In the moment I wasn't feverishly rooting for him, but I was happy to see Petr Buzek make the NHL. He was a top 15 prospect for the 1995 Draft but got in a bad car accident a few weeks beforehand. Initially doctors thought they might have to amputate a leg.
1995 was the first draft I watched, so I have an indelible image of Buzek being there in a wheelchair waiting to be selected. Eventually Dallas took him in the third round while not knowing if he'd ever play again.
Nowadays Buzek is mostly remembered for being one of the worst All-Star selections (in 2000 during the North America vs. World format). But it always seemed to me like a nod to his journey back to pro hockey.
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Maybe a random guy that I was high on back in the day was Christian Berglund. Entering the 2001-02 season, he was seemingly the more highly regarded prospect over fellow rookie Brian Gionta. Berglund scored at a higher rate that Gionta in the AHL/NHL that season.
A summer 2002 trade sent Petr Sykora for Jeff Friesen which opened up a RW spot for Gionta while putting another veteran LW in front of Berglund. A late season injury prevented Berglund from being an option in the 2003 Cup run. Berglund and Gionta started on the 4th line together to start the 2003-04 season, but injuries derailed Berglund's season while Gionta worked his way up the lineup.
Then at the deadline he was traded to Florida. Berglund scored 3 goals in 10 games post-deadline and I thought he'd do alright there. But after the season the Panthers fired their coach/GM and then the lockout happened.
Post-lockout new GM Mike Keenan signed a bunch of veterans. Keenan only offered Berglund a two way deal, so he opted to stay in Europe. It seemed like in a blink of an eye Berglund went from promising 21 year old to 25 year old afterthought.
It probably didn't help with the constant changes:
2001-02: Devils hire Kevin Constantine who used Berglund in a top 6 spot.
2002-03: Devils fire Constantine and hired Pat Burns who used Berglund as a 4th liner
2003-04: traded to Panthers by GM Rick Dudley who'd be fired after the season.
2004-05: lockout
2005-06: Mike Keenan is hired as Panthers GM
2006-07: Keenan resigns, Jacques Martin named GM
theahl.com
The last time I watched Berglund was when his Swedish club played the AHL All-Stars in 2014. He was selected as the player of the game for his squad. For some reason Berglund and Gionta were always attached for me. Gionta was still in the NHL in 2014 and en route to 1,000 NHL games. Meanwhile Berglund never cracked 100.