Geoff Courtnall (2005)

For a guy bypassed in the National Hockey League draft following a solid final year of major junior hockey, Geoff Courtnall accomplished a great deal in a 17-year NHL career. The gritty winger, with a nose for the net, played for five teams along the way including Boston, Washington, Vancouver, St. Louis and Edmonton, where he won a Stanley Cup in a brief stop with the Oilers. He scored more than 30 goals six times and his teams made the playoffs every season he played. His NHL regular season totals of 367 goals and 432 assists make him Victoria's highest scoring NHLer by a slim margin over younger brother, Russ. Geoff who was in a 1983 graduating class that included Steve Yzerman and Pat Lafontaine was passed over in the draft. Boston took a flyer on the six-foot-one, 195-pound Oak Bay native, signing him that summer as a free agent. In just two seasons he had a full-time job with the Bruins, who kept him until late in the 1987-88 season before trading him to Edmonton. After winning a Cup with Wayne Gretzky and company, Courtnall bounced from Washington to St. Louis and then Vancouver, where the fan favourite helped the Canucks reach the Cup finals in 1994. Geoff rejoined the Blues for his last five seasons before an injury forced his retirement at age 37 in the 1999-2000 season.