Goalie Jimmy Waite was a first-round draft pick, 8th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1987 NHL entry draft. Many scouts and hockey fans believed he would one day be among the premier goaltenders of the NHL. However, after 13 years as a professional, Waite has appeared in but 106 NHL games. Despite his goals against average of almost 5.00 in each of his two junior seasons with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, scouts remained high on Waite, attributing the high average to the nature of the Quebec Junior Hockey League and its penchant for high scoring games. This was the league after all, which saw Mario Lemieux score 133 goals and 149 assists for 282 points in his final year in Laval. Several other QMJHL stars have also eclipsed the century mark in goals for a season.
Unfortunately for Waite, the Chicago Blackhawks were deep in goal with Ed Belfour and Dominik Hasek in the late 1980s and early '90s. That left Waite relegated to the minors. In fact, he saw just 16 games of NHL action in his first three seasons. The majority of his time was spent with the Saginaw Hawks and the Indianapolis Ice of the American Hockey League.
Now a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs' farm system, Waite has toiled the past two seasons in goal for the St. John's Maple Leafs, posting a 12-25-4 mark with a 3.24 GAA and a .899 save percentage in 43 games. He has not played an NHL game since the 1998-99 season when he started 16 games for the Phoenix Coyotes.
He considers winning the World Junior Hockey championships in 1988 his greatest hockey accomplishment. His childhood hero growing up was Ken Dryden, so it seems fitting that he is now his boss.
