For Lynes, Path From Md. To NHL Is a Numbers Game

Luke Lynes, 18, a fourth-round draft pick of the Capitals from Ellicott City, played in Indiana and Ontario to better his chances of reaching the NHL. (By Jonathan Newton -- The Washington Post)

Last year, there were times after his games in the Ontario Hockey League when Luke Lynes would receive a phone message from his father, Shawn. Once, when Lynes failed to convert in a shootout, the message was about how Calgary Flames winger Jarome Iginla was 0 for 6 in shootouts at the time. Another time, the message was a statistic about Lynes's play on the power play. A third message detailed how often Lynes broke his skate laces.

More often than not, the messages have been about numbers. For Lynes, from Ellicott City, numbers -- and beating them -- have made all the difference.

In 2004-05, there were 445,245 players registered with USA Hockey. In this year's NHL draft, 60 of the 213 players drafted were American-born.

Taken by the Washington Capitals in the fourth round of this year's draft, Lynes, 18, was not only one of a small percentage of junior hockey players to be selected, but also one of the few Maryland-born players to make it this far.

Now Lynes has to concentrate on beating the odds again -- playing in the NHL.

"Only three out of every 10 players drafted play in the NHL," Lynes said. "To make it to the next level you have to outwork all the other guys who were drafted."

Hard work is one of the qualities that impressed the Capitals. Ross Mahoney, the Capitals' director of amateur scouting, said the team chose Lynes with the 122nd overall pick in part because of his ability to score goals, his work ethic and his discipline both on and off the ice.

Maryland junior hockey isn't as strong as some of the traditional U.S. hockey hotbeds such as Minnesota or Michigan. So young elite players often leave the area to seek out stronger competition. Stephen Werner of Chevy Chase left home to play for the national under-17 and under-18 teams in Ann Arbor, Mich. Werner was drafted by the Capitals in the third round in 2003 and played at the University of Massachusetts before joining the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League in March.

"Hopefully in the future there will be some options for hockey players where they can play in the area, but right now it's still at the point where you need to leave at some point during high school," Werner said.

Lynes left after ninth grade and spent two years at Culver Military Academy in Indiana. Capitals captain Jeff Halpern played at St. Paul's School in Concord, N.H.

All three, at one point, spent time with the Washington Little Capitals, the only top-tier junior team in the area, and all three drove all over the East Coast to play against high-level competition. But good competition at home was difficult to find.

"Where you develop is not really in games, but in practice, and if you don't have high-caliber people to push in practice you won't achieve your maximum level," said Shawn Lynes, a coach with the Little Capitals. "The difficulty for kids around here is around ages 12 to 16 and getting enough ice time."