Just when you thought he was gone....

[Staal-aholic]

The Wild have draft bust Alexander Daigle on their training camp roster. After he got cut by the Penguins he gets this last chance. This has become a cliche really, at the beginning of the recent seasons he is on his last chance. The man has talent, he broke Lemuiex's QMJL scoring records at 18 and is only 28 now, he can turn it around. He is the reason prospects are treated differently now, they don't get the spotlight till they earn it. Sooner or Later Basketball will have to follow suit. This is the equivalent of Lebron James deciding to go to Hollywood and never doing well at basketball again. He never got a fair chance in Pittsburgh and I think Lemaire can light that fire in him. If he pulls this off it sounds like the plot for Mighty Ducks 4.

[moonstomper]

hes got no heart...shoulda stayed in Hollywood...maybe couldve been an extra in D4

[cmw00]

I guess he'll be able to hide even better on the wilds roster than the pens....
Wheres that quote at when I need it.....

[Staal-aholic]

its hard to put your heart in the game when you are compared to Gretzky and Lemieux before you put on an NHL jersey. Then being a young kid I heard he fell into drugs. He was confused and wasn't mentally ready to have the Ottawa franchise on his shoulders. You stumbled at 18 and you are screwed for your career. The pressure did him in.

[Guyute]

I agree with Staal-aholic. this is what happens when you're touted as "the next...." when you're barely out of Juniors. a fairly common problem unfortunately...
which is why I dislike seeing kids like Staal referred to as the next Francis. I mean, dude is barely old enough to drive. he's never played in the pros. that's an enormous amount of pressure. not everyone can live up to those kind of expectations.

[cmw00]

I don't know if the pressure on a 3rd or 4th line guy (which is what staal would be if he made the team) is to much for him to handle maybe they guy isn't cut out for the NHL anyways.

anyways I think Staal has had a good deal of pressure on him in the OHL where he is expected to be the best in the league. I would think thats more pressure than a 3rd or 4th line forward in the NHL but who knows...

[Guyute]

cool...
I haven't been here in a couple of days, but apparently I missed the lines being published. I didn't know he had already been assigned a role/spot.
what are the rest of the lines looking like?

oh, and yes he has pressure in the OHL. But if you think that's anything compared to what the expectations are of the 2nd draft choice in the league, and someone who's been touted as the next Francis.... you're kidding yourself.

[moonstomper]

they signed him....wonder if its Gaborik/Dupuis insurance?

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=55695&hubName=nhl

[StormShaman]

And again I say, "good luck to him".

He's had a good camp with the Wild--on a tryout contract, I might add--and they apparently liked what they saw enough to give him yet another shot in the NHL.

He's got little pressure on him in Minnesota--except of course to actually show up and do what's asked of him by the coaches--and who knows? Maybe he'll actually make something of himself finally.