Mark Astley

Astley won a silver medal for Canada at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer just a few months after making his NHL debut on October 12, 1993 for the Sabres. He had shown some scoring promise at Lake Superior State University where he played four years and was drafted by Buffalo 194th overall in 1989.

Astley failed to make the Sabres immediately, though, so he went to Europe to play for a couple of years, playing for teams in the Swiss league. He then played for parts of two years with Canada's National team in preparation for Lillehammer, after which he joined the Sabres part-time for the next two seasons.

Astley played all of 1995-1996 with Buffalo, his only legitimate year in the NHL, but the Sabres released him at season's end. He signed with Los Angeles, but the Kings also relegated him to the minors, and after a year he returned to Europe, in 1997, after it became apparent he wasn't going to make it full-time in North America.

Over the past six years, the Calgary, Alberta native has been playing in Lugano, Switerland.