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Not all the big NHL stars were seen as future legends from the start. Some players were just not noticed much. Maybe they were a bit small for the game, or perhaps they were not picked high in the draft. Some even took a different route to get there. But these players made the most of what they got.
1. Martin St. Louis
Take Martin St. Louis, for example; he stood just 5 feet 8 inches. Many scouts thought he was too short and wouldn’t get picked in the draft at all. He finally made it to the NHL with Calgary, and he became a huge star for Tampa Bay. He won the big Stanley Cup. He also grabbed two scoring titles and won the award for the best player.
2. Adam Oates
Then there was Adam Oates. He was pretty much ignored from the get-go. Big junior teams did not want him. College teams did not pay him much mind. He was not drafted in 1985. Later on, Detroit picked him up as a free agent. He turned into a fantastic player who set up goals for others. He racked up a ton of points and assists.
3. Jonathan Marchessault
Jonathan Marchessault had to work hard for years. He played for five years in a different league before becoming a regular NHL player. He helped Vegas win the Stanley Cup in 2023. In his NHL journey, he was named the best player in those playoffs.
4. Dino Ciccarelli
Dino Ciccarelli was also thought to be too small for the NHL. Minnesota decided to sign him as a free agent. He started making a big difference right away. He scored a lot of goals in the playoffs back in 1981. He went on to score hundreds of goals and achieve over a thousand points in his NHL time.
5. Wayne Gretzky
Even the absolute best player the NHL has ever seen has a story like this. Wayne Gretzky was playing before the draft system was the way it is now. So he was not actually picked in the NHL Draft. He went on to totally change the game. He scored more points than anyone ever.
Sources
NHL — Hall of Fame Class of 2018 by the numbers
NHL — Adam Oates: 100 Greatest NHL Players
NHL — Jonathan Marchessault wins Conn Smythe Trophy
NHL — Dino Ciccarelli biography
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