#2 Garnet Exelby

Garnet Exelby was born on August 16, 1981 in Craik, Saskatchewan, Canada. He played hockey for fun until he was 16. X thought that he would eventually stop playing, go to college, and get a job; it didn't happen that way. He was recruited by the Saskatoon Blades. They mentioned the NHL and the New Jersey Devils. Ever since then, X was determined to play professional hockey.

XLB played two and a half seasons for the Blades until he was traded to the Regina Pats. In his last season of minor-junior hockey, he recorded career highs: 7 goals, 18 assists, and 25 points.

Garnet was accepted to Fargo-Moorehead but decided not to go.

"In the back of my mind, I always wanted to get an education, but I also always wanted to play professional hockey...I went to the Saskatoon Blades camp (in 1998) to see if it would work out for me. It turned out that I did well, and I decided at that camp that that's what I wanted to do...I have no regrets in that regard (choosing the WHL over college). It helped me get to where I wanted to be. I may still be here if I had gone to college, but you never know how things will turn out," he said in an interview.

XLB was drafted 217th overall in the eighth round by the Atlanta Thrashers. It was one day after his high school graduation. His parents, John and Nancy, were in the car all day from driving to Calgary to Winnipeg and found out the news while stopping for gas.

X was assigned to the Chicago Wolves and won the Calder Cup with the team as a rookie. He was first among defensemen in plus-minus rating.

He played the final 15 games with the Thrashers last season and had a rating of +2 in the final 9 of 10 games of the season.

"The X Factor" hands out hard checks and will get in a fight or two. Or three. He led the team in penalty minutes before getting injured.