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)

Though junior hockey isn't intended to prime each and every Maryland player for an NHL career, for some, such as Halpern, Werner and Lynes, it leads to the decision between playing college hockey or major juniors. Halpern and Werner chose college while Lynes chose the major junior route.

After being drafted by the Brampton (Ontario) Battalion in 2004, Lynes immediately knew he wanted to go to Brampton, about 40 minutes from Toronto. The evidence was in the numbers.

He knew more Canadian Hockey League players get drafted to the NHL than NCAA players. He knew that the Ontario Hockey League had the highest percentage of CHL players drafted.

"I knew that getting drafted to Brampton, they have a high percentage of players getting drafted so I knew it was the best fit," Lynes said.

And then he faced another hurdle: convincing his parents that forgoing college was the right choice. Shawn Lynes had played forward for Miami University in Ohio and had his heart set on his eldest son doing the same.

"There were some long conversations," Luke Lynes said. "My dad had me making [pro and con] lists and he wouldn't let me leave the house until they were done."

The tally? Two pros and 40 cons for college. Forty pros for the Ontario Hockey League and just one con -- school. After promising his parents he would take school seriously, the Lynes family agreed to let him go.

"It wasn't an option for me, I was going to go to college," Shawn Lynes said. "But I always have in the back of my mind, what if I played major junior? So I let it be Luke's decision."

Last season, his second season with the Battalion, Lynes had 34 goals and 28 assists in 65 games, a vast improvement over his 11 goals and 13 assists during his first season with the team in 2004-05.

"Luke's a very skilled player," Battalion Coach Stan Butler said. "He has very good hands and he's very dangerous around the net."

Butler said there was also interest in Lynes because of his ability on the power play, an important asset given the increase in penalties in the NHL.

Lynes will next attend Capitals' summer development camp Sunday through July 14 in Hershey, Pa., just as Werner and Halpern once did. But even though so few Maryland players make it to the NHL (Halpern is the only current one), Mahoney said it's just a coincidence that the Capitals selected both Werner and Lynes.

"We're never going to waste a pick on someone just because they're from the area," Mahoney said.

Then again, having character references from the local leagues helped.

"Because they are from the area and we do have people who do see them play early on and they've always said good things, that does help for sure," Mahoney said.