We're had our fun here with defensemen Drew Doughty and Zach Bogosian, but in speaking with the two prospects you can't help but be intrigued: By their undeniable potential, by their tantalizing star qualities, and by the stark contrasts that could foster an indirect rivalry should they reach or exceed their expectations.

The rap on the two has been that Doughty, drafted No. 2 overall by the Los Angeles Kings, is the mature, NHL-ready defenseman; and that Bogosian, taken with the following pick by the Atlanta Thrashers, is little more raw but with a much higher upside.

That dissimilarity was on display in their post-draft conversations: Doughty was a confident, stay-on-message speaker, captivating the media from the minute he told them about a rather anxious moment before his selection: "I saw Calgary's GM and [Kings GM Dean] Lombardi shaking hands, and I was like 'Oh no.' I didn't think I was going to go there. I was worried." Bogosian, on the other hand, was nervous, with only occasional flashes of wit.

Doughty is the kid who needs to watch his weight: "I worked really hard this summer. My one setback was my fitness, and I worked really hard at that." Bogosian looks like a kid who could put down a Double Whopper every day for a week and still resemble a high-school quarterback.

Doughty is a Kings fan from back in the Gretzky days. "I was dreaming of this since I was a little kid," he said, citing such Kings memorabilia in his bedroom as a Kings phone, a Kings trash can and a vintage Kelly Hrudey jersey. Bogosian is an Ottawa Senators fan, but proclaimed he was the "biggest Thrashers fan in Ottawa right now" after donning his new jersey.

On the ice, Doughty was a center who shifted to defense, becoming the best offensive D-man on the draft board. Bogosian has been training to be a defenseman since the womb, it would seem, having longtime relationships with both Bobby Orr and Raymond Bourque. He likes to compare himself to Chris Chelios. Peterborough Petes general manager Jeff Twohey compared Bogisian to Chris Pronger. "I think the competitive side, yeah. I'm obviously not as big as he is," said Bogosian. "Having shared a few stories with Jeff, I've done some of the same things in the same situations that he's done." Uh-oh.

Perhaps the greatest contrast between the two has yet to come. Doughty will likely move into a Kings defense with players like Rob Blake, Jack Johnson and Thomas Hickey. Bogosian will go to Atlanta, where ... well, let's face it: He could probably lead them in ice time by Year 2. One of these guys could become the next great NHL defenseman, and we could look back at this draft as the point in which their competition began.

Hell, their quiet rivalry actually began before the draft, when the two were jockeying to see who would be drafted behind Steven Stamkos.

"Their pick at No. 2 was really important for them. They're putting it on me to become a very good player," said Doughty of the Kings. "[Zach and I] had a few discussions about it. All the boys get together in hotel rooms this week. We tried not to talk about hockey too much, try to forget about it, I guess. There was nothing we could do but see where the pieces fell."

Bogosian said there was pride on the line between the two prospects. "It's been fun the last few months," he said.

"We've become friends off the ice. On the ice, it's probably a different story."