(AAron Ontiveroz, The Denver Post)
First-year Avalanche forward Jack Skille, 28, never has earned a $1 million annual NHL salary and just recently was signed for the professional tryout contract he took into training camp.
But, boy, he lived a charmed hockey life as a youth.
Skille (pronounced SKILL-ee) grew up in Madison, Wis., and before beginning a two-year NCAA career for the hometown Wisconsin Badgers, he played two years for the U.S. National Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Skille joined the Badgers as a true freshman shortly after he was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks — Wisconsin's favorite NHL team — in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2005 NHL draft.