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Prospect hides mean streak well

Critics say Jay Bouwmeester has all tools to be NHL star except toughness.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published June 20, 2002

Jay Bouwmeester doesn't understand why this is such a big deal.

Yes, he is shy. Yes, he is laid-back. Why does it matter?

"It's just the way I am," he said. "There's not a lot I can do about it."

Oh, and, by the way, just because he speaks in a calm, quiet voice (it is actually a low monotone) doesn't mean he can't muster the fortitude needed to play at a level appropriately hostile for the NHL.

"That will come as you get older," he said. "You mature. You get stronger."

For Bouwmeester, a defenseman for Medicine Hat of the Western Hockey League anointed as the consensus No. 1 pick in this weekend's draft, this isn't splitting atoms, but it is splitting hairs. Responsible defensively? Check.

Transition game? Check.

Slap shot? Check.

Plays with an edge? Well. . .

It's not that Bouwmeester won't finish his checks. He just hasn't shown a mean streak, that Chris Pronger-like quality that warns he will knock your head off as quickly as knock a puck from in front of the net.

"It's not the obvious thing that comes to mind when you think about him, that he's a tough, physical kid," Lightning head scout Jake Goertzen said. "He's never going to be a rock 'em, sock 'em guy, but he doesn't have to be. He's going to hold his own."

At 6 feet 31/2, 206 pounds, Bouwmeester, 18, has the size to dominate his end of the ice. But the Edmonton native had just 26 penalty minutes last season, playing, some nights, 40 minutes.

The strong, silent type.

The worry is that Bouwmeester's demeanor evinces a lack of fire that could hinder his development into the star his skills demand he become. Bouwmeester, who some predict could play in the NHL next season, doesn't see it.

"I think you go do whatever you have to do to play," he said. "To play at that level, you have to change some things about your game because it's different. You're playing against men, not guys who are 16. You can't just step in and think you're going to play like a junior. You have to make adjustments."

If, as predicted, Bouwmeester is taken by the Panthers with the first overall pick, the adjustment will have to come quickly. Coach Mike Keenan does not tolerate inconsistency or untapped potential, especially with an M.O. that pinpoints two or three defensemen as workhorses.

The two met last month in Toronto during Bouwmeester's interview with the Panthers at the prospects combine.

"I didn't have a problem with him," Bouwmeester said. "He seemed like a good guy. Look at the success he's had. People can say what they want, but he brings out the best in his players."

Bouwmeester has a lot to offer. Goertzen said his skating is so effortless "he can play 60 minutes." Speed, playmaking ability and great vision on the ice mean he can control a game's tempo.

Then there is his blazing shot, which is especially good as a one-timer. In 2000, Bouwmeester became the fourth 16-year-old -- Wayne Gretzky, Eric Lindros and Jason Spezza were the others -- to play for Canada in the World Junior Championships.

"He deserves all the attention he gets," Medicine Hat forward Joffrey Lupul said. "He continues to improve and doesn't get too high and doesn't get too low. And he doesn't get caught up with what everyone is saying."

Maybe it just seems that way because Bouwmeester doesn't say much in return. Keenan should like that; a young star who is not full of himself and is willing to listen and not talk back.

"You can't help but think about it a little bit," Bouwmeester said of possibly being the No. 1 pick. "At the same time you don't want to get your hopes up. You just wait and see what happens. You're only going to do this once so sit back and enjoy it."

After all, it's a very big deal.

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