The Vancouver Sun
June 29, 1998
By Elliott Pap

BUFFALO -- With the selection of gigantic Bryan Allen in Saturday's NHL entry draft, the Vancouver Canucks have the makings of a defensive corps that could be the envy of the league in two or three seasons.

Allen represents the baby of the bunch at 17 but when he joins Bryan McCabe, 23, Mattias Ohlund, 21, and coming prospect Brad Ference, 19, , he will also become the biggest. Allen is pushing 6'5'' and weighs 215 pounds.

"As big as he is, we still think he's going to fill out,'' said Canuck general manager Brian Burke. ``He's still like a colt. We see him eventually at 225-230, somewhere in there.''

Allen, the Oshawa General, fell into Vancouver's lap at pick No. 4 when Vincent Lecavalier, David Legwand and Brad Stuart went 1-2-3 to Tampa Bay, Nashville and San Jose.

Burke had vowed to take either Stuart or Allen, who ever was left sitting there, and made good on that promise. He did admit to receiving some offers for his pick but didn't like what he was hearing.

"There was nothing that I would describe as worthwhile and when I tried to upgrade them I didn't get very far,'' Burke said. "We made a fairly determined effort, in my opinion, to move up to No. 2 and were unsuccessful obviously. But we're happy with the way it worked out. Bryan Allen is big and he can skate pretty well. For a kid his size, he is pretty far along.

"I think we'll have room for a big, belligerent defenceman in a year or two.''

Allen, who has two older sisters, a niece and a dog, likes to fish and play golf when he isn't crushing opposition forwards. He also appears to be something of a patriot and expressed his satisfaction at being able to stay in Canada.

"I was pretty proud to look down and see a Canadian team's logo,'' Allen said. "I think it's great.''

So does his father Nigel, who built a backyard rink at their home in Glenburnie, Ont., just outside Kingston. There were nights, Nigel Allen said, when he couldn't drag Bryan off the ice.

"This is incredible,'' said the elder Allen. "All those early morning practices . . . this is a dream come true. As a parent, to be sitting through all this you're in a bit of a daze. We are also really thrilled he will be able to stay in Canada. That means a lot to us.''

The Canucks turned to Europe with their next two picks, taking Russian centre Artem Chubarov from Moscow Dynamo and Finnish winger Jarkko Ruutu from HIFK Helsinki. Vancouver then added Los Angeles-born right winger Justin Morrison with its second selection in the third round.

Chubarov said he won't be eligible to come to North America for two more years due to military commitments while Ruutu is a 22-year-old winger who may be ready to step right into the Canucks' lineup, filling a third or fourth line role. Morrison, 6'3'' and 200 pounds, just completed his freshman year at Colorado College and will remain in school.

"I think it was predictable in terms of what we thought we'd get in the top three rounds,'' Burke said. "We're very pleased with our first pick and as far as the rest of the guys go, with the exception of Ruutu, these kids are all projects who will require time and development.''

Jack Birch, the Canucks' first-year director of amateur scouting, felt the proceedings went pretty much as expected, with the draft scattering about halfway through the first round.

"We didn't do anything different than we did when Mike Penny ran it for us,'' said Birch following the marathon nine-hour, 35-minute draft that left everyone cranky. "There were a couple of deals pending but we told Brian we'd sooner take the pick than what was being offered and he was very good about that.''

Allen received high marks from OHL commissioner Dave Branch, despite the fact the commish suspended him for five games early in the season for cross-checking an opponent in the face.

"It was not characteristic of him,'' Branch said. "He got his stick up on that play but he is not that type of player. What he does have is a great deal of presence on the ice. He has all the physical attributes and his potential is absolutely tremendous.''

Allen plans to finish his high school courses this summer and work out in Kingston with his personal trainer of the last two years. He has never been further west than Red Deer and is impressed, so far, with Canuck head coach Mike Keenan.

"He doesn't seem too bad to me,'' said Allen. "I think he is a great guy but it might be a different story at training camp.''

The Canucks wound up with six Canadians, three Americans and three Europeans. They chose five defencemen, two centres and five wingers. Surprisingly, they did not select a goaltender even though they desperately need one both now and in the future.

"We had full intentions of taking a goalie but every time we were going to, the player was gone,'' Birch explained. "Then we felt there was no sense in taking a goaltender in a bad crop just for the sake of taking one.''

Next on the agenda for Brian Burke and company is free agency. That season begins Wednesday. Training camp is a mere 10 weeks away.



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