Pavel Rosa

The Los Angeles Kings  drafted Pavel Rosa 50th overall in the 1995 NHL Draft. They had one thing in mind when they selected him - offense.

Rosa had come from his native Czech Republic to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. To say he excelled is an understatement. 268 points in two seasons in the QMJHL. In his second season he led all QMHL scorers with 63 goals, 89 assists and 152 points.

Unfortunately Rosa's pro career did not start off nearly so rosy. He only played three minor league games in the entire 1997-98 season due to a serious concussion. It was a critically important season to lose.

He remained a quality prospect and seemed to be on the return to stardom in 1998-99. He played in 29 games with the Kings. He even scored twice in his first NHL game. He would score just two more goals but he did add twelve assists.

That proved to be Rosa's best chance to play in the NHL. He continued on for a few more years in the minors, scoring 20-25 goals and 55-60 points, but would only get into five more NHL games, all with the Kings.

Bottom line was Rosa's size allowed him to thrive only in a top six role, as he was too small to excel doing the heavy work normally left to the bottom two lines.

Rosa returned to Europe for good in 2004. He would continue on playing in Russia, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Austria for many years.

Rosa retired in 2015. He became a youth hockey coach both in the Czech Republic and in Gatineau, Quebec while owning rental properties in both countries as well.