Nick Antropov

The Toronto Maple Leafs surprised many hockey observers when they drafted big center Nik Antropov tenth overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Though NHL Central Scouting had him pegged as the 17th best European available, the Leafs made him the second European drafted and made it quite clear they felt they'd secured the sleeper of the draft.
Nik can line up at all three forward positions. Plays with poise and patience. Owns good vision and two-way smarts. He has good hands when he is playing a power game. He is most effective when he is playing with urgency. If Antropov added that fighting ability to his games, he could become a feared competitor. A guy like Roberts wasn't just feared for his hard hitting style, he'd fight you too if he had too.
Often teamed up with linemate Alexei Ponikarovsky on the twin towers line ."They were just big," said Maurice. "Those two guys with their size and their reach, they're just special."
Antropov, a towering 6'5 forward, hails from Kazakhstan, a region that is not often heavily scouted. Though the Maple Leafs drew criticism for the first round gamble, many critics were quickly silenced when after just two games in the minors Antropov was called up by the Maple Leafs --- and stayed with them for the full campaign.
Antropov made an immediate impression durie his rookie season, accumulating30 points as a rookie. However, his rookie season ended on a sour note, when he blew out his knee in a playoff game against the Ottawa Senators.
During his second season Antropov's totals dipped when he scored just six goals and 17 points, though he was recovering from the knee surgery. In order to regain some conditionning, Antropov was assigned to St. John's. Once in St. John's, Antropov regained his confidence and began to score at an impressive clip posting 35 points in 34 games. However, bad luck struck again and once again, Antropov suffered a season-ending knee injury.
As the 2002-03 season began, many wondered what Antropov's future would hold. Early indications dictated how the hulking forward's season would go, as Antropov utilized his size and strength in the corners to create room for himself and his fellow linemates and thus established personal bests in goals (16), assists (29) and points (45).
Nikolai Antropov Center Born Feb 18 1980 -- Vost, Russia Height 6.05 -- Weight 203 -- Shoots L Selected by Toronto Maple Leafs round 1 #10 overall 1998 NHL Entry Draft
1998-99 Moscow Dynamo Russia 30 5 9 14 30 11 0 1 1 4 1999-00 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 2 0 0 0 4 -- -- -- -- -- 1999-00 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 12 18 30 41 3 0 0 0 4 2000-01 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 52 6 11 17 30 9 2 1 3 12 2001-02 St. John's Maple Leafs AHL 34 11 24 35 47 -- -- -- -- -- 2001-02 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 11 1 1 2 4 -- -- -- -- -- 2002-03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 72 16 29 45 124 3 0 0 0 0 2003-04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 62 13 18 31 62 13 0 2 2 18 2004-05 Kazan Ak-Bars Russia 10 2 3 5 6 -- -- -- -- -- 2004-05 Yaroslavl Lokomotiv Russia 26 4 15 19 44 9 3 4 7 18 2005-06 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 57 12 19 31 56 -- -- -- -- -- 2006-07 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4 0 1 1 0 NHL Totals 324 60 97 157 317 28 2 3 5 34