Radim Vrbata
Radim Vrbata played the most games of the three names mentioned in this article, with 1,057. He was a seventh-round pick of the Avalanche in 1999. You talk about a player facing long odds, and Vrbata’s name should come into your mind instantly, if you heard of him. If it didn’t, it should now.
Though he only played in two seasons with Colorado, to me, his 29 goals and 31 assists in 118 games in that span is relatively impressive.
Vrbata is said to have been a good player-making player on the right wing. He had 284 goals and 339 assists in his career, which spanned 18 seasons. It’s pretty tough to go 18 seasons in the NHL. Doing it as a seventh-round draft pick is insane to me.
Vrbata also had a shooting percentage of 9.2, while shooting the puck 3,103 times in his career. He was also known for his hard shot, which is a great trait to have.
For the 2008-09 season, Vrbata left the NHL for a Czech league, where he spent 18 games on two teams. He did so after his season immediately before resulted in a huge dip in points (three goals and six assists), as well as games played (18).
Vrbata then returned to the NHL, playing for the Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Arizona Coyotes, and then the Florida Panthers.