And With The Next Pick In The NHL Draft….
By Jeff Schafer
There was one player selected in 1984 in both the Major League Baseball draft and National Hockey League draft. Can you name the player?
Newark, NJ, USA; A general view of the stage between picks during the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
In 1984, Tom Glavine was drafted by both the Los Angeles Kings in the NHL Entry Draft and the Atlanta Braves in the MLB draft. The Los Angles Kings made Glavine their 4th round, 69th overall draft selection. In this same NHL draft, Hockey Hall of Famers Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille were also selected. The reason I brought up those two Hall of Famers was because Tom Glavine was selected two rounds ahead of Hockey star Hull and five rounds ahead of Robitaille.
Born and raised in a town north of Boston, Massachusetts, Glavine was a two-sport standout in high school, earning school MVP honors in both hockey and baseball.
I’m sure it was a tough decision for an 18-year-old but I am sure glad he choose the Braves!
"“There is plenty of thought about it and wondering what may have happened,” Glavine recently said. “It is hard to regret things with the way my baseball career went. I do look back on that year I was drafted in the NHL and there were some pretty big names and it was a pretty good draft. I guess my claim to fame was that I was drafted ahead of guys like Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull, so who knows what would have happened? A lot of things would have to have gone right. I never have lost my passion for hockey. I love being around it, I love watching it. It was not an easy decision at all as an 18-year-old kid like a lot of the guys have to do today.”"