Boone bound for big leagues

The 12-seater van rented by the Jenner clan is ready for the 16-hour trek to Minnesota and this week's NHL draft.

Boone Jenner has no idea where this dream trip will end up taking him.

"You hear things but I had interviews with 26 teams at the combine," said the talented Oshawa Generals forward and Dorchester native expected to go in the first round on Friday. "They asked all kinds of different questions. Teams want to know what you think your weakness is and they want to know what you're going to do about it.

"I told them I know I have to work on my skating and I've been working with a power skating school in Toronto on it."

Every NHL general manager, under the gun to get their highly-publicized first pick right, has the ability to quantify stride, size and a player's stats.

But when it comes to the much less measurable area of hockey intangibles, Jenner is off the charts.

If you wanted to mould the prototype player's DNA, wouldn't you want a guy whose grandmother Helen ran the old London Ice House -- where the Knights originally played -- for years?

"Both my grandmas are going (to Minneapolis)," Boone said.

And wouldn't you covet a nephew of Bill Carroll, the only player to split four Stanley Cups with the New York Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers?

"My mom's sister married him," said Boone, who turned 18 last week.

And wouldn't there be plenty of intrigue surrounding a 6-foot, 194-pounder whose older brothers Leo and Cole are even more imposing than he is?

"I'm not as big as they are but I'm starting to catch up," Boone said.

"I'm pretty happy they're going (to the draft)," Jenner said." We've been together from mini-sticks and playing on the pond all the way up.

"We're apart during the hockey season but we follow each other pretty closely on the Internet and it's nice in the summer that we're all back home again."

Big brother Leo was a 6-foot-5 defenceman for the Plymouth Whalers and now studies at Acadia University out east. Cole just finished his junior career by winning a league title with the St. Thomas Stars.

Leo played plenty of games against the last four NHL No. 1 picks -- Windsor's Taylor Hall, John Tavares of London and Oshawa, Sarnia's Steve Stamkos and former Knight Pat Kane.

"I'd go to Leo's games and I saw all those guys like Stamkos play," said Boone, the former Elgin-Middlesex Chiefs standout. "I watched a lot of good players growing up. When I was drafted (fourth overall) in the OHL, that's when I started to think this (draft) day could be possible.

Municipal journal, public works engineer contractor's guide

The Commercial motor

Estimates for the year ending 31st March ...

Moon Handbooks South Pacific

World highways