The first thing you need to know about the 2002 NHL draft class is that it's weak. The second thing you need to know is that the first four picks this year will make everybody forget the first thing.

Need a franchise goalie? Take 18-year-old Finnish keeper Kari Lehtonen. Looking for something in a complete two-way forward? Rick Nash, 18, is for you. But if you have your heart set on that rarest of birds, an 18-year-old defenseman who's ready to play in the NHL, then snap up Jay Bouwmeester, a big (6'4", 204) banger who can flat-out fly.

"Bobby Orr is the best skater I've seen," says Bouwmeester's Medicine Hat (Alberta) coach, Bob Loucks. "And Jay is second. He'll do more than just stay up. He'll be a contributor his first year. He's just that good."

Unlike most tub-thumpers for junior phenoms, Loucks -- who once coached Chris Pronger, the last 18-year-old defenseman pick to jump straight to the NHL (1993) -- merits a second listen: "Jay's quite a bit ahead of where Chris was at that age."

Bouwmeester is leaving all that talk to others. In fact, he leaves most any kind of talk to others. "I just try to have fun and play the game," says the Edmonton native, in what for him is a virtual soliloquy.

Nash, who hails from just outside Toronto and played junior hockey in nearby London, Ont., never stops chasing the puck. And once he gets it, he never gets knocked off it. Think Peter Forsberg. Not only did Nash lead his team in goals, he also played great defense. The combo of scoring touch, speed and toughness has a few observers speculating that he might be picked No. 1. "Every time Rick touches the puck, he does something exciting," says Stan Butler, who coached Nash on Canada's World Junior squad at the 2002 championships. "He's coachable, he's quiet and he listens. He understands right away."

Bouwmeester is still the consensus choice to go No. 1 on June 22, but after that, it's a toss-up between Nash and two Finns -- D Joni Pitkanen and Lehtonen. The goalie won a silver medal playing for Finland at the 2001 World Juniors and a bronze in 2002. He left NHL observers at hockey's biggest annual talent show buzzing about his poise and quickness. As for the slick-skating Pitkanen, teams do not easily pass up quality defenseman.

"One thing's for sure," says Florida GM Rick Dudley. "There'll be no mistakes in the first picks, regardless of the order."

For four teams -- Florida, Atlanta, Columbus and Tampa Bay -- that's great news. For the other 26, well, the first thing you need to know ...

This article appears in the June 24 issue of ESPN The Magazine.