Everything starts with "the list."

Each of the NHL's 30 teams will begin this weekend's entry draft with their own list of prospects. And, while some of the 30 lists may be similar to one another or to the list provided by the league's Central Scouting Bureau, none will be identical.

None.

Some teams will rate a prospect high, while another will have the very same young player near the bottom of the page. In 1996, Calgary stunned many observers by selecting D Derek Morris with the 13th overall pick. At the time, few figured Morris would go in the first round. Five years later, Morris has emerged as the top player from the class of '96.

Each team's list also will be different in length. Some of the more confident clubs (or those with fewer selections) will bring a shorter list -- maybe 50 to 75 names -- to the draft table. Instead of ranking all the players, those teams will have identified the players they like within the range of each of their picks.

Most teams, however, will bring a list of approximately 100 prospects to the table. The lists will be compiled in accordance with a particular team's drafting philosophy. Some teams like bigger players, while others aren't afraid to take a chance on a smaller, more skilled prospect. A player's character and grit also play a big part in exactly where he will rank on a team's list, as these days, every aspect of a prospect's on- and off-ice behavior is scrutinized. Teams with a strong organizational philosophy usually do consistently well on draft day.

But "the list" isn't everything. If a team's prospect list isn't enough, each table is equipped with a computer that can access Central Scouting's complete rankings. The computer system also keeps track of the previously selected players.

There's another important list at each table. The telephone list. Throughout the draft, teams will be calling one another's tables with trade offers to move up or down in the selection order. For a GM, nothing is more frustrating than getting a busy signal while trying to close a deal.

Each team is allowed to have roughly 20 members of its organizational staff at its table. Aside from upper management and the coaches, a table will include the team's amateur and professional scouts.

Several of each team's amateur scouts are part-timers who are in the business more to satisfy their passion for the game than any monetary gain. These part-timers usually have a particular area of familiarity (Western Hockey League, Quebec Major Junior League, Ontario Hockey League, U.S. College, U.S. junior leagues and prep schools, or any of the hockey producing countries outside of North America).

As teams prepare for a selection, an individual scout may push for a player for whom he feels strongly. Occasionally, those discussions become heated, but most decisions have been hammered out at staff meetings in the weeks leading up to the draft.

With the player pool stretched to across the world and teams spending more and more money on scouting, there are virtually no potential prospects that haven't been identified. In recent memory, the only first-round choice who might not have been on everyone's radar screen is Toronto's Nik Antropov, who was selected 10th in 1998. Antropov was a bit difficult to find because he grew up and played in Kazakhstan, a small country that was part of the former Soviet Union.

As the draft moves into its later stages, most GMs will leave the selection process entirely up to the club's amateur scouting staff. At that point in the proceedings, many GMs can be found talking to one another or answering questions from the press at the back of the draft floor.

With the possibility of several big-time trades and an excellent draft class, the team tables might be more chaotic than usual this weekend. The best guide for any of the 30 teams to navigate through it all?

The list.

E.J. Hradek writes hockey for ESPN The Magazine. E-mail ej.hradek@espnmag.com.