Jim Montgomery said he'll never forget the caliber of talent he had skating alongside him as a senior at the University of Maine two decades ago.

It was 1992-93, and the Black Bears had one heck of a freshmen class, with New York natives Chris and Peter Ferraro and 5-foot-11, 180-pound Vancouver native Paul Kariya in the fold.

"Paul was special because here's a guy coming in who played for Canada at the World Junior Championship the year before on a line with Eric Lindros, so everybody knew of the talent," Montgomery said. "But you don't know how talented a player is until you see him on the ice."

Montgomery, now coach at the University of Denver, didn't need to watch many line rushes during practice to conclude Kariya was pretty unique.

A similar scenario took place at Boston University this season when freshman Jack Eichel walked on campus after representing the United States at the 2014 IIHF World Junior Championship. Eichel, No. 2 on NHL Central Scouting's final ranking of the top North American skaters eligible for the 2015 NHL Draft, had a similar presence, demeanor and impact in his first collegiate season.

"I jokingly say he's kind of like the Secretariat of a hockey player," Boston University coach David Quinn said. "If you ever watch Secretariat run, he just looks so different than all the other horses.

"Jack is very much in that mold."

Erie Otters captain Connor McDavid has earned the reputation as a generational talent.

It's a label rarely used by NHL scouts. It's never easy to predict how effective any draft prospect will be once he arrives in the NHL, but McDavid appears to be an exception.

Not only is the forward likely to be the No. 1 pick of the 2015 NHL Draft, but many believe he is the best prospect since Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby in 2005.

"Is McDavid the best prospect since Sid?" David Gregory of NHL Central Scouting asked. "Yes, because just about everything he does he does great, and he also wants to get better at it."

Crosby was asked by NHL.com if it's a fair comparison.

"That's for everyone else to decide," he said. "I think it's human nature. It's hockey; it's what we all do and what we all grow up understanding. So I think the biggest thing for Connor is just to enjoy this whole thing as much as he can."

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles forward Evgeny Svechnikov will do whatever it takes to realize his dream of playing in the National Hockey League.

The 6-foot-2, 199-pound left-handed shot is on that path after finishing his first season in North America as the second-highest rookie scorer in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with 78 points in 55 regular-season games. He also had 32 goals, a plus-19 rating with 70 penalty minutes.

Svechnikov is regarded as a power forward but has the creativity and hands to skate the puck through defenders and power his way to the net. Many scouts believe he has a pro-caliber shot.

Brandon Wheat Kings defenseman Ryan Pilon hopes to someday make proud the small town of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan.

Located between his birth town of Prince Albert and Saskatoon, Duck Lake is the place Pilon now calls home whenever he isn't starring for the Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League.

"There's about 600 people in Duck Lake," Pilon said. "If you blink you'll pass right through it. It's small-town living, but there were plenty of backyard rinks and Duck Lake Rink, where I'd play with my family and cousins all the time."

Swift Current Broncos left wing Jake DeBrusk still finds it hard to believe he's watching his father, Louie DeBrusk, when viewing old video clips during his heyday with the Edmonton Oilers.

The elder DeBrusk, who now serves as a hockey analyst for Sportsnet, spent six seasons with the Oilers from 1991-92 through 1996-97 and had 19 goals, 31 points and 797 penalty minutes in 228 games. Much of that time spent in the penalty box was a result of the five-minutes-for-fighting variety.

"He threw pretty hard back then," Jake said with a grin. "I'm watching him and thinking, 'How can my dad be doing that?' It's a little bit remarkable watching those actually.

"I think we'd both agree that we are different hockey players."

Louie DeBrusk said he and Jake enjoy reviewing the time he spent in the NHL.

NEW YORK -- Andrew Ference grew up just outside of Edmonton. His formative hockey years were spent watching the Edmonton Oilers cement their dynasty in the late 1980s. So when Ference had an opportunity to sign with his hometown team and play in the arena where he grew up watching from the stands, he jumped on it, calling it a fairytale.

The fairytale will soon be adding a new character, and Ference, like many of his teammates and Oilers fans, isn't hiding his excitement.

The Oilers won the 2015 NHL Draft Lottery this past Saturday for what has been one of the most hyped drafts in recent memory. The presumptive first pick, forward Connor McDavid, could become the next great hope for Oilers hockey.

"The thing about playing hockey in Canada, it's not just a big day for me personally but for our city," said Ference, who said he watched the draft lottery show on TV. "Our city the last few years has been miserable. We've lost way too much. We haven't been competitive enough.

"To have that and the positivity that comes with that, the anticipation that comes with that, you go out, and you talk to friends in the city and people that are fans of the team and there's genuine excitement. That's good."

Filip Chlapik is forever grateful that his father took him aside during his youth hockey days to have a little heart-to-heart after he told his father of his urge to be a goaltender.

Nothing against the masked men, but Milan Chlapik envisioned his son excelling in another area on the ice; mainly center.

"I was a big fan of Tomas Vokoun and loved to watch him when I was younger," Filip Chlapik said. "But my dad told me, 'No way. You're going to be a forward.'"

He made the right choice.

With the balls bouncing in favor of the Edmonton Oilers at the NHL Draft Lottery, one of the bigger pieces of the puzzle for the 2015 NHL Draft has been set into place.

The draft lottery set the order for the first 14 selections for the 2015 draft, to be held June 26-27 at BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla. It also allowed for NHL.com draft experts Adam Kimelman and Mike G. Morreale to make their predictions for how those teams could select.

Both writers agreed that the Oilers would select center Connor McDavid from the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League with the No. 1 pick.