Players That Had Greater Fame Elsewhere Before Joining The VHL [1/2]

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As some may have noticed, I have a somewhat strange habit of using professional athletes from other sports as my players in the VHL. I’ve used former New England Patriots quarterback Rohan Davey, a clone of former Wisconsin Badgers running back Ron Dayne and several iterations of the heavy hitting Edwin Encarnacion of the New York Yankees. However, I am not the only person in the VHL to have done this as history shows that there have been a few other instances of a player in the VHL finding fame elsewhere before hitting the ice. Here’s a breakdown of some of those players (note that I started at Season 18 so that I could track their performances on previous indexes):

 

Kobe Bryant – Season 18 – 27^th Overall

 

After a terrific basketball career, it appears Bryant wasn’t satisfied with cementing his legacy in just one sport. Entering the Season 18 VHL Draft, Bryant was drafted 27^th Overall by the New York Americans (although he was the 26^th player selected as Davos Dynamo passed on their pick) but he would never wind up playing for that team, instead spending four seasons in the VHLM. While his first two seasons saw him as very much a depth player, he wound up recording over a point per game in both of his final two seasons in the VHLM as a member of the Bern Royals.

 

Lady Gaga – Season 21 – 13^th Overall

 

One would think that there would be nothing to suggest that Lady Gaga would go on to have a successful career in the VHLM, but when she found herself caught in a bad romance with minor league hockey, she actually turned out to be rather a good fit for the league. She wound up playing eight seasons in the VHLM and, while she would never top her impressive 119 point season from her first post-draft VHLM season, she would still go on to have several seasons where she recorded over a point per game.

 

Kevin Hart – Season 28 – 7^th Overall

 

In the Season 28 VHL Draft, the Riga Reign were left with an easy decision; pick Jim Gow, the first generation player of Flyersfan (a member who would wind up becoming league commissioner) or former comedian and professional small man Kevin Hart. Like I say, it was a no brainer; the Reign obviously went with Hart. Hart is the most successful player that we’ve covered to this point; he wound up having three seasons in the VHLM where he scored over 100 points, bringing his best in his last season as a hockey player where he recorded 147 points for the Oslo Storm in Season 32. He even made an appearance in the VHL in Season 31 as a member of the Quebec City Meute in their first season of operation. However, this season made it more than clear that Hart couldn’t hack it with the pros, recording less than half a point per game. In comparison, Jim Gow played six seasons in the VHL, this pick wound up being a miss for the Reign.

 

An honourable mention also goes to Emma Watson, who was taken in the third round of the Season 34 VHL Draft by the Davos Dynamo