Jay Bouwmeester

From the moment Jay Bouwmeester was drafted first overall in the 1998 WHL Bantam Draft, people knew he was going to be a big player. Then a 14-year old and already 6'2" (175 pounds), Bouwmeester joined a Medicine Hat Tigers club coming off of the second-worst season in team history - at the time, a 28-year history.

He played a limited role with Medicine Hat the following season, appearing in only eight games but scored twice and added an assist. The Tigers struggled and finished the season with a 15-56-1 record, worse than the previous year and the worst they'd ever had.

When Bouwmeester played his first full season, Medicine Hat had nowhere to go but up, and slowly but surely, they started to improve. Now a 16-year-old, Bouwmeester was playing comfortably with the Tigers and, after 30 games, 7 goals and 11 assists, he was on his way to Sweden to represent Canada in the 2000 World Junior Championships. Along with Jason Spezza, Bouwmeester joined only Eric Lindros and Wayne Gretzky as 16-year olds making the national junior club. Canada won the bronze medal in the tournament and Bouwmeester, still only halfway through the '99-'00 WHL season and with two full seasons before becoming NHL draft eligible, was already being looked at as a potential #1 pick.

He improved over each of the next two seasons both defensively and offensively. With it, his point totals increased from 34 to 53 to 61 -- a point per game in his draft year -- and gradually, with help from future NHLers Joffrey Lupul and Ryan Hollweg, Medicine Hat inched closer to a return to the playoffs. Unfortunately, despite numerous returns to the Canadian junior team, Medicine Hat never got to taste the playoffs with the gifted blueliner on the roster. Still, the improvement was tremendous. They had missed the playoffs by 36 points when he was drafted out of bantam and by the time he was leaving as an 18-year-old to join the NHL's Florida Panthers, the Tigers had missed out by just six points. The next season, Medicine Hat broke through, and the following year, won the WHL's President's Cup. Nevertheless, Bouwmeester had three World Junior appearances -- and medals -- before it was time for the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Praised by scouts and admired by spectators for his flawless skating ability -- taught by his father that "the better you skate backward the better you skate forward," -- his big frame, puck possession abilities and tremendous vision, Bouwmeester had drawn comparisons to stars like Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey and Chris Pronger. Some scouts believing that the eighteen-year-old, now 6'4" and over 200 pounds, was already further along in his development than Pronger was at the same age. His play, improved upon with every season he spent in the WHL had earned him the honour of being the top ranked skater in North America.

It was a match made in heaven for the Florida Panthers who were coming off of a bleak 22-win season and held the top overall pick. Florida's defense was poor, and with defensemen like Robert Svehla, Bret Hedican and Dan Boyle no longer a part of the organization, Bouwmeester was exactly what the Panthers needed. But when draft day had arrived, Florida shocked the league by swapping the first overall pick with Columbus for the third overall selection. In doing so, the Jackets were able to surprise some people themselves by passing on the defenseman, selecting instead their top target - Rick Nash, but the Panthers, who could have taken Bouwmeester from the start, then sent a third round pick in the same draft and a fourth round pick in 2003 to Atlanta to ensure that the Thrashers, who already had their sights set on Kari Lehtonen, would also pass on Bouwmeester. Later, the young star shared his thoughts on the draft:

There was nothing I could do about it but watch how it unfolded. I went to the same place. I said all along it's just exciting to get drafted and have the opportunity to hopefully one day play.

That one day wasn't too far off.

After six games and two assists in the preseason with the Cats, Bouwmeester made the Panthers and his jump to the NHL was complete. His NHL debut followed and with it, he recorded his first career assist in a 3-4 overtime loss to Tampa. The 19-year old would go on to play in all 82 games for Florida that season, scoring four goals and tallying twelve assists. But it was a ride that wasn't without bumps. Late in his rookie season, Bouwmeester had an uncharacteristc physical outburst after he was checked -- hard -- by then-teammate Kristian Huselius in a practice. Bouwmeester immediately struck Huselius in the face and later wondered why, if Huselius wasn't going to hit the opposition in games, he was going to do it to his teammates in practice.

While Florida improved in his rookie season, the team still finished low enough to once again win the draft lottery, and once again, the Cats traded the first overall pick, this time sending a first and third to Pittsburgh for a first and a second. The Panthers took Nathan Horton and Stefan Meyer with the picks. Horton joined the team and, much like in Medicine Hat, Florida had begun a gradual trend of slow, but steady improvement that was a direct result of a young core beginning to grow, improve and mature as a team, whether they were ready or not.

The NHL lockout followed and Bouwmeester joined the Panthers' former AHL affiliate in San Antonio. The Rampage struggled and before season's end, several Panthers' players were loaned to various AHL teams with playoffs on the horizon. Jay wound up in Chicago, playing with the Wolves through to their 4-0 series defeat in the Calder Cup final. To date, this has proven to be his only playoff experience.

Following the lockout, he had a career year and the Panthers improved significantly from their final pre-lockout season, missing the playoffs by seven points. Bouwmeester's assist totals declined as he developed an increased confidence in his own ability to put the puck into the net. In doing so, he more than doubled his goal total from the previous season in 2005-2006, and had skyrocketed from a +1 in the aforementioned campaign to a +23 in 2006-2007. Florida had again tasted a team point increase, a late run leaving them six points out of the playoffs.

His goals increased again in 2007-2008 to 15 on the year, and as he neared RFA status and what would clearly be the biggest contract of his young career, negotiations stalled. Florida had begun to lock up its young talent under new general manager Jacques Martin, but an uncertainty of the team's future kept Bouwmeester from signing long-term. And while this past summer has seen two more Panthers sign on for the long haul, a still undecided Jay Bouwmeester chose instead to sign a one-year deal that will make him a UFA at season's end. In doing so, he avoids going to arbtiration with the Panthers for the second time (the first time, with Mike Keenan) -- but rules in the current league CBA now state that the two sides can not begin negotiations on an extension until January, 2009.

A month ago, Bouwmeester turned 25 and now the defenseman is faced with the what could prove to be one of the biggest decisions of his career. For while there's little doubt that the Panthers are willing to pay Bouwmeester to keep him here, whether the star wants to stay is the true question. There might not be a more challenging player in the league to read through comments and interviews than Jay Bouwmeester. Shy, quiet and seemingly non-confrontational, yet still humble, will Florida be able to convince him that this we want him here, and that this is where he belongs? Removed from the WHL club he helped move forward one year before the team finally broke in to the playoffs, will he pass on that same opportunity now that it's his decision to make?

The Panthers now hold a group of long term investments and prospects that include Nathan Horton, Stephen Weiss, Rostislav Olesz, Keith Ballard, David Booth, Bryan Allen, Michael Frolik, Shawn Matthias, Michal Repik, Colby Robak and Jacob Markström. Florida boasts a new coach and a new style, and as a fan, I can confidently say that the Panthers are closer than they've been in nearly decade to crossing that line. The question is, will Jay stay?