I read a story on ( Tony ) Hand in THN a couple issues back. Seems like he could have been a good one had he been willing to spend a couple years in the minors for seasoning.
Yup I heard that too....He was the 200 something pick ( I forget )....But He's from the UK...Scotland I think...Definitely no Hockey Hotbed...Yet I also heard that Sather claimed he was the best player, after Gretzky, at one of the Oiler training camps
Sounds pretty crazy...but if u check out his ppg stats in the British Elite League, where there has been some pretty decent players ( believe it or not ) over the years...as well as his stats, when he played in the CHL, very breifly , as a junior ( sorry again, too lazy to check ) ...before TH apparently got home sick ( think it was the dub ) he put up some big numbers ( albeit in a limited number of games )
Tony Hand's stats are straight thru the stratosphere...No Kidding...I believe, This guy really could have come from nowhere ( strictly in a hockey sense ) to become a true sniper/ star in the NHL...
Is that overstating things? Maybe ,but I'm not so sure ! Again check out his stats...Dont know if Hockeydb would have them all...But if not, maybe ask some posters from the British Elite League to provide them ( if any are interested ) I'm sure they'd be tickled pink to oblige....Cause this guys credentials coming from a true Hockey Backwater seem pretty amazing imo...& are definitely worth a look for any would be Hockey Historian...
This much is fair to say....Tony Hand was the Wayne Gretzky of the UK...& I bet Sather would also agree...That TH might well have lit up the Show...Had he been willing to pay his dues...
CHEERS ET AL