By Dave Doyle
SportsLine NHL Editor

Just a decade ago, as Communism disintegrated in the former Soviet Bloc, Europeans were viewed by some as bogeymen who were going to bring ruin upon the National Hockey League. As the stereotype went, the European player might have been talented, but he was considered soft and could never hold up to the rigors of the rough-and-tumble NHL and its grueling schedule.

Now, as the NHL heads into the 21st century, it is clear the European presence is not only here to stay, but also destined to have a profound impact on the way the game is played in coming years. Anyone looking for evidence needs look no further than Saturday's 1999 Entry Draft at FleetCenter in Boston.

The top four players selected in the draft all come from the Old Continent, with Czech natives Patrik Stefan (Atlanta; first) and Pavel Brendl (New York Rangers, fourth) sandwiched around the Swedish Sedin twins, Daniel and Henrik, both claimed by Vancouver.

Prior to this the biggest European impact on the top of the draft came in 1992, when Tampa Bay took Czech Roman Hamrlik first, followed by Russians Alexei Yashin (Ottawa, second) and Darius Kasparaitis (New York Islanders, fifth).

But Europeans players didn't just make an impact in the top five: A total of 13 European players were taken in the first round (three Russians, three Czechs, two Swedes, two Finns, two Slovaks and a Swiss), topping the previous record of 11 set in that '92 draft.

If the Czech dominance of the 1998 Olympics wasn't enough of a hint, then the 1999 Entry Draft should make even the most stubborn hockey traditionalist realize the age of the European player has dawned in the NHL.

Thrashers GM Dan Waddell came up a winner in Saturday's Entry Draft.(AP)

Other winners

Patrik Stefan and the Atlanta Thrashers

Going into the draft, consensus had it that Stefan, the No. 1-ranked prospect by NHL Scouting Central, was the most talented player available. But injury concerns, namely two concussions last season, led to rumblings that potential suitors would be scared off from picking the native of Pribram, Czech Republic.

Then the Atlanta Thrashers had their expansion draft Friday, and picked up some goaltending help and solid defenders, but didn't get anyone who has proven able to put the puck in the net on a regular basis. So GM Dan Waddell sized up the situation, decided Stefan was his man, and traded for the No. 1 pick.

If Stefan can put his concussion problems behind him, this move should pay immediate dividends for both parties.

The New York Islanders

It hasn't been often in recent years that the words "Islanders" and "winners" have been used in the same sentence, but New York came out of the draft smelling like a rose. The Islanders started dealing a week ago, unloading Ziggy Palffy's megabucks contract on Los Angeles, in exchange for tough young forwards Olli Jokinen and Josh Green, defenseman Mathieu Biron, and the Kings' first-round pick, No. 8 overall. The Islanders also went into the day with their own first-round pick (No. 5), and the No. 10 pick obtained from Montreal in the Trevor Linden deal.

With the No. 5 pick, GM Mike Milbury selected talented center Tim Connolly of Baldwinsville, N.Y. Connolly, the first non-European taken in the draft, was 30-32-62 in 59 games with Erie of the OHL this season. At No. 8, Milbury took left wing Tyler Pyatt of Sudbury (OHL), a great skater. At No. 10, he took Branislav Mezei, a Slovak native who played for Belleville of the OHL and was the highest-rated defenseman in the draft.

Then, the Isles traded with Dallas to get the Stars' first round pick, No. 28 overall, and used it to select Kristian Kudroc, another defenseman from Slovakia.

Suddenly the Islanders have gotten rid of a ton of payroll and find themselves loaded with potential prospects. If New York's miserable financial situation can be sorted out, this team is a few years away from being very good.

Chicago Blackhawks

For a long time, it seemed the Chicago Blackhawks' front office couldn't do anything right. This was, after all, the team that saw fit to purge itself of Jeremy Roenick and Ed Belfour.

But since hiring Lorne Molleken as coach mid-season, it seems everything they touched has turned to gold. The 'Hawks managed to dump aging whiner Chris Chelios to Detroit and got not only the Red Wings' top picks this season and in 2001, but also up-and-coming defenseman Anders Eriksson.

Chicago traded their top pick this season Saturday, getting veteran Bryan McCabe in return for Vancouver's top pick next year or in 2001. They got a gritty defenseman with the No. 23 pick, Steve McCarthy of Kootenay (WHL). And they still have four first-round picks in the next two drafts.

The future's looking bright in the Windy City.

Draft Losers

Pavel Brendl and the New York Rangers

You have to give the Rangers credit for not playing it safe, but was this gamble worth it? The Broadway Blueshirts took a chance and traded up to land Pavel Brendl, the talented Czech bad boy who tore up the WHL with Calgary last season. Brendl undeniably has the offensive skills, but questions about his maturity and defensive skills are probably what made the Thrashers decide to take the injury-prone Stefan ahead of him.

Under the harsh microscope of the New York media, Brendl is likely going to either shine or wither, with little room in between. Outbursts like the one that caused him to get suspended in the middle of the WHL championship (in which he bumped an official during an argument) aren't going to play in the big show.

In addition, the Rangers hurt themselves in net in order to make the deal, as they dealt 23-year old Dan Cloutier, widely regarded as the heir to 32-year old Mike Richter, and Niklas Sundstrom to Tampa to move up to the No. 4 slot.

Detroit Red Wings

But we all knew this going in. The aging Wings mortgaged their future in hopes of winning one last Stanley Cup with a flurry of trades to bring in Chelios, Wendel Clark, Ulf Samuelsson and Bill Ranford at the trade deadline in March. Reality began to set in as Detroit didn't pick until the fourth round, taking Jari Tolsa with the 120th pick.

Too soon to tell

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks were another team to gamble in the first round. GM Brian Burke decided that he wanted to get his hands on both of the Sedin twins, and was willing to do whatever it took to get them there.

Ultimately, that entailed shipping McCabe to Chicago, as well as Vancouver's No. 1 pick either next year or in 2001, to end up with the second and third picks, enabling them to snag both Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

But the Canucks are still in a state of flux, having come off a train wreck of a season that saw them finish last in the Western Conference. The Sedins will likely return to their Swedish team, MoDo, for at least another season. If they do indeed turn out to be the studs they're expected to become, it will take awhile, and the Canucks may languish along in mediocrity for a couple more years. And that means Burke might not even be around the team long enough to find out if his gamble worked.

Tampa Bay

Make no mistake about it, the Lightning needed goaltending help, and they needed it bad. The Lightning surrendered 291 goals in 1998-99, by far the worst in the NHL. They traded Bill Ranford at the deadline to Detroit, and lost Corey Schwab to Atlanta in the expansion draft.

So the Lightning were willing to first trade the No. 1 pick in the draft to Vancouver for the No. 4 pick and two third-round picks, then traded the No. 4 to the Rangers for one of the game's true up-and-coming keepers in Cloutier, and also got Sundstrom to boot.

So Tampa GM Jacques Demers shored up the net, but they are in a situation where they could be wondering "what if?" Suppose Stefan, the Sedins, and Brendl all become superstars? The Lightning would then have to wonder if Cloutier and Sundstrom were worth passing on any one of those four.

Odds and Ends

WOE, CANADA:More evidence the game is slipping away from its Canadian roots: With the top four selections being used on Europeans, and the fifth slot filled by an American (Connolly), the highest-drafted Canadian was goalie Brian Finley of Sault Ste, Marie, Ontrario, in the sixth slot, the lowest pick for the top Canadian in the history of the draft. Finley was 23-14-1 with Barrie of the OHL last season.

HEAD-SCRATCHER:The hometown Boston Bruins selected defenseman Nick Boynton of the Memorial Cup champion Ottawa 67s with their first round pick, No. 21 overall. Boynton was drafted in the No. 9 spot two years ago by Washington, but the two sides never could come to terms, and Boynton stayed in junior hockey. Watching the stubborn Boynton do business with the notoriously parsimonious Boston front office duo of GM Harry Sinden and assistant Mike O'Connell should be an entertaining spectacle.

DROPPING:Eighteen-year old Martin Havlac of Trinec, Czech Republic, was ranked third by NHL Scouting Central in their list of European prospects, but inexplicably fell all the way to No. 26, where he was claimed by Ottawa.

NCAA PICKS:Three NCAA players were taken in the first round. Jeff Jillson, a defenseman from Providence, R.I., had 5-16-21 stats as a freshman with Michigan last season. He was taken with the 14th pick by San Jose. Two picks later, Carolina took Wisconsin blueliner David Tanabe. Tanabe, a Minneapolis native, is considered a great skater but known for lapses in the defensive zone. Finally, Barrett Heisten of Anchorage, AK, a freshman left winger with NCAA champion Maine, went to Buffalo with the 21st pick.