George Kingston has spent a good deal of his four decades as a hockey coach dealing with the international game. He has coached several Canadian national teams, as well as serving as national team coach for both the German and Norwegian ice hockey federations. He understands the merits of each system and is excited about the in-roads Europe has made in refining North American players.

"If you're a foreigner over there, an import in other words, you're going to be on the ice twice a day for the most part," says Kingston, now an assistant coach with the Florida Panthers. "You almost double your ice time on any given day. Plus, you usually only play two games a week and the travel demands are much less.

"All those countries place a huge premium on skill development. To put it another way, we [North Americans] tend to play hard and then harder. [Europeans] want to play hard and smarter."

With that said, the European experience is not for everyone. In general, Europe remains a place for more skilled players that have been overlooked because of issues such as a lack of size or lack of competition in their formative years.

"Typically, the players that have gone over to Europe are already glorious offensive players, but they tend to be smaller and don't fit into the typical mold of an NHL player," explains Kingston. "The European game gives them a chance to develop those skills even more and get noticed by NHL scouts in a more competitive setting."

The NHL heavily scouts both Finland and Sweden now as the influx of European players grows each year. Each country is seen as possessing a professional league on par with the AHL, the NHL's primary player developmental arm in North America.

Plus, each country is so small that it is possible for scouts to see numerous games in a short visit to the country, expanding the chances of those North Americans over there to be seen repeatedly.

In the case of Rafalski, New Jersey was scouting other players in Finland but was drawn to Rafalski's skill set over and over until they felt comfortable offering him a free-agent contract, a decision that has paid off handsomely.

But, Europe is not for everyone. A player considering such an option must be mature enough to handle a major challenge to their comfort level.

"It was an adjustment," says Brooks, a defenseman now playing for Albany in the AHL. "The first few weeks I was just figuring out what to eat and stuff like that. And, the language barrier was tough at times. We did a lot of drilling over there in practice and for the first few weeks, I was known as the drill buster."

Iif the skill set is present and there is a desire to do whatever it takes to make it to the NHL, Europe is no longer the last-ditch choice that it once was.

For that reason, the European option tends to appeal to the older player, usually one who has competed at the college level and has the life skills to meet such a daunting challenge head on.

"I would have had a tough time adjusting at 19," admits Thomas, who went over to Finland after his senior season with the Catamounts. "At 19, I was just on my own for the first time and had never been away from my parents. It's an easier adjustment when you are a little bit older."

But, if the skill set is present and there is a desire to do whatever it takes to make it to the NHL, Europe is no longer the last-ditch choice that it once was.

"It's a commitment to wanting to play in the NHL, that's what I look for most," says Zito Jr., about what makes an ideal candidate for European placement. "If they want to play bad enough, you can get around any obstacle. That is what makes Europe so attractive for players that have that commitment."

In fact, as Rafalski, Thomas and countless others have shown, the road less traveled can be a richly rewarding one when it comes to chasing an NHL dream.