There’s no art to the late-round draft steal. You take a deep breath and pray… and probably release your pick before he ever plays a game. While quite a few serviceable players have squeaked into the high seventies in the GWMHL Rookie Draft over the years – especially goaltenders – rare is the player taken in the last few picks who makes a real impact.
But here are five taken in the final 10 slots of their respective drafts who defied the odds and made an impact.
5. LW Kyle Calder, 77th overall in 2000 by Staten Island
Winger Calder never lived up to his potential, more or less settling into a 10-15 goal groove for the Staten Island Gems and San Diego Gulls early in his career. But he makes our list for one reason alone: possibly the most surprising single campaign in league history. In 2006-2007, Calder went on a sudden tear, scoring 60 goals and amassing 110 points with the Gulls.
He disappeared just as quickly, chasing his breakthrough with 8 goals total over his next three seasons, then obscurity.
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
01-02 Staten Island Gems 24 0 2 2 -13 10
02-03 Staten Isle Gems 81 14 35 49 0 79
03-04 Staten Island Gems 82 12 13 25 -6 36
04-06 San Diego Gulls 40 13 12 25 4 15
06-07 San Diego Gulls 79 60 50 110 23 52
07-08 San Diego Gulls 69 5 10 15 -12 30
08-09 San Diego Gulls 64 2 5 7 -21 20
09-10 San Diego Gulls 61 1 9 10 -11 18
Totals 439 106 127 233 -25 242
4. G Olaf Kolzig, 76th overall in 1994 by Tidewater
Kolzig was taken last overall by Portland in ’94, and he’d be much further up the list if his career numbers – a career goals against average way on the wrong side of 3.00 – weren’t so shaky. But Kolzig was a solid starter in the GWMHL for many seasons, despite playing for some struggling teams. He gets major points for longevity.
Year Name GP W L T GAA SAV% SO
95-96 Tidewater Wings 14 3 6 2 4.09 .897 0
96-97 Tidewater Wings 12 4 7 1 3.73 .882 0
97-98 Ottawa IceCaps 19 2 15 0 4.02 .874 0
98-99 Staten Island Gems 53 9 41 2 3.84 .893 1
99-00 Madison River Rats 54 14 35 2 3.12 .905 3
00-01 Madison River Rats 59 21 34 3 3.40 .897 5
01-02 Madison River Rats 37 26 9 0 2.49 .909 2
02-03 Madison River Rats 35 20 12 3 2.69 .899 3
03-04 Bristol River Rats 46 25 16 4 2.38 .907 7
04-06 Altoona Railroaders 42 17 20 5 3.75 .881 1
06-07 Altoona Railroaders 48 16 27 4 3.91 .882 1
07-08 Altoona Railroaders 43 17 21 4 3.20 .911 0
08-09 Altoona Railroaders 6 0 5 0 3.97 .878 0
Totals 468 174 248 30 3.31 .896 23
3. LW Ryane Clowe, 75th overall in 2006 by Sterling
Let’s face it – Clowe’s career is just beginning. But, despite being hobbled by injury early on, he’s gotten better every year and is well on his way toward shaking off the ‘tweener’ label and become a regular top-six contributor to the re-emerging Eagles. He’ll find himself near the top of Sterling’s depth chart before long.
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
07-08 Sterling Eagles 54 11 11 22 -11 52
09-10 Sterling Eagles 71 13 33 46 -5 22
10-11 Sterling Eagles 64 14 41 55 2 74
Totals 189 38 85 123 -14 148
2. D Robert Svehla, 71st overall in 1995 by Chicago
Even when he was playing, Svehla was under-appreciated. But his career numbers tell a different story: of a defenseman who was solid on both ends of the ice and keyed his team’s blueline for eight of his nine seasons.
Svehla played in 639 career games and racked up 356 points, including five seasons with 40 points or more. As late as his retirement year, he was still managing top-4 numbers. He was the very definition of a rock-solid defensive contributor.
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
95-96 Chicago Wolves 4 0 0 0 -5 2
96-97 Chicago Wolves 83 7 57 64 12 72
97-98 Chicago Wolves 84 8 38 46 -6 98
98-99 Chicago Wolves 81 12 37 49 9 100
99-00 Chicago Wolves 80 12 27 39 -4 81
00-01 Chicago Wolves 82 10 41 51 15 70
01-02 Chicago Wolves 82 4 28 32 -8 72
02-03 Saint Jean Wolfpack 61 9 31 40 23 72
03-04 Farmington Fight Saints 82 9 26 35 11 32
Totals 639 71 285 356 47 599
1. D Brian Campbell, 75th overall in 2000 by Brooklyn
Like Calder, Campbell was drafted in 2000. Also like Calder, he’s on this list in part because of one spectacular season – a 108-point effort in 2008-2009. But Campbell’s remained one of the best puck-moving defensemen in the league. He’ll likely never sniff the 100-point mark again, but he’s already proven he can still be a leading blueliner. For a guy taken fifth-from-last? Not too shabby at all.
Year Name GP G A PTS +/- PIM
03-04 Illinois Chiefs 32 1 6 7 -1 12
04-06 California Sun Cats 27 2 6 8 8 0
06-07 California Sun Cats 65 10 22 32 -19 16
07-08 California Sun Cats 82 7 48 55 48 26
08-09 Midland Bulldogs 82 11 97 108 62 32
09-10 Midland Bulldogs 82 8 75 83 58 22
10-11 Midland Bulldogs 50 4 19 23 5 24
Totals 420 43 273 316 161 132
Honourable Mentions:
We’ve deliberately left out more recent picks who look like they might make an impact, including South Carolina‘s Mikhail Grabovski (71st in 2007), Vancouver‘s Matt Moulson (79th in 2008), and Midland‘s Corey Crawford (76th in 2008). And Boston defenseman Joe Corvo, who’s put up several good offensive campaigns, just missed the cut.
