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Sad case of Angelo Esposito

alko

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Oct 20, 2004
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Former 1th round pick of Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007, center Angelo Esposito, is again looking for another job.
His team in second Czech league canceled the contract after 9 games. Esposito scored only once.

He is only 27, but last few seasons are very bad. Italy, EBEL, ECHL (only 1 game), Italy, Czech 2. Did he suffer to injuries? Or what is behind his downfall?

Is there any other active guy with such CV? At first high draft pick, but after few season forgotten in some low league.
 
I remember being a young kid and my dad really wanted him to fall to Montreal. Glad we picked up patches instead. saying he didn't live up to his potential is an understatement
 
Former 1th round pick of Pittsburgh Penguins in 2007, center Angelo Esposito, is again looking for another job.
His team in second Czech league canceled the contract after 9 games. Esposito scored only once.

He is only 27, but last few seasons are very bad. Italy, EBEL, ECHL (only 1 game), Italy, Czech 2. Did he suffer to injuries? Or what is behind his downfall?

Is there any other active guy with such CV? At first high draft pick, but after few season forgotten in some low league.

When he was drafted many people asked why so high. It became obvious his first year he would not be an nhler. What makes him a sad case? He just was never any good
 
sucks. maybe he can get a job in coaching or something hockey related. i don't feel too bad for him though. it's not like his career got sabotaged by injuries or something out of his control.
 
In juniors his production dropped quite a bit once Radulov left the Remparts. Not that he was a bad player but he was also a bi product of Radu imho

And as mentionned his knee injuries didn't help. I also never felt like he had the mental attitude to become a top player in the game. Not a knock on the guy but he fell in the draft for a reason.
 
He suffered a ton of injuries once he left the Q. There were several seasons where he would barely register any games played due to leg and knee injuries. It didn't look like he was going to amount to much anyway, but those first few seasons out of major junior all but made him fall off the face of the map.

At least the Pens got some semblance of value for him in the Hossa trade.
 
"Sure, Esposito has had a rough ride. He tore his ACL twice and then his MCL after. Then a hip labrum. Mentally, he worried more and more about getting injured and playing injured while dealing with his own disappointment at his career trajectory."

Pretty much sums it up.
 
I remember being absolutely stoked that he "fell" to us at #20 or whatever it was. Big piece in the Hossa trade...
 
He suffered a ton of injuries once he left the Q. There were several seasons where he would barely register any games played due to leg and knee injuries. It didn't look like he was going to amount to much anyway, but those first few seasons out of major junior all but made him fall off the face of the map.

At least the Pens got some semblance of value for him in the Hossa trade.

I would day the got a ton of value in that trade. Hossa was a pretty big part of their run to the finals. I believe that the experience the Penguins got that spring was vital to them winning the cup the next season. I'm not sure they make the finals the first time without Hossa.
 
I remember RDS was so depressed the Habs didn't pick him and chose a no name American by the name of Max Pacioretty instead.
 
I remember he was supposed to be big time in the NHL we were always hearing about him when he was playing here in Quebec during his Junior career.
 
I remember RDS was so depressed the Habs didn't pick him and chose a no name American by the name of Max Pacioretty instead.

Stéphane Leroux's first question to Ryan McDonagh a few minutes after being drafted was : How does it feel to be selected by the Habs instead of Angelo Esposito?

I threw up.

Anyways, Esposito's numbers went down from 98pts to 79pts the draft year. It's a miracle he was even drafted in the first round.
 
Before his draft season he played on a line with Radulov when Radulov was the clear best player in the Juniors. Largely because of this, Esposito put up much better numbers as a 16 year old than he did as a 17, 18 or 19 years old, and so his stock went from presumed #1 pick franchise player to mid first rounder with scoring line upside at draft and fell basically non-stop since then. He also had some really bad injuries, as explained above.
 
When he was drafted many people asked why so high.

Huh? If anything it was the exact opposite. This guy was hyped for years as the next Crosby and while his stock did suffer leading up to the draft many people were surprised by how far he fell considering he had been touted as a possible first overall at one point.
 

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