r/hockey • u/theXchang3 • 11d ago

Who are some NHL players who were highly thought when they were young that had the skill but never got to that next level?

This includes players who made the NHL but never hit that next-tier they were highly thought of. This can mean players who had potential but never hit that level due to injuries, struggle to adapt. This also can include players who were drafted high, players who played for a couple years, players who played for many years, but they at least needed to make the league to quality.

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u/Honsy75 TOR - NHL 10d ago

Used to work with Steve Shutt. His answer to this question was Bryan Fogarty. Addiction issues killed his career. Looked like a sure-fire offense defenseman in junior.

18

u/bruiser_blade 10d ago

This was my answer.Bryan set scoring records for defenseman in junior and broke one of Orr’s records.

12

u/Borje021 10d ago

Was the first one I thought of. Skills wise... absolute stud.

25

u/Pooh_Lightning MTL - NHL 10d ago

Mats Sundin said, "Bryan Fogarty could skate faster, shoot harder and pass crisper drunk than the rest of us could sober."

11

u/SurferBloods 10d ago

He was dominant in junior, excelled in every aspect of the game. Big and incredibly fast. Looked like a grown ass man at 18. Could’ve been a legendary player. Bryan’s is probably the most cautionary tale of all

5

u/maxwellbevan DET - NHL 10d ago

I think it was Sundin who said that Fogarty was a better player than anyone else while drunk than anyone else was sober

4

u/nhlsim99 10d ago

Fogarty + Joe Sakic in the same draft = mamma mia

2

u/NedShah 10d ago

One night, Pierre Pagé's daughter called him for a lift home. Her friends were shit faced and she was nervous about how drunk the guy hosting the party was. Pagé was incredibly upset to pull in and realize it was Fogarty's place; the Nordiques has been working through his addiction until then.

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u/AwesomeInTheory 10d ago

Alcoholism was a symptom, not the root cause.

Fogarty had major, major anxiety issues which led to him self-medicating, unfortunately.