The Florida Panthers tried to draft NHL superstar one year early
During the 2003 Entry Draft in Nashville, Tennesse, the Florida Panthers tried to draft a player who turned out to be an NHL legend.
According to a 2003 article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
"Florida General Manager Rick Dudley attempted in four different rounds to draft Ovechkin, arguing that, if leap-year dates were taken out of the equation, Ovechkin actually would turn 18 four days before his recognized birthday and thus have been eligible for 2003."
Ovechkin was born on September 17th, 1985, which was just two days after the cutoff date to be part of the 2003 draft class.
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