I remember Mike Comrie and Matt Zultek tearing it up in the last exhibition game on the eve of the cut and yet they still got the early wake-up call. “Sour” doesn’t start to describe their reaction. Comrie has gone on to a pretty decent NHL career, although not one distinguished by team success and not one endorsed by the love of his team-mates. Would playing at the world juniors, wearing the red and white, changed his attitude and made him less of a me-first guy? Maybe, but probably a long shot. Zultek, a mid-first-rounder in the previous NHL draft, couldn’t have known that his career would be wrecked by knee injuries but at least he had a chance to score a Memorial Cup-winning goal with the Ottawa 67s. Still, a turn with the Canadian juniors would have been something he could treasure, another parting gift. (Last time I talked to him he was working as a firefighter in Pennsylvania.)
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