Wayne Gretzky and Eric Lindros were household names well before they played a single game in the NHL. Although the hype surrounding Jason Spezza has yet to eclipse Gretzky and Lindros, Spezza's name has been well known in hockey circles for some time.
After his 15-year-old season in the Ontario Hockey League, when the 6-foot-2 center had 22 goals and 71 points in 67 games for Brampton, Spezza became just the fourth Canadian to play in the World Junior Championships as a 16-year-old when he helped Canada to a bronze in 2000.
The others? Lindros, Gretzky and Jay Bouwmeester, who will be draft eligible next summer.
Spezza's name began to hit the front page in 1999 when he was the first overall pick by Mississauga in the OHL draft. He kept it there by putting up 91 points in 67 games through early 2000-01 before he was traded to Windsor last November. Spezza finished the 2000-01 season with a flourish, scoring 36 goals in his final 41 games after tallying just seven in his first 15 games with the struggling Ice Dogs.
Spezza has all the physical attributes of a future star: size, speed and on-ice smarts.
After all his stardom in junior hockey, Spezza is ready for the NHL.
"I just want to move on and play in the NHL next year," he said. "That's my main focus."
Interestingly, Spezza's stock in the draft has slipped somewhat. It was once thought he would be the consensus No. 1 pick, but Russian Ilya Kovalchuk supplanted Spezza as the No. 1 prospect. Spezza could be picked anywhere between Nos. 2-4 during Saturday's draft.
Although Spezza remains Central Scouting's top-rated North American, his pre-draft stock drop is due to questions regarding his competitiveness, as well as the fact that scouts seem to have a higher regard for Kovalchuk's talent.
To fulfill his goal of playing in the NHL as an 18-year-old, Spezza must dispel any of those doubts.
Brian A. Shactman covers the NHL for ESPN.com.
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