal television screens overhead and the crowd responded as i ga lons of espresso had jus washed through its veins. A rumble began, then turned into a roar as thousands rose in a standing ovation. Surprised, Gretzky smiled, looked down and looked back up, waiting for the applause to end. The roar tailed off, then came again in a second wave that echoed across the arena.

Gretzky said as the applause settled to a simmer. With the fifth selection, he announced, Phoenix would take Blake Wheeler. The arena went silent. Who? In the section, Wheeler himself had just sat down after standing to applaud Gretzky. The Central Scouting Service had ranked Wheeler No.

17 among North American skaters, and he was hoping to hear his name late in the first round. had no he said. was just sitting there with my sister on my left, chatting along. And, all of a sudden, my name was called and I had to stand up and go He had never met Gretzky in his interviews with NHL clubs and figured that if he wound up with Phoenix, it would be be- cause the team drafted him in the second round. was said Wheeler, The fans went wild on Saturday at the sight of Wayne Gretzky.

For his part, the Phoenix managing partner said the draft should be about the players, their families and scouts. STAFF PHOTO BY CHRIS SEWARD a 6-foot-3, 185-pound right wing. dad was as shocked as I was. I was yelling. I believe it.

It was pandemonium in the Wheeler His play for Breck School in Minneapolis had impressed Phoenix. A big skater with good agility and a knack for moving the puck deftly, he scored 45 goals and had 55 assists in 30 games for Breck. He had a hat trick in a 7-2 victory in the state champi- onship game. Last fall, Wheeler caught 50 passes for more than 800 yards for a Breck football team that also won the state title. He just finished his junior year of high school and turns 18 on Aug.

31. One person not shocked by the pick was Gretzky himself. felt strongly that there was a group of players that were very Gretzky said. Blake, we think he has the best up- side. He is a tremendous As for the long applause he received, Gretzky said, expecting it It was a nice surprise, a nice But, he added, draft is a day for the parents and families and scouts, not really about Wayne Indeed, Saturday became quite a day for Blake Wheeler.

Blake Wheeler tries on the colors on Saturday after being taken by Phoenix with the fifth pick. Hurricanes still want Hill, Wesley Negotiations under way with free agents BY LUKE DECOCK STAFF WRITER RALEIGH While most of the focus Saturday was on the future, Carolina Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford said he also was looking to the present. Rutherford confirmed he has opened negotiations with free agents Sean Hill and Glen Wesley in an attempt to re-sign them before they can negotiate with other teams starting July 1. Although plenty of uncertainty surrounds the collective bargaining agreement with the NHL Association, which expires in September, Rutherford said the door is open for Hill and Wesley to return. position taken with them is they are free to go out in the free market and that would not close the door on them re- Rutherford said.

if someone else came in at the same position, that player would close the LOST IN THE LIST: For the second year in a row, the Hurricanes planned to spend Saturday night regrouping because several play- ers they were hoping would be available this morning in the fourth round went in the third round. list took a scout- ing director Sheldon Ferguson said. The Canes also tried desper- ately to move up from the 38th pick in the second round into the first in an attempt to take forward Dave Bolland, who went to the Chicago Blackhawks 32nd overall. kept saying, is not going to happen not going to get to Rutherford said. he Kris Chucko, taken 24th overall by the Calgary Flames, also was a player the Canes would have traded up to get.

MAKING HISTORY: Alexander Ovechkin was the second Russian player selected first overall, after Ilya Kovalchuk in 2001. When Russian center Evgeni Malkin went second overall, it was the first time Russian players went first and second overall. Blake Wheeler, taken fifth overall by the Phoenix Coyotes, was the highest-drafted high school player since Brian Lawton in 1983. TAKE A FLYER: The first day of the draft passed without a Car- olina trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, typically an annual event. Instead, the Columbus Blue Jackets picked up Arturs Irbe a week ago and swapped first-round picks with Carolina on Saturday.

Have the Blue Jackets bumped the most favored nation status? certainly have the last couple Rutherford said. THE FUTURE: The hype already is building for next top prospect, Nova Scotia native Sidney Crosby. The NHL flew in the 16-year-old to sit on the draft floor, where he received advice from hockey figures such as Detroit Red Wings coach Dave Lewis. Ottawa will host next draft June 25-26. GEOGRAPHY LESSON: Apparently, there was some confusion over where exactly the draft was held.

Atlanta Thrashers general man- ager Don Waddell thanked city of and the Edmonton Sun was filing stories from N.C.” Staff writer Luke DeCock can be reached at 829-8947 or NOTEBOOK.