Second Chances

Brian Elliott will return to Ottawa again tonight and face his old team for the first time. Elliott was of course an All Star this year and was cheered by the local fans when he was drafted by his former captain Daniel Alfredsson. Elliott's play this year certainly garnered him this honor and is something Sens fans had wished they'd seen a lot more of while he was here. Elliott certainly showed flashes of promise in Ottawa but lacked consistency and so was sent to Colorado in the trade for Craig Anderson (@CraigAnderson41) last season. After finishing out the season with the Avs Elliott was let go and found himself searching for work. St. Louis took a chance on him, one that's worked out pretty well so far. This is nothing new for Elliott. He was not highly touted as a young netminder, never being drafted by a junior team, but instead worked his way up through the minor midget ranks playing for the York-Simcoe express. He was then drafted 291st overall by the Sens in 2003, one of the last picks overall, and toiled briefly in the minors before getting brought up in 2007. In between he played hockey not in the CHL but at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and lead the Badgers to the NCAA national championship in 2006. He backed up Ray Emery, Pascal Leclair and Martin Gerber at different points in Ottawa, but never solidified himself as a starter. Elliott is clearly not one to quit as his perseverance has lead to a career renaissance this year, as well as a healthy new contract from the Blues. He has microscopic 1.67 GAA and brilliant .938 save percentage, both near or at the top of the league. This is certainly a reflection of playing for a solid team in St. Louis but his individual efforts have not gone unnoticed by those around the league. His own coach Ken Hitchcock has praised his efforts and he has been an NHL three star numerous times this year. As for coming back to Ottawa he was cheered by the fans at the draft, though I wouldn't count on a such a warm reception this evening, and has said he has no hard feeling towards those here. He has moved on and made the most of the opportunity presented to him. He is not a flashy or boastful guy, instead he has just quietly gone about his business on the ice and let his play speak for itself. He is an example of working hard, sticking with what you love to do and why we can all uses second chances.