Let me tell you about a prodigy goalie... 6'2'', 200 pounds of manhood covering most of the net, and, despite a tendency to not cover his five-hole with his stick, was drafted first overall in the OHL draft in 1991. Things were looking great.
In 1992, he was named to the OHL All Rookie team; he also won a gold medal at the world U-17 championship. In 1993, he again won gold as well as Top Goaltender award at the U-18 Phoenix Cup.
He was drafted 7th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 1994 who were proud to have chosen him when he decided to turn pro after the 1994-95 season, coming off not one but two World Junior Championships gold medals, going undefeated in two years' tournament play.
The kind of player you build a franchise around, perhaps? The Kings must have thought so when Storr was named to the NHL All Rookie team not once but twice, in 1997-98 and 1998-99 - he hadn't played 25 games the first go-around so he was still eligible the second time.
With credentials like that, you'd have to believe he would have been maybe even a step ahead of Carey Price in every statistical category for a goalie his age.
So just who is this wunderkind, this record-breaking goalie who must surely still be active today? None other than Jamie Storr, seen here on his Autograph card from In The Game's 2002-03 Be A Player Signature Series (card #033 - perfect for a goalie meant for big things). He retired last May after 3 seasons of German League play, exiled to Europe as he was unable to move ahead of Cam Ward on the Carolina Hurricanes' team's depth chart, behind Martin Gerber.
Interesting fact: Storr was half-Japanese and would have his name spelled in takatana at the base of his helmet (on his chin, where, for example, Price has his own name written...), the easiest and simplest to read of all Japanese scripts.
No comments:
Post a Comment