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Failed Expectations

G

GhostofPotvin29

New member
Was just thinking about some ex-Leafs and players I had thought would stick with the big club but never did.  Saw the name 'Staffan Kronwall' on twitter and remembered back when he first came to NA and was a player I always thought was going to be a steal.  Turns out he played only a handful of games in the NHL and is over in the KHL now.

Made me think we all must have at least one player we were high on who flamed out.  Who are some other ex-Leafs players you might have had similar hopes for or expectations for that never lived up to your own (or someone else's) hype?
 
Jeremy Williams.  I remember he scored 4 goals in his first 4 NHL games, and I thought to myself "wow, this kid is going to be amazing."  Not so much.
 
Alexander Khavanov.  I was a big fan of his game in St. Louis. I remember hyping him up pretty hard and he failed miserably as a Leaf.
 
I remember being excited about Martin Prochazka, and, clearly, he made no impact. I also thought Jonathan Zion would at least have an NHL career.
 
L K said:
Alexander Khavanov.  I was a big fan of his game in St. Louis. I remember hyping him up pretty hard and he failed miserably as a Leaf.
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Forgot about him until just now.  Looking him up, he only played one more season in Europe after playing for the Leafs and then nothing more.  Strange, I wonder if he got hurt or something.
 
Roman Kukumberg was supposed to be NHL-ready after his draft year. I thought Dmitry Vorobiev was going to be a stud defenceman but then he got fat and stayed in Russia.
 
Mike Craig was pretty much a supreme disappointment.  Signed by Ole' Cliffy as a restricted free agent, was considered a young, tough forward on-the-rise.  (For an expired Burger King gift card, can anyone tell me the compensation sent to Dallas?).
 
Arrived in Toronto and COMPLETELY fell off a cliff.
 
So many forgotten names.  I'm enjoying looking them up on hockeydb.com to see how long they kept playing.  I'm always interested in how long guys continue to play even if their NHL careers never take off.
 
Anton Stralman. Still like watching him play, but thought he was going to be a star. He's got all the tools.
 
Aleksander Suglobov

I sooo wanted him to be something...the young speedster scoring lots of goals...

Then, sadness.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Bullfrog said:
Anton Stralman. Still like watching him play, but thought he was going to be a star. He's got all the tools.
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On a related note, Pierre Hedin is 36 years old.
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Then that means I'm also..... oh cheese and crackers, how long have I been on this site?
 
I know he was kicking around the organization for quite a few years and is still playing, but Carlo Colaiacovo comes to mind.  If all went right, he would have already played a decade with the team and had a lot going his way to be a career Leaf.
 
Reaching further back now, I'll say Eric Fichaud.  I thought he and Potvin were going to form a solid goalie tandem for years to come.
 
Lonny Bohonos. Seems like the guy could do no wrong in his limited time with the team, but never, ever stuck.

Also, ironically, one of my favourite Leafs of all time could sort of qualify for this: Felix Potvin. Still my favourite goalie ever, worshipped him and followed his career in Long Island, Vancouver, Los Angeles, etc... but I thought for sure the Leafs were sporting a future Vezina winner when The Cat broke onto the scene. Loved that he played so well in L.A., actually getting a few Vezina votes one season, after a few off years after Toronto.
 
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