Mention Kladno, one of countless towns in the Czech Republic whose name boasts oddly placed consonants, to your average American and maybe they'll harrumph in your general direction. But mention it to any respectable hockey fan, and you're guaranteed to get a spark. Kladno. Sure. That's Jaromir Jagr's hometown.

	Ivan Huml Left Wing Boston Bruins Profile
	2002-2003 SEASON STATISTICS GM G A PTS +/- PIM 10 2 4 6 8 12

If you're superstitious, (and most hockey players are, whether they admit it or not), that's an omen. Most could spend hours and not find a single thing they have in common with the Czech superstar, except maybe that thing about putting their shin pads on one leg at a time. But not Ivan Huml.

Even if things don't work out for the Bruins' young left wing, he can always say that he grew up in Kladno watching Jagr. He'll always have that claim to fame. But the B's are hoping he'll be making his own.

In training camp last year, Huml's talent was as obvious as his accent. But it was also apparent that his Olive Oil body would require a few more cans of spinach before it could hold up to the rigors of the NHL. He packed his bags, went back to Providence, and scored 28 goals for the Providence Bruins. This summer, he bulked up his 6-2 frame to a still rather un-bulky 195 pounds and led the big club with five preseason goals.

B's head coach Robbie Ftorek is a smart guy, but it doesn't take an Einstein to know that a young kid will feel most comfortable with a nice veteran, especially one that could thread a pass through South Station at rush hour and just happens to speak the young kid's native tongue. So, Ftorek plopped Huml on the left side of Slovak center Jozef Stumpel.

The chemistry was instantaneous. Huml scored three goals in Bruins' 7-2 preseason drubbing of the Penguins on Oct. 1. All three goals were set up by Stumpel.

"Stumpy is going to give you the puck in the right place and you're going to get opportunities to score," says Ftorek. "They click really well. Huml is a smart little player, but we'll see how far he takes it. He has to get better defensively, but he's growing up."

Every rookie has growing up to do. After all, Huml is only 21 years old, and he's on the elder end of the rookie spectrum. But with Huml, the raw materials are there.

"He's an opportunist," says Bruins GM Mike O'Connell. "He's very quiet and very efficient. You won't notice him too much until he gets in front of the net, but that's where you're going to notice Ivan Huml. He has the patience and he has the touch, and he does that one thing in front that you just can't teach."

With the departure of free agent power forward Bill Guerin and his 41 goals to Dallas, "that one thing" is just what the Bruins are looking for.

Huml stepped up and scored his first NHL goal against the Oilers on Oct. 19. Regular goaltender John Grahame was out with a separated shoulder, so 28-year-old rookie goalie Tim Thomas, a veteran of the Scandinavian leagues, was manning the net. Goal scorers Sergei Samsonov and Martin Lapointe were out with a bum wrist and a busted foot, respectively. Still, at 15:39 of the third period, Huml blasted a slap shot that deflected off the stick of Edmonton D-man Jason Smith and beat goaltender Tommy Salo for the gamewinner. It wasn't nearly as pretty as any of his goals against the Penguins, but when it's number one you're after, style points are secondary.

"I just tried to shoot it as hard as I could," said Huml, who, in his excitement, forgot to grab his souvenir puck. "I'm a goal scorer, and I'm used to being able to score goals. Now, it's harder. I had a lot of chances in our first five games, and I know I should have scored."

Huml currently has two goals and six points, but none of the Bruins' bigwigs want Huml to get too hung up on scoring goals. To hang around in Boston, Huml is going to have to do more than that.

"Robbie preaches that you have to be a good hockey player and score, not just an OK hockey player and score," says O'Connell.

Translated, that means that Huml is going to have to be defensively responsible. He's going to have to work his tail off every night, and the chances will come on their own.

Just like they do for that other guy from Kladno.

The Magazine's Lindsay Berra can be e-mailed at lindsay.berra@espnmag.com.