It's always fun revisiting scouts' pre-draft scouting reports on eventual NHL stars.
Last summer I took a look at a few pre-draft scouting reports on eventual Penguins players, and shared reports on guys like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Marc-Andre Fleury.
A Reddit user on Monday shared a picture from The Hockey News' 1990 draft preview magazine, where a young, "not real flashy" forward by the name of Jaromir Jagr was projected to go No. 6 in the draft.
Here's what they said about him:
"Czechoslovakian left winger Jaromir Jagr is considered by some scouts to be the best player eligible for this year's draft. But it is a minority viewpoint and while Jagr is certainly a premier prospect, the chances of him going No. 1 appear slim. He does, however, have a legitimate shot of breaking into the top five.
" 'He's a top-notch international player,' says one scout. 'He's a very big guy who skates extremely well, is a good puckhandler and plays well in traffic. He's not real flashy. He doesn't attract you with his finesse so much as his overall performance in all areas of the game. He's an impact player in their Elite League and is a member of the national team. What does that tell you?'
"After the World Junior Championships in Finland, Bob Clarke proclaimed Jagr as the best player available, but he has since been fired as general manager of the Philadelphia Flyers, who pick fourth overall. It remains to be seen if the scouting staff feels the same as Clarke.
"Jagr, represented by Toronto player agent Don Meehan, is expected to be at the draft proceedings in Vancouver with his parents. That will only help his chances of going higher. Hartford's success in signing Bobby Holik (10th overall) last year will be another positive factor for Jagr, who may only be a year away from the NHL.
" 'We'll have to check on his contract situation over there, but the fact he's going to be at the draft indicates a desire to play over here,' says a scout."
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Jagr, of course, did break into the top five, but was passed over by the Nordiques, Canucks, Red Wings, and Flyers, and selected No. 5 overall.
The scout quoted above said that Jagr didn't have 'finesse,' but Jagr likely only fell to the Penguins in the draft because he finessed his way through the pre-draft interviews. Then-general manager Craig Patrick told the story three years ago at a Penguins alumni golf outing.
"We were surprised (that Jagr was available at No. 5)," Patrick said. "But I found out years later that when he was interviewed by teams ahead of us, he told them all he wasn't coming over (to the NHL) right away. But when we asked him that question he said 'I'll be there tomorrow if you draft me.' So, I think the other teams backed off because of that. We were happy he was there, we were surprised, definitely."
Patrick was asked if he knew why Jagr answered those interview questions the way he did.
"He idolized Mario."
In Jagr's 1997 autobiography, he explained how that idolization started, when he was 13 years old and saw Lemieux play at the 1985 World Championship in Prague. It was Lemieux's first and only time playing in a World Championship tournament, and he finished the tournament with four goals and six assists in nine games. Canada took home silver, falling to Czechoslovakia in the gold medal game.
“From the moment I laid eyes on (Lemieux), he became my hockey hero," Jagr said. "It never occurred to me that one day I'd be playing with him on the same team. I saw every one of his games and couldn’t take my eyes off the television screen. My mom complained that it almost made her deaf. I sat in front of the television and screamed, ‘Mario! Mario!’ My mom was completely beside herself and asked me if I'd lost my mind. ‘Why are you so hung up on that Mario? You don't even know a single person named Mario!’ she exclaimed."
“Mario Lemieux was my hero from the time I saw him play in the World Championship in Prague. Now I can admit it, but a year and a half after I arrived on the team I had a little secret. I carried his picture in my wallet. If one of my teammates had found out, I'd have been the laughingstock of the team. He was a god to me. I still get nervous when I’m around him, as if I was asking for his autograph or something.”
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