2002 Entry Draft
The 2002 PHL draft was projected to be the strongest draft
class since the famous 1986 draft. Edmonton won the draft lottery and
predictably selected big Kris Nazarenko first overall. Nazarenko was predicted
to be unlike any other player in league history with an unprecedented mix of
size and skill. The 6’3”, 219-pound center led the entire Canadian Junior
Hockey Association in scoring two years in a row, leading his hometown Moose
Jaw Moose to a national championship. With the second pick, Cleveland selected
talented American defenseman Ian Hunter, who had committed to Notre Dame but
said he would play for the Cosmos right away if given the opportunity. Just before
the third selection, Darryl Byrd announced that the Atlanta Copperheads had
acquired the third pick from Washington in exchange for veterans Marc Brunelle
and Jordan O’Reilly. The Copperheads used the third pick to take Jason Ferland,
a troubled but talented winger from Moncton. Denver took the first Russian,
Nikolai Kronin, while Winnipeg rounded out the top five with the selection of Jamie
Moore, whose father, Austin Moore, was a legendary junior coach. Other
interesting picks included Atlanta pick Jody Graves, the great-grandson of
former Philadelphia Redshirt Donald Graves, and Spirits pick Tobias Grunberg,
who was predicted to be the greatest German-born player of all time.
1.
Edmonton – Kris Nazarenko, F, CAN
2.
Cleveland – Ian Hunter, D, USA
3.
Atlanta (From Washington) – Jason Ferland, F,
CAN
4.
Denver – Nikolai Kronin, D, RUS
5.
Winnipeg – Jamie Moore, F, CAN
6.
Toronto – Sean MacDonald, D, CAN
7.
Portland – Daniel Boivre, G, CAN
8.
Atlanta – Jody Graves, D, CAN
9.
Calgary – Kyle Logan, D, CAN
10.
Quebec – Saku Vertainen, G, FIN
11.
St. Louis – Tobias Grunberg, F, GER
12.
Carolina - Matt Wells, D, CAN
13.
Long Island – Nathan Webb, D, CAN
14.
Boston (From Oakland) – Jeffery Simpkins, F, USA
15.
New Orleans – Ryan Aldridge, D, CAN
16.
New York – Todd Morgan, F, CAN
17.
Detroit – Brent Mitchell, F, CAN
18.
Los Angeles – Mats Jonasson, D, SWE
19.
Vancouver – Taylor Bennett, F, CAN
20.
Boston – Brayden McPherson, D, CAN
21.
Milwaukee – Luke Wilkerson, F, GB
22.
Chicago – Kari Nurminen, G, FIN
23.
Pittsburgh - Ryan Osborne, F, USA
24.
Dallas – Evgeni Tatarov, F, RUS
25.
Montreal – Pascal Dubois, D, CAN
26.
Miami – Thomas Norberg, D, SWE
27.
Philadelphia – Andrei Ilyukhin, F, RUS
28.
Seattle – Roman Novatny, F, CZE
29.
Kansas City – Austin Harvey, F, USA
30.
Minnesota – Dylan Schalcher, F, SWZ
Notable Retirements:
Theo Sprouse, D, LI,
CHI, MIA, 1982-2002
It didn’t take long for Theo Sprouse to become one of the
Concorde’s most dynamic players with his offensive ability and physical
presence. Sprouse helped Long Island to the Lewis Cup finals twice in the 80s
in 1984 and ’88. In 1990, Sprouse played a big role in bringing the Lewis Cup
to Long Island. In 1992, Sprouse left Long Island for Chicago, where he won his
second cup in 1994. In 1998, Sprouse signed with Miami, where he retired.
Ted McDougall, F,
BOS, LI, CHI, LA, 1985-2002
The pride of Prince Edward Island, Ted McDougall was the
Island’s first established player to play in the PHL. Drafted by Boston,
McDougall eventually arrived in Long Island just in time to win the Lewis Cup
with the Concordes in 1990. McDougall nearly won a second cup in 1995 as a
member of the Chicago Shamrocks when they lost to Montreal. McDougall finished
his career in Los Angeles, where he spent his final two seasons.
Gustav Janssen, D,
DET, NYC, 1982-2002
Janssen served as a steady defenseman for the Detroit
Mustangs for twelve years. When the Mustangs fell on hard times in the 1990s,
Janssen was dealt to the New York Civics in 1994, where he won his first and
only Lewis Cup in 1997. Janssen continued to play a veteran role for the Civics
until 2002.
Graham Boswell, F,
CHI, QUE, MIL, 1982-2002
Though Boswell was mostly known as a physical role player
throughout his career, but he was also known for scoring one of the most famous
goals in PHL history, known by many simply as “The Goal”. In 1983, Boswell
scored the overtime winner in game seven of the Lewis Cup Finals against
Pittsburgh, giving Chicago their first cup since 1955. Boswell went on to play
20 seasons with Chicago, Quebec, and one final season in Milwaukee.
Trevor Ramsey, F,
CGY, MTL, CAR, EDM, BOS, 1983-2002
A dependable two-way player, Trevor Ramsey played a big role
in two of Montreal’s three cups in the 90s. Ramsey also retires as one of the most
travelled PHLers, having played for five franchises.
Notable Trades
Washington trades 1st-round
pick to Atlanta in exchange for F Marc Brunelle and D Jordan O’Reilly.
The Generals get two top-tier players in an effort to return
to contention, while the Copperheads are now able to draft two key building
blocks in Jason Ferland and Jody Graves.
Oakland trades 1st
round pick and F Luca Schober to Boston in exchange for G Kevin Washer.
In an attempt to fill out their roster and continue to build
for the future, the Bulldogs part with their star goaltender, picking up a
solid prospect and a pick while Oakland hopes to return to the playoffs.
Long Island trades F
Kim Brodie to Philadelphia in exchange for F Alexei Ivanov.
Former all-star Brodie will chase his first title in the
twilight of his career, while the Concordes add a solid prospect.
Key Free Agents
Resignings:
RFAs:
F Brad McNair signs
new 10-year deal with New Orleans worth $12 Million/year.
D Matt Andersson
signs new 8-year deal with Boston worth $10 Million/year.
F Jay Phoenix signs
new 8-year deal with Quebec worth $6 Million/year.
F Brandon Kelso signs
new 7-year deal with Edmonton worth $6 Million/year.
F Ryan Woods signs
new 4-year deal with Miami worth $4 Million/year.
G Blair Kelsey signs
new 3-year deal with Cleveland worth $4 Million/year.
UFAs:
F Sergei Vetrov (MTL)
signs 5-year deal with Miami worth $10 Million/year.
Vincent Ducharme’s former right-hand man will now try to
work similar magic alongside Eric Moon in Florida.
F Ilya Sakharov (STL)
signs 6-year deal with Los Angeles worth $9 Million/year.
Sakharov is the latest star to leave the Spirits, bringing
natural scoring ability to LA.
F Brendan Bittner
(PIT) signs 6-year deal with Milwaukee worth $8.5 Million/year.
The Choppers add more size up front with the 6’4” 221 lb
Bittner.
F Viktor Skogg (LA)
signs 2-year deal with Montreal worth $8 Million/year.
With the Sakharov signing, the Wizards lack cap room to re-sign
their aging captain. Royale hope Skogg will replace offense lost from Vetrov.
D Jonathan Adams
(MTL) signs 2-year deal with Vancouver worth $4 Million/year.
Hard-hitting Kamloops native hopes to end his career close
to home after 16 seasons between Calgary and Montreal.
G Todd Waddell (SEA)
signs 5-year deal with Vancouver worth $3 Million/year.
Grey Wolves backup finally gets opportunity as a starter
with the rival Bighorns.
News
The 2002 off-season kicked off with big news in Toronto.
After a dismal finish to the season, the team fired Head Coach Bob Lacey,
leading to much speculation of who his replacement would be. That speculation
increased just prior to the draft when GM Bobby Kitchen was also dismissed. Both
searches ended on June 28, when former Racers enforcer Rex Hull was named the
team’s new Head Coach and General Manager. Hull was one of the most popular
players ever to wear the double blue, spending 18 seasons with the Racers from
1978 to 1996 and still holds the team’s all-time record for penalty minutes.
In other coaching news, the Washington Generals fired head
coach Doug Sharp, replacing him with former Bulldogs coach Gary Shantz, while 70-year-old
David Zimmer decided to step aside as the Miami Stingrays head coach to focus on
the GM duties. Zimmer hired former PHL star and successful junior coach Dennis
Lambert as the new Stingrays Head Coach.
After the success of the 2001 Holiday Classic, the league announced
there would be a second one in December, 2002. This one would take place at
Empire Stadium in New York City and would feature the New York Civics and the
Montreal Royale. “The game last year was a big hit with the players and fans”
said a league spokesperson. “It makes sense to make it an annual event.”
Speaking of events, the 2004 World Hockey Challenge will be held in Stockholm,
Sweden. Stockholm beat out Helsinki, London, and Montreal for hosting rights.
With the PHL’s uniform deal with SporTech set to expire in
2004, several sports equipment companies were lining up to become the exclusive
provider of PHL game uniforms. SporTech, desperate to make up for losing their
PBL deal, made a bid to renew the contract, while Canadian-based Windsor Hockey
also made a strong bid. Windsor Hockey, which began as a small stick factory in
Nova Scotia in 1891, had grown to become one of the biggest equipment brands in
the sport, now providing skates, gloves, and helmets, as well as sticks to
nearly 30 percent of PHL players. Windsor was also the exclusive equipment
provider for the Canadian Junior leagues, and would become the uniform provider
for international hockey beginning in 2003. Finally, one of the biggest
sporting equipment giants in the world, Duke Sports, made a bid for the
uniforms. Duke pledged to “reinvent” the hockey uniform while maintaining the
Aesthetic traditions. Duke had perhaps the most impressive pedigree of the
three companies, providing equipment and uniforms for everything ranging from
the Olympics to College Football for almost 100 years.
