Robitaille Was Drafted in Ninth Round of 1984 NHL Draft
Published on October 31st, 2024 10:34 am ESTWritten By: Dave Manuel

So given all of these facts, why was Robitaille taken in the ninth round of the 1984 NHL Draft?
Why was Robitaille taken almost 100 spots after Tom Glavine, the famous baseball pitcher who never stepped foot into the NHL?
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Robitaille's three seasons with the Hull Olypiques of the QMJHL were absolutely sublime.
In his first season with the team, Robitaille put up 32 goals and 53 assists for a total of 85 points.
In his second season with the team, Robitaille put up 55 goals and 93 assists for a total of 148 points.
In his third and final season with the Olympiques, Robitaille absolutely dominated, putting up 68 goals and 123 assists in just 63 games.
Robitaille was so good in the QMJHL, in fact, that the league ended up creating the Luc Robitaille Trophy, which is given to the player with the most goals at the end of each season.
Despite this, NHL scouts simply weren't interested. In fact, Robitaille himself says that he only had contact with one NHL team while playing in the juniors, and that was the Los Angeles Kings, who eventually ended up drafting him. And Robitaille had to be proactive in this regard, introducing himself to the general manager of the Kings.
If not for that introduction, there is an excellent chance that Robitaille would have never set foot in the NHL.
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After getting drafted 171st overall in the ninth round of the 1984 NHL Draft, Robitaille spent two more seasons in the QMJHL before moving to the NHL.
The Kings soon realized that they had a gem on their hands, as they watched Robitaille tear up the juniors.
His skills translated to the NHL, where he scored 45 goals in his rookie campaign and won the Calder Memorial Trophy.
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So how did NHL scouts get this one so wrong?
The knock on Robitaille was that he couldn't skate. Scouts thought that he would never be able to keep up in the NHL, and that Robitaille's natural scoring abilities would go to waste if he couldn't keep up with the action.
This proved to be completely off-base, as Robitaille continued to improve his skating.
He was never the fastest skater in the NHL, though when you have a nose for the net, speed isn't always needed.