 After playing bantam and Junior B in his hometown of Windsor , Jovanovski joined the Ontario Hockey League ( OHL ) with the Windsor Spitfires . In his rookie season with the Spitfires , Jovanovski led all team defencemen in scoring , with 50 points in 62 games . In addition to being voted as the Emms Division 's top bodychecker by League coaches , he was named to the OHL 's All @-@ Rookie and Second All @-@ Star Teams . That off @-@ season , Jovanovski was selected first overall by the Florida Panthers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft . He admitted to being surprised at the top selection , as he had not been ranked first at any point in his draft @-@ eligible season . Czech prospect Radek Bonk was ranked first overall by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau , but Panthers President Bill Torrey preferred to select a defenceman over a forward . 
