NHL Announces 2003-2004 All-Rookie Team

Pitkanen named as a defenseman

Goaltender Andrew Raycroft of the Boston Bruins, defensemen John-Michael Liles of the Colorado Avalanche and Joni Pitkanen of the Philadelphia Flyers, and forwards Trent Hunter of the New York Islanders, Ryan Malone of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Michael Ryder of the Montreal Canadiens have been voted to the 2003-2004 NHL All-Rookie Team, the League announced today. Voting was conducted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association at the conclusion of the regular season.

To qualify for rookie status, a player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games (in any major professional league) in any two preceding seasons. A player also must not have reached his 26th birthday by September 15 of the season in which he is eligible. Rookie team voting selects one goaltender, two defensemen and three forwards. The results are tabulated by the accounting firm Ernst & Young.

Following is a summary of each NHL All-Rookie Team member's outstanding season:

GOALTENDER

Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins
Born: May 4, 1980 in Belleville, Ontario
Catches left. 6'0", 170 lbs.
Boston's fifth-round pick, 135th overall, in the 1998 Entry Draft

Raycroft's goaltending backstopped the Bruins to the Northeast Division title and the second seed in the Eastern Conference. Raycroft appeared in 57 games and posted a 29-18-9 record, a 2.05 goals-against average and a .926 save percentage. He finished the season 14-6-3 in his last 23 games and was 20-8-3 in his last 31. Raycroft was voted Canadian Major Junior Goaltender of the Year in 1999-2000 with OHL Kingston and spent most of the following three seasons with the Bruins' AHL affiliate in Providence.

FORWARDS
(in alphabetical order)

Trent Hunter, New York Islanders
Born: July 5, 1980 in Red Deer, Alberta
Right wing. Shoots right. 6'3", 210 lbs.
Anaheim's sixth-round pick, 150th overall, in the 1998 Entry Draft

After a promising NHL debut in the 2002 Stanley Cup Playoffs and further seasoning with AHL Bridgeport in 2002-2003, Hunter emerged as one of the Islanders' top forwards this season. Hunter led all rookies in plus-minus (+23) and game-winning goals (seven) and tied for the lead in goals (25). A sixth-round pick of the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1998 Entry Draft, Hunter was obtained by the Islanders in a May, 2000 trade.

Ryan Malone, Pittsburgh Penguins
Born: December 1, 1979 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Left wing. Shoots left. 6'4", 216 lbs.
Pittsburgh's fourth-round pick, 115th overall, in the 1999 Entry Draft

The son of former Penguins player and current head scout Greg Malone, Ryan is the first Pittsburgh-trained player to play in the National Hockey League. Malone finished third on the Penguins and fourth among NHL rookies in scoring with 43 points (22 goals, 21 assists) in 81 games, led the Penguins in goals and became the first rookie with three overtime tallies since the League instituted the five-minute overtime in 1983-84. He also is the first Penguins rookie to score 20 goals since Shawn McEachern netted 28 in 1992-93.

Michael Ryder, Montreal Canadiens
Born: March 31, 1980 in St. John's, Newfoundland
Right wing. Shoots right. 6'0", 196 lbs.
Montreal's ninth-round pick, 216th overall, in the 1998 Entry Draft

A ninth-round pick in the 1998 Entry Draft, Ryder earned a spot on the Canadiens roster last September following three years' development in the American Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League. He made the most of his opportunity, finishing the season as the League's rookie scoring leader with 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 81 games. He also led all rookies in power-play points (10-13--23) and shots (215).

DEFENSEMEN
(in alphabetical order)

John-Michael Liles, Colorado Avalanche
Born: November 25, 1980 in Zionsville, Indiana
Defense. Shoots left. 5'10", 185 lbs.
Colorado's fifth-round pick, 159th overall, in the 2000 Entry Draft

A product of the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 programs and an All-American selection in his senior year at Michigan State, Liles made an auspicious start to his NHL career by scoring the game-winning goal in his third game, a 5-2 victory at Minnesota Oct. 16. Liles went on to lead all rookie defensemen in scoring with 34 points (10 goals, 24 assists) in 79 games, including 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his last 17 contests.

Joni Pitkanen, Philadelphia Flyers
Born: September 19, 1983 in Oulu, Finland
Defense. Shoots left. 6'3", 200 lbs.
Philadelphia's first choice, fourth overall, in the 2002 Entry Draft

Pitkanen, 20, is the youngest member of this year's NHL All-Rookie Team. Prior to making his NHL debut last fall, Pitkanen played two seasons with Karpat Oulu of the Finnish Elite League and was voted best defenseman at the 2003 I.I.H.F. World Junior Championships in Halifax. Pitkanen appeared in 71 games for the Flyers this season, recording 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) and a +15 rating. He ranked second among rookie defensemen in scoring and second among all rookies in plus-minus.

Thursday, June 10, 2004