Lithuanian Teen’s Pizza Run Became an NHL Dream

Simas Ignatavičius did not exactly take the straight-line route to hockey relevance, and that is what makes the story pop. A trip for pizza at a mall set off the kind of chain reaction that can turn a local kid into a legitimate prospect with NHL ambitions. Stories like this usually have a few lucky breaks, but they also have the kind of obsession that scouts notice fast. The details matter here because the road from Lithuania to the draft conversation is still a road few players ever find.