Call it a bad break.
Brian Tutt suffered a badly broken leg in training camp with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1981. The Flyers had made him a mid round draft pick in 1980, but had yet to sign him. After Tutt missed much of the season with the broken leg.
And so the life of a hockey vagabond began. The defenseman was off to play with multiple teams in the minor leagues, including the Toledo Goaldiggers and Kalamazoo Wings. The Canadian dream never included playing hockey in Toledo or Kalamazoo.
So Tutt changed his focus and first started playing with Dave King's Canadian National Team in the 1986-87 season. By 1988-89 he had earned a reputation as a pretty solid defender with the always defensive-minded King, and earned a contract with the Washington Capitals organization. He even got to play in seven NHL games and score his only NHL goal.
Tutt recommitted to the National Team program and was part of the 1992 Olympic team that won silver in Albertville, France.
"It was the highlight of my career," he said.
Tutt would go on to a lengthy career in Europe through to the next century, but returned the national team to help out at the World Championships twice, including in 1995 when he added a bronze medal to his collection.
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