Players who started hockey late and still made the NHL?

[tycobb]

David Clarkson still hasn't learn how to skate.

 

[spizzle420]

Has Alexandre Burrows been mentioned?

 

[Pominville Knows]

Joe Mullen had an interesting start, and when i read up on him on Wikipedia he could have started as late as 14, but maybe someone can elaborate around that. Not younger then 10 in any case.

 

[member 51464]

I can't put my finger on it, but wasn't there a player off one of the Devils' Cup teams that didn't start playing until they were very old? Or maybe I am getting confused and they just weren't drafted until they were well into their 20's. I feel like the person was in Europe.....I don't know, it will come to me someday.

 

[mattihp]

Marko Kiprusoff (Miikka's older brother) started late. Maybe as late as the age of 14. He played bandy before that. Spent som time with the Canadiens (maybe just farm team?) and the Islanders.

Amazing passer with a wicked wrister.

 

[begbeee]

Peter Stastny started to skate at age 10.

 

[Killion]

According to NHL Database & Central Scouting, since 1948 the latest age any player started playing organized hockey who then went on to play in the NHL was age 11. Kelly Hrudey & Curtis Joseph started at that age. Johan Franzen is listed at 14 however he says he started playing organized hockey at 11, the team he'd played for in an outlier league of some sort. Ed Jovanovski didnt start until 11, and didnt start playing for an elite Travel Team in the States until 15 which is considered pretty late.

 

[Inkling]

According to NHL Database & Central Scouting, since 1948 the latest age any player started playing organized hockey who then went on to play in the NHL was age 11. Kelly Hrudey & Curtis Joseph started at that age. Johan Franzen is listed at 14 however he says he started playing organized hockey at 11, the team he'd played for in an outlier league of some sort. Ed Jovanovski didnt start until 11, and didnt start playing for an elite Travel Team in the States until 15 which is considered pretty late.

Well, I've seen the reference to Yvon Lambert from multiple sources.

This one says he learnt to skate at 14.

http://habslegends.blogspot.ca/2008/03/yvon-lambert.html

Todd Denault's book, The Greatest Game, says that he received his first skates at 13 and started playing organized hockey at 15.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=mvV96mPLOBQC&printsec=frontcover

Can you find a reference for him in that database?

 

[Canadiens1958]

Yvon Lambert

Yvon Lambert started to skate when he was Bantam age(14-15):

http://www.yvonlambert.ca/biographie.htm

write-up is in French but the claim is in the first paragraph.also Bantam varied in some regions of Quebec in the sixties, (13-14, with 12 year olds at times)

 

[Killion]

Well, I've seen the reference to Yvon Lambert from multiple sources.This one says he learnt to skate at 14.

Ya, I didnt just blindly post the aforementioned, the source's used a few years old. I was actually surprised to read it, as Im sure there simply must be a few players who didnt get going until later. Consider as well some of the US born players who may have started at 8, 10 or 12 playing road or even roller hockey, possibly no access to arenas' or leagues until age 14 or so, and who then went on to have productive pro careers. Europe as well, along with the old Soviet Block countries. I wonder at what age any number of those players started playing in organized leagues....

 

[Rob Scuderi]

Supposedly Frank St. Marseille started playing organized hockey at 14.

http://stlouisblueslegends.blogspot.com/2009/03/frank-st-marseille.html

 

[tarheelhockey]

I 2nd this

My neighbor's kids play for the Jr. Sharks and I go out and skate with them every now and again at Sharks Ice. They are 12 and 15 and are absolutely lights out. I'm a good 10/15 yrs older and can body them out, but I have to catch the little fu***** first which gets harder to do every damn day.

I hate to be the one to tell you, but that's not because the kids are getting faster.

Welcome to the downside of your athletic prime.

 

[frontsfan2005]

False.


He quit for a year or two in grade 8 or 9 I think.

Chris Stewart quit hockey for a year and played high school football. He wasn't drafted into the OHL, and he only got a tryout with the Frontenacs in 2004 due to his brother Anthony being the star of the team at the time. Mavety gave him a shot, he made the club, was a first round draft pick of the Avs in 06 (drafted 18th overall compared to Anthony's 25th overall in 03), and captained the Fronts in 06-07.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

Yvon Lambert started to skate when he was Bantam age(14-15):

http://www.yvonlambert.ca/biographie.htm

write-up is in French but the claim is in the first paragraph.also Bantam varied in some regions of Quebec in the sixties, (13-14, with 12 year olds at times)

Didn't Larry Robinson start organized hockey relatively late as well?

 

[Hardyvan123]

Didn't Ovechkin not start until he was 8?

Not that old, but I think most guys started at least skating at like 4 or 5.

Anything before 12 I can see guys making up for lost time, especially if they came from say figure skating or at least knew how to skate.

It might be possible in todays game to start after 12 but unless it was a concentrated group effort, like who wants to be a hockey player at 13 and with alot of attention and detail a guy could make it but it would be extremely unlikely IMO.

Back in the mid 70's Ernie "Punch" McLean of the New West Bruins dynasty often said that he could teach anyone to skate in 6 months to play junior hockey if he thought they had what it took and he was probably right.

 

[Hardyvan123]

Ville Leino started when he was 17. Pretty darn impressive, if you ask me.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ville_Leino

I doubt that he didn't play before that, it was his 1st taste of JrA hockey in Finland that's all.

http://www.eliteprospects.com/player.php?player=7418

 

[Canadiens1958]

Larry Robinson

Didn't Larry Robinson start organized hockey relatively late as well?

Late to junior - one season of major junior. His last.

Organized hockey in small town. rural eastern Ontario in the sixties was rather hit and miss. Some regions started organized hockey at the Pee Wee level, age roughly 11-13. True also in rural Quebec.

Also elementary school hockey in certain parts of Canada was not part of organized hockey well into the sixties.

 

[Hardyvan123]

Joe Mullen had an interesting start, and when i read up on him on Wikipedia he could have started as late as 14, but maybe someone can elaborate around that. Not younger then 10 in any case.

Here is Joe's 1st stat line from elite prospects

1971-72 New York 14th Precinct NYJHL 30-13-11-24

I recall reading that he used to get skating time somewhere and take shots (maybe even MSG) but I'm not even sure if that was his 1st organized playing of hockey.

Either way it's not like he 1st picked up a hockey stick at 14 and skated for the 1st time either in that league.

 

[Hardyvan123]

Ya, I didnt just blindly post the aforementioned, the source's used a few years old. I was actually surprised to read it, as Im sure there simply must be a few players who didnt get going until later. Consider as well some of the US born players who may have started at 8, 10 or 12 playing road or even roller hockey, possibly no access to arenas' or leagues until age 14 or so, and who then went on to have productive pro careers. Europe as well, along with the old Soviet Block countries. I wonder at what age any number of those players started playing in organized leagues....

One thing to be sure is that is was more possible the farther one goes back in time and less likely, enforcers aside, once the European explosion hit full force say in the early 90's till today.

 

[Killion]

Didn't Larry Robinson start organized hockey relatively late as well?

Not to my knowledge. He played a lot of sports including hockey around Winchester near Ottawa, the Russell Minor Hockey Association I believe it was called. He started as a forward and played that right up to his first year of High School which is when he had a major growth spurt, playing first for the Central Jr. A Brockville team where he did play some forward but because of his size & a shortage of solid defencemen he was converted; then with the Kitchener Rangers.

 

[Killion]

One thing to be sure is that is was more possible the farther one goes back in time and less likely, enforcers aside, once the European explosion hit full force say in the early 90's till today.

Ya thats true enough. John Ferguson didnt learn how to skate until the age of 12. Had a growth spurt at like 15/16 or so to 5'11", then moved from Vancouver to Melville Saskatchewan where he played Jr. for 3yrs, playing 8 seasons for Montreal starting in 63 & winning 5 cups. Toughest guy in the league during that time, but he could play as well. Quit early because he felt he could possibly do some real damage to someone sometime, though at the time publicly he claimed he had "business opportunities" he wanted to pursue.

 

[Laphroaig]

Peter Worrell never laced up a pair of skates until his mid-teens. He's still hoping to learn how to play hockey.

 

[Antraxh]

As a coach we talk about the "Golden Years" of learning motoric skills as the years right before puberty. If you start during/before this period you should have a good chance to learn to skate well. The earlier years is pretty useless and perhaps it would be better to do something else to learn vision and strategy.
I remember a kid i coached that started at about 11, he could move around on his skates but not much more. At the end of his first season he could keep up and he had among the best vision on the team. Second year he was my best D man..

 

[Hot Water Bottle]

I believe Eddie Shore started at age 15.

 

[cutchemist42]

As a coach we talk about the "Golden Years" of learning motoric skills as the years right before puberty. If you start during/before this period you should have a good chance to learn to skate well. The earlier years is pretty useless and perhaps it would be better to do something else to learn vision and strategy.
I remember a kid i coached that started at about 11, he could move around on his skates but not much more. At the end of his first season he could keep up and he had among the best vision on the team. Second year he was my best D man..

I know on a goalie message bioard, I've heard of users who picked up hockey late as a goalie and made it to D1 NCAA.

You think a 14-15 age start at goalie would be possible?