"Less than a year after he was drafted, Jeff Skinner took the stage in Las Vegas on Wednesday to accept the Calder Trophy. With that triumph so fresh, it's going to be hard for Carolina Hurricanes fans not to get excited about tonight's NHL draft.

After all, the Hurricanes plucked a 30-goal scorer straight out of the draft pool last year with the seventh overall pick. Why not grab another immediate contributor with the 12th pick of the first round tonight?

Because it just doesn't happen very often, that's why. It's fine to be exuberant about the immediate and instant impact Skinner had on the NHL roster. It's better to be aware that Skinner's quick transition was a fluke, an accident, a once-in-a-lifetime event that every NHL team hopes will happen with every draft pick but knows better than to expect it.

There's a reason Skinner set all those "youngest to" records - players his age just don't perform like that. The Hurricanes didn't get lucky with Skinner - too much scouting went into that pick to make it luck - but they were lucky that Skinner stayed healthy, adapted well and was able to contribute enough to be named the league's top rookie.

So as the Hurricanes prepare to pick tonight, it's worth a reminder that it's fun to hope they draft a player like Skinner, but no one should expect it."