Quote:
Originally Posted by browna
Also, luck and timing are involved in a lot of NHL careers. All it takes it some lack of confidence for a year or two, playing on the wrong team or the wrong situation, then it snowballs with more bad decisions (ie going to the Oilers, for example). More inconsistent play or coaches playing guys in the wrong spots, or injuries, and then a stigma gets attached etc etc, and you're gone without really showing what you have. Meanwhile, a no namer or a guy with a quieter story is in the right place at the right time at each step in his career, and by luck or by choice and makes the right decisions and everything works out, and plays 15 more years..every NHL'ers story is different.
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The above generalization is so inapplicable here that it's a disservice to Ray Whitney.
Pat Falloon lacked the heart, work ethic, and conditioning to deserve a long NHL career. Ray Whitney, not unlike Martin St. Louis, worked his ass off to overcome preconceived notions about his ability to play in the NHL due to his lack of size. The way the two teammates' NHL careers turned out had little to do with luck and timing. It was about determination and competitiveness. Whitney had that. Falloon didn't.