The Dartmouth men's hockey team's star rookie forward, Hugh Jessiman '06, was selected 12th overall by the New York Rangers in the first round of the NHL draft on Saturday in Nashville, Tenn. Lee Stempniak '05 was drafted 148th overall in the fifth round by the St. Louis Blues while identically sized (6-0, 195) incoming freshman forward Tanner Glass was taken by the Florida Panthers with the 265th pick in the ninth round.
Jessiman scored 23 goals and had 24 assists in 34 games as a Big Green freshman. Images of Jessiman's dominant beginning at Dartmouth -- goals scored on Thompson ice and his ECAC playoff check that sent Harvard's Brett Hafner's head through the Pepsi Arena glass in Albany, N.Y. -- flashed across the ESPN2 telecast. The announcers reported that scouts had nicknamed him "Huge Specimen" on account of his 6-5 frame.
"He's a whale of a talent," Rangers' president and general manager Glen Sather told ESPN. The ECAC and New England Hockey Writers' Association rookie of the year became the first ever Dartmouth skater to be tabbed as a first round draft pick. He is already drawing comparisons to the likes of Vancouver Canucks' all-star forward Todd Bertuzzi., "It's an incredible feeling, these are the guys I grew up watching as a kid," Jessiman, who was born in New York City, said in a phone interview with the Valley News Saturday night.
The big question that seemed to elude the analysts is whether or not this raw talent will choose to remain a student and continue to develop in green and white. The NHL entry draft does not void a collegiate player's eligibility and many spoken-for players appear on top college rosters across the country every season.
Jessiman said that he will "hopefully play for [the Rangers] a few years down the road," at least implying that he is not headed straight to the pros. Dartmouth head coach Bob Gaudet '81 reported earlier in the year that he expects Jessiman to remain at Dartmouth until graduation, which would mean everything for this emerging program.
A draft-day trade rumor marked high-flying veteran Jaromir Jagr of the Washington Capitals as a potential target for the Rangers. Acquiring Jagr without sacrificing restricted free agent Anson Carter, who has been coveted by the Caps year after year, may prove difficult for New York. In recent years, the Rangers have butchered their draft picks and overpaid veteran free-agents with unrealistically high expectations (i.e. Eric Lindros and Pavel Bure). The Rangers hope that Jessiman and Jagr will buck those trends, respectively, and play some postseason hockey for the first time in seven years.
Stempniak is now the property of a St. Louis Blues team that has not missed the playoffs in the Western Conference for almost a quarter-century. "I think the world of Lee as a player, and I think it was a steal for the St. Louis Blues to get him," Gaudet said. Former captain Trevor Byrne '03 was also a Blues draft pick. Stempniak led Dartmouth in scoring with 49 points (21 g, 28 a) and may be one of the most underrated talents in college hockey. His numbers are comparable to that of Yale standout and former first round draft pick Chris Higgins, who is allegedly leaving the Bulldogs after just his second season to pursue a career with the Montreal Canadiens.
Other hot college prospects taken in the first round included the defending National Champion Minnesota Golden Gophers' Thomas Vanek, who was taken fifth overall by the struggling Buffalo Sabres and appears ready to step in and make an immediate impact at the NHL level as a clutch goal-scorer.
Due to concerns about his size (listed at 5-11, 186), arguably the second-most talented collegiate player, Zach Parise from the University of North Dakota, dropped to 17th where the recently crowned Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils traded up to secure the winger.
In a draft that was deep with talent, but had no clear-cut No. 1 pick, the rebuilding Pittsburgh Penguins traded the No. 3 slot, a second-round selection and forward Mikael Samuelsson to the Florida Panthers in order to draft the clear-cut No. 1 goaltender, Marc-Andre Fleury of the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles.
The Panthers still got their guy, powerful forward Nathan Horton, at the third spot and later drafted Anthony Stewart, a promising talent who had a rough childhood and took some of that frustration out by shattering Horton's jaw in a league battle last season.
