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26 DECEMBER. 2015 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM T H E D R I V E F R O M S t . C l o u d S t a t e University in central Minnesota to Blake Wheeler's boyhood home in the Twin Cities takes about an hour in normal traffic. But on one particular summer afternoon, when the Winnipeg Jets star forward was just 17, the drive seemingly took forever. A standout youth and high school hock- ey player, Wheeler had attended USA Hockey's Select 17 Festival, and after a few on-ice sessions, did not see his name on the list of players invited to one of the all-star teams. "That was the biggest kick in the gut. I didn't make the final 52 in Minnesota," Wheeler recalled after a recent Jets' practice. "At that point you're 17, you're not making that team, and wondering if playing college hockey is realistic? That's the thought that starts going through your head." Wheeler's father, in addition to driving that quiet car home, tried to be the voice of reason and encouragement to a young player who could see his hockey dreams evaporating before his eyes. "I remember my dad saying, 'Look, this doesn't have to be devastating. Just keep doing what you're doing and maybe you need to do a little bit more to get yourself to the next level,'" Wheeler said. "That's what I did. Twelve months later I got drafted fifth overall in the NHL, so it's the ultimate example of you're not as bad as peo- ple think you are, or as good as people think you are. You're somewhere in the middle." Among the American hockey players currently toiling in the NHL, there are mul- tiple stories of players who stood out from the time they first stepped onto the ice, mak- ing the top teams all the way through their development path, before ending up in "the show" and playing for a healthy paycheck. There are just as many stories like Whee- ler's, of the talent that may have been hidden to scouts and coaches as a tyke or a teen. NHL Stars Used The Sting Of Early Rejection To Fuel Their Rise To The Top // By JESS MYERS PHOTOS BY Getty Images; USA Hockey Archive SCORING REBOUND on the Charlie Coyle MISS: Didn't make the cut for Massachusetts select team REBOUND: Playing in his fourth season with Minnesota Wild Ryan Kesler MISS: Cut from every team as a 13-year-old REBOUND: Established himself as elite power forward in the NHL Blake Wheeler MISS: Didn't make the USA Hockey Select 17 Festival All-Star team REBOUND: The 5th overall pick in 2004 NHL Draft