When the Red Wings drafted goaltender Tom McCollum at 30th overall in the 2008 NHL Draft, it was certain he would be the goalie of the future. Today, on August 16th, 2016, he’s signed with a professional tryout contract with the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings.
Pete Wallner, Griffins beat writer, and reporter for MLive in Grand Rapids, reported the story:
The 26-year-old reached agreement with the Los Angeles Kings’ on a PTO (professional try out) last week, ending an association with the Detroit franchise that began in 2009.
“Obviously, I was hoping for a contract, but that didn’t work out, so out of all the teams I talked to the Kings seemed most interested in me being at their camp,” McCollum said by phone Tuesday. “They were very persistent and I looked at it and decided it was a really good fit. They have a long history of churning out pretty good goalies, so it seemed like a good spot for me developing even more.”
McCollum was always a class-act, and very rarely did you find him without a smile on his face. The 26-year-old netminder from Amherst, New York never did mesh with the big club, but he did provide a veteran-like influence on younger goaltenders like Petr Mrazek, and Jared Coreau. Once Mrazek came into the organization, McCollum essentially took backseat in the future plans.
McCollum earned one win in three appearances with the Red Wings after being a part of the organization since 2009. He’ll now have a chance to make it with a new team in the Kings. Obviously he won’t be achieving a starting job with the LA club, but if he can find a home as a depth guy living in California, good on him. Per Wallner, his competition includes Peter Budaj, Jeff Zatkoff, and Jack Campbell. Best of luck to the guy.
