"This is my first year here and I want to have souvenirs," the boyishly enthusiastic Ottawa Senators rookie told SportsLine.com in an interview. "I've got all my goals on tape so far, and when I score more, I'll get those too."

That should make for a pretty extensive video library.

Martin Havlat may be hockey's most talented young player.(Allsport)

Despite a shoulder injury that kept him sidelined for three weeks earlier this season, Havlat has demonstrated an eye-opening ability to light the lamp in highlight-worthy fashion. It began in the team's home opener with a breakaway goal that he scored after stealing the puck from a Toronto defender and turning veteran Curtis Joseph inside out, and has continued on several rushes that have electrified crowds around the league.

The result has been the creation of a growing bandwagon of hockey watchers who see his speed and an amazing first step, and believe Havlat is the most purely talented first-year player in the game, someone who is capable of greatness in the not-too-distant future.

Not surprisingly, his coach, Jacques Martin, is among them.

"He appeals to the fans because of his quickness and his flair," said Martin in an analysis that was far more clinical than effusive. "Some players just seem to have that kind of dimension, where fans love to see them because of the speed they show or because of their ability to go wide around defensemen.

"It reminds me a bit of Guy Lafleur or Bobby Hull, the guys who got the fans out of their seats."

Linemate Rob Zamuner understands what his coach is talking about.

"He has the potential to be one of those guys that people come to the rink specifically to watch," Zamuner said. "He'll be great for the league if he continues to progress."

Heady praise indeed for a skinny, 19-year-old native of the Czech Republic who barely spoke English when he arrived at his first NHL training camp last September. Although Havlat was reputed to be a highly-skilled player -- the Central Scouting Bureau once described him as an "offensive catalyst who can make things happen" -- at six-foot-one, 178 pounds, he was thought to be at least a couple of years away from filling out adequately to withstand the rigors of the NHL.

Until he took to the ice. Placed in situations that his coach believed would help him have some success, Havlat was able to flank veteran centers Alexei Yashin and Radek Bonk at different times, and responded beyond expectations. He scored four goals on only 15 shots in eight games, showed a headiness with and without the puck the belied his years, and earned himself a spot on one of the most talented young teams in the league.

"I got a lot of chances in training camp and that was great," said Havlat, who has been working diligently in the weight room all season and now tips the scales at 192 pounds. "I didn't know if I could make the team, or even if I was ready. But I wanted to see."

So did the Senators, who selected Havlat late in the first round of the 1999 draft with the 26th pick overall. He was rated to go higher, but a series of circumstances involving several teams thought to be interested in him combined to leave him untouched until Ottawa's turn arrived.

"I guess it's fair to say we were pretty lucky that he was still around," said Martin.

There was some speculation that Havlat might have gone earlier -- he was the third rated European skater in the draft -- had he spent a year or two playing junior hockey in North America. Havlat had that opportunity, but declined on the advice of his father, a former Czech elite player who had coached him from the time he first put on skates.

His father, whose No. 9 Havlat now wears with the Senators, convinced him that staying home would be better for his development.

"I think it turned out better for me because I got to play against men, not against boys my own age," he said. "It helps to play against better competition because that's the way to get better."

Obviously, it worked. Andre Savard, the Montreal Canadiens general manager who was the Senators chief scout when they drafted Havlat, remembers seeing the progress as the young player adapted to the level of competition.

"At first, he looked ordinary, but every time we looked at him after that, he looked a little better," Savard said. "Now look at him."