MONTREAL - The absence of a transfer agreement once again scared teams away from drafting Russians.

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Only seven Russians were selected this year. That included 14th-overall pick Dmitri Kulikov, who actually played this season in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Canadians were the big winners of the draft with 102 players chosen. The United States was second with 55 and Sweden was third with a personal high of 24.

Most general managers said the reason for avoiding Russians was because they did not want to waste a pick on a player who might not be willing to come to North America. Of course, the Florida Panthers have no such fear with Kulikov, who went much lower than expected.

"We were just giddy that he kept dropping," Panthers assistant general manager Randy Sexton said of the offensive-minded defenceman. "There are always concerns about Russian players, whether they're going to play in the KHL (Russia's Kontinental Hockey League) or not, but through the interview process and our work on his background it was clear that this boy wanted to play in North America.

"We think he has a solid chance to play on our team next year. That said, we're not going to rush him."

With the Panthers having traded pending unrestricted free agent Jay Bouwmeester to Calgary, Kulikov has big shoes to fill. When asked what the franchise expected of the youngster, Sexton set the bar high.

"Fifteen years as a Panther, a Stanley Cup and three major trophies," he joked. "Anything other than that is a bonus."

Tic talk on deal with Bouwmeester

The NHL's free agency period does not begin until July 1, but Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter believes his shopping cart is full - especially after acquiring the rights to soon-to-be free agent Jay Bouwmeester on Saturday.

"I'm not really interested in free agency," he said. "I think we'll have a good enough team. We've brought in older guys to kind of buffer the younger guys. We have a lot of defencemen under contract and really good players turning pro and others down in the farm team."

The Flames sent defenceman Jordan Leopold and a third-round draft pick (Josh Birkholz, 67th overall) to the Florida Panthers in exchange for Bouwmeester.

Of course, now comes the hard part: getting the 25-year-old blue-liner to sign his name to a new contract.

Bouwmeester becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1. So, starting Sunday, Sutter and the Flames have only three days to negotiate a new deal or risk losing him to the open market.

"You make the deal to get the opportunity to talk to him. And, in that, you make the most of it," said Sutter, who plans on meeting with Bouwmeester and his agent in Edmonton as early as possible.

Kadri happy to be role model

It was immediately after being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens two years ago that P.K. Subban boldly proclaimed he was going to bring the Stanley Cup back to Montreal.

Nazem Kadri has even bigger plans.

The 18-year-old forward, who was selected seventh overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the NHL entry draft in Montreal, is a proud Muslim whose family emigrated from Lebanon. And his hope is that he can be a positive influence for kids of a similar background who might now consider hockey as a sport of choice.

"Being a role model is an important thing for me," said Kadri, who was the president of the Muslim Students' Association in high school. "Lebanese, or whatever they are, are going to start playing hockey because they're going to see someone who is successful from that area."

All in the family

It was a successful weekend for siblings and sons at the draft.

A year after defenceman Luke Schenn was selected fifth overall by the Leafs, Brayden Schenn equalled his older brother's ranking by also going fifth to the Los Angeles Kings.

"There's no comparison there," Brayden Schenn, who is a forward, said of Luke. "I will give the upper hand to him right now."

Schenn was hardly the only player drafted with strong family ties.

Here are some of the more notable selections: Tim Erixon, whose father Jan was picked 30th in 1981, was chosen 20th by the Calgary Flames; Carter Ashton, whose father Brent was selected 26th overall in 1979, was chosen 29th by the Tampa Bay Lightning; Landon Ferraro, whose father Ray was chosen 88th in 1982, was selected 32nd by the Detroit Red Wings; and Philip Samuelsson, whose father Ulf was selected 67th in 1982, was picked 61st by the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Early departures

University of Michigan hockey coach Red Berenson has had a difficult time convincing his top recruits to stay in school.

Mike Komisarek and Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens left the school early to pursue pro careers. Other players to leave early include Mike Camallieri, Mike Comrie, Jeff Jillson, Al Montoya, Jeff Tambellini and Mike Van Ryn.

If Charlie Henry has his way, Michigan recruit Mac Bennett will never play in Ann Arbor. Bennett was drafted by the Canadiens in the third round Saturday and is scheduled to play a year with Cedar Rapids in the United States Hockey League before enrolling at Michigan.

But Henry feels that the young defencemen will develop faster if skips college and plays for the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

"He has really good offensive skills but he needs to improve on defence and he can do that with us," said Henry, who is president and general manager of the Olympiques.

Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens' director of player personnel, said he wouldn't presume to tell a player where he should go, but he did concede that the talent level in the QMJHL is higher than that of the NCAA.

Bennett, who grew up in Rhode Island and went to prep school in Connecticut, has a strong hockey pedigree. His grandfather, Harvey, was a goaltender for the Bruins. His father, Jim, played in the International Hockey League and his uncles, Curt, Harvey Jr., Frank and Bill all had at least a taste of the NHL, with Curt enjoying the longest career.

He said it:

"I was just telling some of the other guys here that when I was younger, when I was really little, the Avalanche was my favourite team and I always used to draw this logo in class. I don't know why. I had a fascination with it. It's just because I like how they look so much."

- Matt Duchene, who was selected third overall, on realizing his dream of being picked by the Colorado Avalanche

With a file from pat Hickey, Montreal Gazette