from John Wertheim of Sports Illustrated,

He's been to Moncton, Lexington, Shawinigan, Muskegon, Kansas City, Wichita, Flint, Greensboro, Port Huron, Fort Wayne, Roanoke, Danbury, Manchester, Nottingham and Tulsa. Actually, he went to Tulsa three times. And he lives there today.

David-Alexandre Beauregard -- who retired from professional hockey this year at age 37 -- played for more than 25 teams in his 20-year career. And he did so, knowing that he would never make it to the NHL, he could never make it to the NHL. It didn't matter. Glory and riches and trappings, be damned. For all the times we hear athletes insisting that they would play simply for "the love of the game," here's a concrete example.

Backstory: Beauregard was barely 18, when, returning from an Expos game in his native Montreal, he was told that the San Jose Sharks selected him with the 271st pick in the NHL Draft. He was puny -- philanthropically, he was listed at 5-foot-10, 165 lbs. -- but was quicker than a subliminal message, and scored goals in abundance. He attended a Sharks summer rookie camp and was told that a bit of seasoning was the only ingredient missing from his game. Soon, an NHL call-up was likely.

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