Mike Kostka

If ever you need a poster boy for never giving up on your dreams, look no further than Mike Kostka of your Toronto Maple Leafs.

A household name only at Denis O’Connor High School in Ajax and in his own household, Kostka made his NHL debut last Saturday night against the fabled Montreal Canadiens at the age of 27. That’s practically an ancient age to be a rookie. Most players have resigned themselves by then to a career in the minors, or they’ve hung up their skates to try something new in life.

Not Kostka, but then he’s used to rejection.

Cut by his AAA Ajax-Pickering Raiders minor bantam team and then overlooked a few years later in the OHL draft – despite two-plus seasons in Tier 2 Junior A with the Ajax Axemen and a powerhouse Aurora Tigers squad – Kostka persevered and earned a scholarship to the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

Eligible for the 2004 NHL draft, Kostka didn’t even watch it on TV, figuring he wouldn’t be selected. He wasn’t.

The Buffalo Sabres then gave him a shot, but after two solid seasons in the AHL he was cut loose.

He considering giving up on his dream at that point and plying his trade in Germany, but decided to give the bigs one more chance and signed with the then-unaffiliated Rochester Americans. A breakout season earned him a contract with the Florida Panthers and after a strong NHL camp was told he made the team.

The next day the club changed its mind and he was sent back to the AHL.

That one was tough and most players would have taken the hint. Not Kostka. He stuck it out and midway through the season was traded to the Tampa Bay organization, which is how he turned up with the Norfolk Admirals in the Calder Cup final against the Toronto Marlies, the farm team of your Toronto Maple Leafs.

It was Kostka’s fluke, double-overtime goal – he banked it off the glass and in behind Ben Scrivens – that broke the hearts of the Marlies and gave the championship to Norfolk, while piquing the interests of Leafs management in attendance.

Offered a contract by the Leafs, he turned a solid camp into an NHL job and now, two games in with his third NHL match scheduled against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight, he appears a lock to stick with club for the season.

Never say never in hockey, as well as life, for Mike Kostka, the pride of Ajax.