Editorial # 14 - Total class!

I think a lot of you have heard about David Carle, the younger brother of Former DU Pioneer Matt, who won the Hobey Baker trophy while playing for DU. David (pictured above, thanks to the LetsGoDU Blog) had signed to play at DU starting this Fall and was rated to be about a 2nd or 3rd round NHL draft pick.

A couple of days before the draft, doctors conducting tests on David Carle found a heart abnormality. He was diagnosed with the same heart condition that led to the deaths of basketball players Reggie Lewis and Hank Geathers.

This obviously signaled the end of Carle's hockey career. Carle called coach Gwozdecky at DU and the NHL to let them know that his career was over. In a move that I did not find surprising, Coach Gwozdecky told Carle that the school would honor his scholarship and that he would be part of the team in a non-playing capacity.

Then surprisingly, David Carle was drafted in the last (7th) round of the NHL Draft by the Tampa Bay Lightning. The new ownership group basically said that since he had worked so hard to get drafted by an NHL team, they did not think he should lose that honor. You can read the story on the Let's Go DU BLOG.

In a time when sports stories are so negative and magnify the lack of perspective of many in the world of competitive sports, I thought this was a refreshing story. So, next time you get a chance, tip a glass to Coach Gwozdecky and the DU Pioneers, as well as the Tampa Bay Lightning!