The History Of Hockey

Pittsburgh players make impact in NHL draft

ST. PAUL, Minn. — It was fitting that the most significant weekend in the history of Pittsburgh youth hockey took place in Minnesota.

A few miles from where Mario Lemieux raised the Stanley Cup for the first time — the moment that triggered the original hockey boom in Western Pennsylvania — and in the shadow of Herb Brooks' statue outside XCel Energy Center, Pittsburgh officially became a hockey hotbed.

Four of the NHL Entry Draft's first 64 players hail from Western Pennsylvania.

J.T. Miller (15th overall, New York Rangers), John Gibson (39th overall, Anaheim), Brandon Saad (43rd overall, Chicago) and Vince Trocheck (64th overall, Florida) cemented themselves as the standard among area hockey classes.

Barrett Kaib, an Upper St. Clair native who aspires to play in the NHL, was not drafted.

"It's definitely an honor," said Gibson, the draft's second goaltender selected. "We're all very proud of where we come from."

Saad was the headliner for this class for many years but saw his stock plummet over the past six months. Once projected as a top-five pick, he lasted until the middle of the second round.

Trocheck, who plays with Saad for Saginaw in the Ontario Hockey League, suggested teams that passed up Saad made a big mistake.

"Absolutely," Trocheck said. "I was surprised he lasted as long as he did. Getting him there was a steal."

Saad took the news in stride. While acknowledging that waiting until the second round was a disappointment, Saad prefers to focus on the reality that he will become a member of a terrific organization.

"The whole thing was out of my control," Saad said. "Teams make decisions. But I'm very happy to be in Chicago."

Trocheck, a slick center who is more of a playmaker than a sniper, expected to be selected before the third round. Playing in South Florida, though, is appealing to the Upper St. Clair native. Trocheck has family in the Miami area and sounds genuinely excited about this opportunity.

He will play in Saginaw next season with Saad.

"I expected to be a little bit higher," Trocheck said. "But what matters is what you do down the road."

Gibson was surprisingly not the first goalie taken. One pick earlier, Nashville picked Swedish goaltender Magnus Hellberg.

Gibson was not upset that a goalie was drafted before him. A spectacular performance at the Under-18 World Championships vaulted Gibson's stock earlier this year, and many scouts believe he will become a franchise goaltender.

Biggest Draft Steals in Hockey History | 53days.com

Hockey players just love to prove the scouts wrong. Teams take a huge amount of heat from fans and media alike when they bet the farm on a player who seems like a lock to become a star in the NHL, but ultimately turns out to be a bust. But the scouts are rarely given their due credit when the outcome is reversed. Every now and then a player will defy the odds, selected late in the draft and with bleak prospects of an NHL career, these players will surprise everyone by making their respective teams, and in some cases, becoming NHL stars. When this happens it seems the scouts still take heat, since everyone wonders how 29 other teams passed on this next coming of Wayne Gretzky for so many rounds. Either way, it’s tough to win as a scout, but these hard working hockey gurus who travel countless miles to scour the world for hidden talent can take satisfaction in the fact they’ve made their team better by seeing NHL potential in a player when everyone else saw a never-will-be. Here is my list of those hidden gems. The top 10 NHL draft steals since the current entry draft rules were implemented in 1980.

Dominik Hasek would rank a lot higher on this list had the Chicago Blackhawks actually believed he would one day play for them when they selected him 207th overall in the 1983 draft. At the time, Hasek’s native country of Czechoslovakia was under communist rule, and there seemed no way possible that Hasek would ever make it to North America to play hockey. Chicago’s gamble paid off though, and Hasek came to the NHL when communist rule ended in his country. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks they did not wait long enough for Hasek to develop, and the unorthodox goalie went on to 6 Vezinas, and 2 Hart trophies in Buffalo, and a Stanley Cup in Detroit.

Drafted by the Ottawa Senators back in 1993, this Slovakian superstar has truly proven himself to be one of the greatest NHL draft steals ever. Drafted 227th overall, Demitra never did much for that lowly Senators team, but his talent really started

to reveal itself once he joined the St. Louis Blues in 1997-98. He spent 7 productive seasons there, netting 490 points in 486 games for the team. He has since moved on to Los Angeles and Minnesota, where he forms one of the league’s deadliest duos with fellow Slovak star, Marian Gaborik.

The inclusion of this diminutive speedster might surprise some people, but as evidenced by his 233rd overall selection, it seems that people are continually underestimating him. Though a mere 5′ 8″ tall and 165 lbs, Sullivan has proven that he can play head to head against the biggest, strongest players in the game, using his speed, agility, and exceptional hands to rack up points against the opposition, and many of his goals are of the highlight reel variety.

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