Michael Sgarbossa. It was a name that followed the names McGinn and Connolly in the recent trade of TJ and Winnik. luckily he may not be the third best player (behind McGinn and Connolly) when everything is all said and done. A lot of value is put into stats by fans and armchair GMs alike which is unfortunate because for every Jeff Skinner (64-50g-40a-90p draft year) you get a few Ramzi Abids (68-50g-85a-135p draft year). Then again Sgarbossa wasn't even drafted so is he a late bloomer?

Sgarbossa had a slow start to his junior career despite producing well (61-53g-51a-104p) the prior year with his AAA club (Jeff Skinner AAA: 55-65g-42a-107p). While skilled with the puck and with good speed, he found himself stuck behind other players on the Barrie Colts and was ultimately traded to the Sagina Spirit. Unfortunately he continued to find himself buried behind such players as Saad and Shalla and once again traded but this time in a package for John McFarland and a D. Now with the opportunity to get consistent quality ice time, he flourished going 37-29g-33a-62p with Sudbury last season.

It would seem that Sgarbossa dealt with similar ice time issues like Garrett Meurs is dealing with playing for the Whalers. After a dominant AAA season and being drafted in the 3rd round of the 2008 OHL draft (just behind Jared Knight), a lot was expected of him but not fully realized until he was acquired by the Sudbury Wolves.

For you stat fans (and those who were pushing for the Avs to acquire Knight):

Jared Knight

1st OHL 67-15g-15a-30p

2nd 63-36g-21a-57p

3rd 68-25g-45a-70p

current 43-23g-25a-48p

Michael Sgarbossa

1st OHL 67-10g-33a-43p

2nd 67-20g-32a-52p

3rd 63-36g-46a-82p

current 57-41g-43a-84p