In a first round chock full of future NHL All-Stars, the 2003 NHL Entry Draft may go down as one of the league's finest classes ever. Mike Richards, Corey Perry, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Suter and Eric Staal are just a few of the names that were called. Jaroslav Halak had to wait until the 9th round to hear his name called by Montreal.
Even the ninth round of that draft had a bevy of NHL talent. Matt Moulson, David Jones, Tanner Glass and Halak's St. Louis creasemate Brian Elliott were the other players chosen in the last round that are currently in the NHL.
After being selected by Montreal, Halak played one more year in Slovakia before crossing the pond to play in North America, with Lewiston of the QMJHL. In his only year with the MAINEiacs, Halak's numbers were solid, with 24 wins and a .913 SVP to his name. It was his first taste of the competition to come as well.
In Lewiston, he was competing for crease time with a young Jonathan Bernier, who would go on to be an NHL draft pick himself.
After finishing his junior career in the QMJHL, Halak was signed by the Canadiens. Once again, he p ...
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Article written by Salim Valji
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