Joey Tetarenko

Joey Tetaenko played much of his youth hockey as a defenseman. He completed four seasons with the WHL's Portland Winterhawks by captaining a Memorial Cup championship, again while playing on the blue line. The Florida Panthers drafted Tetarenko as a defenseman 82nd overall in 1996.

So what did the Florida Panthers do once he arrived in the National Hockey League? They turned him into a right winger, of course.

The six-foot-two, 215 pound native of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan was more than happy to make the switch. He knew he did not have the skating or puck skills to survive in the NHL for very long. But as a forward he was able to scratch out a 73 game career over four seasons, scoring four goals and five points.

"When I’m on defense, I tend to focus a lot more, maybe too much, I’m just not loose enough. But, when I’m playing forward, I can just go with the flow and do what I need to do," he said in a Hockey's Future interview.

As a forward Tetarenko was able to establish himself as an emotional energy role player. He rarely got off of the fourth line, but he was able to use his good size and strength in combination with his hard skating style to make an impact in a game despite his limited ice time.

Tetarenko ended up playing nine pro seasons and over 500 games, mostly in the American Hockey League.

Tetarenko got into food and construction sales after leaving the ice.