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Comparing the LA Clippers Roster to Past and Present NHL Players

By Cannon Wonderlich

PLAYA VISTA, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Los Angeles Clippers' Patrick Beverley (21), Lou Williams (23) and Avery Bradly (11) during the team's media day in Playa Vista, CA, on Monday, Sep 24, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)
PLAYA VISTA, CA - SEPTEMBER 24: Los Angeles Clippers' Patrick Beverley (21), Lou Williams (23) and Avery Bradly (11) during the team's media day in Playa Vista, CA, on Monday, Sep 24, 2018. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images) /
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LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 30: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights tends goal against the San Jose Sharks during a preseason game at T-Mobile Arena on September 30, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 30: Marc-Andre Fleury #29 of the Vegas Golden Knights tends goal against the San Jose Sharks during a preseason game at T-Mobile Arena on September 30, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Jeff Bottari/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Sindarius Thornwell: Marc-Andre Fleury (Vegas Golden Knights)

In the summer of 2017, the newest NHL franchise, the Vegas Golden Knights, had their expansion draft where the other 30 teams got to protect either seven forwards, three defensemen, and one or eight skaters and one goalie. Out of the remaining players on each roster, the Golden Knights chose one player from each roster to build their own team. One of those players was three-time champions Marc-Andre Fleury from the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Fleury has been one of the beat goalies in the league for his entire career and was a huge pickup for VGK. The Golden Knights came into the season with the mindset that they were unwanted, that they were the misfits. This camaraderie and the fire in their soul pushed them to be one of the best teams in the NHL and to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost in five games to the Washington Capitals. Regardless, they were underdogs who reached the Finals as a new team in their first year.

Fleury was their leader and will still be as they try to win in the coming years. Sindarius Thornwell was part of a similar story in the 2017 NCAA March Madness Tournament, where his South Carolina Gamecocks, a seven seed, made it to the Final Four. While the Gamecocks didn’t advance to the finals, both Fleury and Thornwell were both the leader of an overachieving band of misfits.

Boban Marjanovic: Zdeno Chara (Boston Bruins)

The tallest player in NBA history is a tie of Manute Bol and Gheorghe Muresan at a towering 7′ 7. Of currently active players, that award goes to the beloved Boban Marjanovic at 7’3.

In the NHL, Zdeno Chara is the tallest player at 6′ 9. That’s around the size of an average power forward in the NBA, but in the NHL, Chara looks like a skyscraper. His height has helped him get many big hits in his career, including the time he nearly killed Max Pacioretty and the Montreal Police had to get involved to investigate. Regardless, these two men are absolutely huge.

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