David Carle

A story of class.

A player finds he's got a heart ailment and withdraws his name from the NHL Draft. The kid would have been at least a 2nd round pick. Class move by the kid.

A college that had given him a full scholarship honors the full-ride even though they know the player will never lace up the skates for the university. Class move by University of Denver and head coach George Gwozdecky.

An NHL team knowing that a dream of a kid who wanted more than anything to play in the NHL had been shattered - uses their 7th round pick to make that dream a reality. Tampa Bay drafted David Carle and nobody will ever be able to take that away from the kid. Class move by the Lightning (no matter what the yahoos say).

This reminds me of Red Auerbach using the Celtics 10th round pick to draft Indiana's Landon Turner in 1982. Turner was paralyzed just after Indiana won the NCAA's in 1981. Auerbach made the pick both as a favor to his friend Bobby Knight and also because it was a nice thing to do for a player who was sure to have been a first rounder before tragedy struck.