by Greg

I'm a crap hockey fan, I'll admit -- thanks (mostly) to work, I've seen parts of two games of the conference finals series, and nothing else. (Well, six seconds of a third -- but turning on the TV after I get home to see "Detroit 4 Anaheim 0" was upsetting to my delicate sensibilities)

So hockey's present doesn't hold that much for me. The future undoubtedly holds better things. But lacking second sight, and with a healthy dose of nostalgia (fueled by a recent re-read of Peter Gzowski's "The Game Of Our Lives"), I'll look backwards for a bit.

Backwards... at the players that disappointed me. Players that I was certain were destined for stardom, but who never even came close. (I'll leave Tomas Kloucek out, because I write too damn much about the guy already.)

Jamie Storr -- In pre-Coyotes Phoenix, he was one of the most promising players on the IHL Roadrunners, and seemed destined for great things when we'd trek up I-10 to that horrid old barn the team played in. A girl I nurtured a giant crush on had a thing for Jamie. Looking at his stats now, he did end up with a longer-lived NHL career than I thought, but given that we all expected a straight shot to the Hall of Fame, disappointment was perhaps inevitable.

Jocelyn Thibault -- Honest to God, I thought the Avalanche made a big mistake in giving him up for Patrick Roy.

Rene Corbet -- One of the most exciting and entertaining players on the late-'90s Avalanche, with a spastic skating style, a knack for timely goals and a willingness to fight (and lose to) anyone. I thought he was the next great Av -- so did Stan Fischler. In a period of unbridled optimism, I thought Fisch's support was a good thing. Eventually did become a superstar -- unfortunately it was in Germany.

Josef Marha -- His trade to Anaheim for Warren Rychel remains one of the low points in my hockey fandom. I still think it was a big mistake, even if the stats don't back me up. Last seen with bags packed for Switzerland.

Vladimir Vujtek -- One of the most recognizable names (to me) on the first-year Thrashers, there was (as I recall) a fair amount of buzz around him. He continued his knack for utterly bizarre injuries by taking a skate across the face in the pre-season, and only ended up playing three games for Atlanta. Bonus fun fact: for several years afterwards, the Thrashers inexplicably kept a giant -- we're talking wall-sized -- photo of ol' Skate-Face up in the team store.

Vitali Karamnov, Igor Korolev, and Vitali Prokhorov -- The Blues' first foray into Russian players, taking up the first three picks in a early-'90s draft. Like most of the Blues' draft moves in those years, it was an enormous mistake. Beyond Korolev, who even remembers the other two?

Patrik Stefan -- Patty and I came to Atlanta in the same month. In the long run, I probably had more of an impact on the city, at least in helping to keep local bars solvent.

L'ubomir Vaic -- Oh, I cheat here. I didn't pay much attention to ol' Lubo until after his North American career has ended. He has apparently left his Czech team this off-season, which can only mean one thing -- he's coming back to Vancouver, Canucks fans!

Labels: busts