You could state that Craig MacTavish had a rough start as a pro hockey player. 

While playing in his fifth season for the Boston Bruins, he was starting to firmly establish himself as a solid defensive forward in the National Hockey League.  That would change on January 25, 1984.

The son of Lee Fogolin Sr., who won a Stanley Cup in 1950 with the Detroit Red Wings, Lee Fogolin Jr., would double his father's accomplishments by winning two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers.

Todd Marchant played Center for the Edmonton Oilers for ten seasons, and he was considered to be one of the fastest skaters in the NHL.  Marchant would join Edmonton when he was traded from the New York Rangers for Craig MacTavish.  While the trade worked out for MacTavish in that he would win a Stanley Cup that year, he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers in the off-season, and Marchant played 678 Regular Season Games with the Oilers.

Randy Gregg is an honored member of the five-time Stanley Cup Ring club of the Edmonton Oilers.  While there are a few members of this club, his path to professional hockey was the most unique.