The Active Players
So, I skipped over two players because they are both active players on the NHL roster right now, both the 2006 4th round draft selection the Carolina Hurricanes got from Columbus, and the 2012 2nd round pick they got from San Jose. Some of you may already know who the second rounder is, but I guarantee you do not know who the 4th round pick was without using a search engine.
The 2012 2nd round pick was used to pick a player from the OHL. This player had played for Scott Walker’s Guelph Storm, and had played half a season with a broken hand without saying a word to anyone because all he wanted to do was play hockey. As tough as they come, he’s started to find his scoring touch this year too. Of course I am talking about Brock McGinn.
So far in his career, Brock McGinn has scored 50 goals and 52 assists as I’m writing this for 102 points. He hit both the 50 goal and 100 point plateau in a 7-3 win over Columbus in his second ever 4-point game. He has done all of this in a career total of 321 games. This may not seem like a lot for a 27-year old, but he took a lot of time to develop in the AHL and he really came up through the system.
He’s being rewarded with his best start to a season ever. He’s currently tied for the lead in goal-scoring throughout the organisation, and he’s 5th in point production. While he’s not a traditional source of scoring for the Hurricanes, he can provide points and he did score a certain overtime goal against Washington in Game 7 to knock the defending Stanley Cup Champions out.
So, on to the other player. You’re probably thinking, who’s old enough to be drafted in 2006? Well, if I told you that Chicago would trade that pick to Toronto, and the Leafs would actually be the team to make that pick, does that make it any easier? Probably not, but maybe a few people will get it. If you’re newer to hockey, you won’t have any idea.
With the 99th overall pick in the 2006 NHL entry draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected goaltender James Reimer. Picking up a nothing pick for a player who was going to retire, but kicking the can as far down the road as they could allowed them to pick up two pieces helping them right now from a trade that happened 17 years ago.
It took a long time to rebuild the franchise after some mismanagement in the late 2000’s, but the Carolina Hurricanes are still reaping the benefits of this deal. While not particularly headline grabbing, most people that read this will have forgotten that Francis even was a Toronto Maple Leaf for about 5 minutes. It just goes to show that a well managed team can get value from any sort of deal.