Nashville, TN (My Sportsbook) - The National Hockey League will officially kick off its summer Saturday when the first day of the Entry Draft takes place at Gaylord Entertainment Center.

The Florida Panthers, as they did a year ago in Toronto, hold the top overall selection entering the two-day event, but there is plenty of speculation as to whether or not they will hold onto the pick or trade it. In 2002, the Panthers shipped the No. 1 choice to Columbus, but were still able to select the player they coveted, defenseman Jay Bouwmeester.

Whatever Florida general manager Rick Dudley, in his second draft with the club, decides to do, he'll have an opportunity to draw from what many believe to be the deepest draft pool in a decade.

Topping the field is center Eric Staal, who scored 39 goals with 59 assists for Peterborough of the Ontario Hockey League this past campaign. Staal is a swift-skating playmaker who has the ability to dominate a game. Some have compared him to Carolina Hurricanes captain and future Hall of Famer Ron Francis, except Staal is viewed as a faster skater than Francis was at this point.

The one knock on the 182-pound Staal is that he plays more of a finesse game, but the hope is that he'll eventually fill out his 6-3 frame to the point where he can add a physical dimension to his style.

If Staal, whose father built an ice rink for him and his brothers in the family's backyard, doesn't go first, a prudent bet is goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who many clubs below would like to snag by trading up. Fleury, yet another classic Quebec-bred butterfly backstop, starred for Cape Breton of the QMJHL this past season, as well as Team Canada at the World Junior Championships. He posted a .910 save-percentage for Cape Breton, and went 4-1-0 with a 1.28 goals-against average to back Canada to a Silver medal at the WJCs.

Oshawa's Nathan Horton is the top "power forward" available, standing at 6-2, 201 pounds. Horton scored 33 goals with 35 assists for the Generals this past season.

The first defenseman expected to be selected is Ryan Suter, who spent the last two seasons honing his skills with the U.S. National Team. Suter, the nephew of former NHLer Gary Suter, shines at both ends of the ice and has an edge to him, much like his uncle who retired before last season.

The Central Red Army's Nikolai Zherdev is the top-rated European skater by NHL Central Scouting, and has been classified by some as a slightly lesser version of Atlanta star Ilya Kovalchuk, who was selected No. 1 two years ago.

The draft order for the first round of the 2003 Entry Draft, barring any trades, is as follows: 1. Florida; 2. Carolina; 3. Pittsburgh; 4. Columbus; 5. Buffalo; 6. San Jose; 7. Nashville; 8. Atlanta; 9. Calgary; 10. Montreal; 11. Philadelphia (from Phoenix); 12. NY Rangers; 13. Los Angeles; 14. Chicago; 15. NY Islanders; 16. Boston; 17. Edmonton; 18. Washington; 19. Anaheim; 20. Minnesota; 21. San Jose (from Toronto); 22. New Jersey (from St. Louis); 23. Vancouver; 24. Philadelphia; 25. Tampa Bay; 26. Los Angeles (from Colorado); 27. Los Angeles (from Detroit); 28. Dallas; 29. Ottawa; 30. St. Louis (from New Jersey).

Rounds 1 through 3 will be held Saturday beginning at 1 p.m. (et.), while 4 through 9 will take place Sunday.