By MARK DIVVER
Assistant Sports Editor

NORTH SMITHFIELD -- Phil Kessel. Patrick Kane. Eric Johnson. Jack Johnson. Peter Mueller.

All are Americans. All were high draft picks. All are expected to be NHL and international superstars for years to come.

But when this collection of America's best and brightest young players were together in the U.S. National Team Development Program, they looked to Jimmy Fraser for leadership.

Fraser, who is trying out with the Providence Bruins, was captain of the U-17 and U-18 teams.

"It was really an honor to play with those guys and to be elected captain was the best achievement of my life,'' Fraser said Wednesday morning. "That was a great group of guys. Still keep in touch with most of them, and a lot of them have gone on to have successful NHL careers. It was a pretty special time.''

At 5'11'', 185 pounds, Fraser doesn't have great size. And with 15-39-54 totals in 108 career games at Harvard, he doesn't have a scorer's pedigree.

What Fraser brings to a team, he says, is "a little bit of everything.''

"I've always prided my self on being a defensive forward, taking care of my own zone first. And the last couple of years at Harvard I've tried to develop a little more offensive skill. Teddy Donato did a great job teaching me all aspects of the game. I've always been an all-around guy, so hopefully I can contribute at both ends of the ice,'' he said.

A native of Port Huron, Mich., Fraser played in the powerhouse Honeybaked youth hockey organization from mite through bantam.

He majored in psychology and government at Harvard. When asked about that unusual pairing of majors, Fraser smiled and said, "Who knows what's going to happen after hockey?''

P-Bruins coach Rob Murray said Fraser was one of the better players in Monday's practice, but the undrafted free agent faces an uphill climb to make the team. Providence should be strong at center, with Zach Hamill, Jamie Arniel, Drew Larman and Trent Whitfield projected to be in the lineup, though Hamill is having a strong camp with Boston.

For now, Fraser said that he is not thinking too far ahead. "I'm just trying to concentrate on this right now and take care of the rest when it comes,'' he said.


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Fraser disagrees with those who say that his soft-spoken ex-teammate Kessel will wilt under the unrelenting media spotlight in Toronto.

"I think he'll do well. He's the type of kid who just loves to play the game. Obviously there's a lot of pressure on him after signing a five-year contract and going to Toronto, the capital of the hockey world. I think he'll have a lot of pressure on him, but he's the type of guy, he won't even realize it at the time. He'll just play the game and contribute to the team. He's going to have a great career (in Toronto) and it's going to start as soon as he recovers from his shoulder surgery.''


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With a game scheduled at night, the Bruins skated for 40 minutes instead of the usual two hours Wednesday morning at 146. There is another game Thursday night, so a shorter session on Thursday morning is expected again.