In 1984, the Calgary Flames took a flyer in the NHL entry draft, picking an unheralded 20-year-old in the sixth round — a guy who went on to a Hall of Fame career.
Here's saying the Dallas Stars made the right move tabbing that dark horse, Brett Hull, for the job of interim co-general manager.
I'll confess it's an unruly situation — the San Jose Sharks one-time use of three co-GMs was a debacle — but it should have a happy ending.
Like the practice of platooning goalies — the other co-GM is the respected Les Jackson — the true leader will emerge eventually.
Now, Brett is no Bob Gainey, yet, and may not be the right man for the job. But putting the outspoken former Star in this position doesn't hurt.
Hull's mere presence should help draw free agents who otherwise might spurn Big D. The less timid among rival GMs might also talk trade with the frank Hull.
The learning curve for Brett will be steep and his performance will be scrutinized. It won't be like the fishbowl Toronto GM John Ferguson Jr. lives in, but close.
Hull's tasks as one half of the two-headed GM are quite daunting.
For one thing, successive drafts have produced little in the way of up-and-coming talent. Not many teams have drafted worse.
OK, Toronto, but no one else.
Though they haven't picked higher than fifth in more than 10 years, not one prospect has had an impact other than Brenden Morrow, 25th overall in 1997.
Judging by how his own career went, Hull might want to encourage his scouts to think outside the box.
Overhauling the current roster will be difficult. There are few useful pieces, and around just $4 million in cap space to work with.
Morrow, who leads the pack in scoring, is not considered an elite level player. The same can be said of Mike Ribeiro, Jere Lehtinen, Jussi Jokinen, Marty Turco and Philippe Boucher.
Sergei Zubov and Mike Modano, at once big stars, are in their declining years.
As you can plainly see, Brett Hull is up against it in his new profession.
But, he's beat long odds before.
My money's on him.