Riley Cote's Hard Work Pays Off

When someone tells you to think of the toughest player in the NHL, you’re probably going to say someone like Donald Brashear or Derek Boogaard.

But when you take a look at it, that honor really belongs to Riley Cote—in my opinion, anyway.

Cote runs around, and may take the odd cheap shot—but he will drop the gloves with anyone. He’s not the biggest guy in the league either. At just 6’2” and 216 pounds, Riley Cote was called the “toughest guy in the league, pound for pound,” by Montreal Canadiens’ tough guy Georges Laraque.

I want to tell you a little bit about Riley, to the best of my knowledge. He has put in tons of time and hard work to get where he is today. And for that, I give him tons of respect.

Riley was never drafted into the NHL. He was actually what they call a “walk-on” at tryouts for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2002. That basically means he just showed up and tried out.

Cote’s hard work and aggressive play got him a contract with the Leafs' CHL affiliate, the Memphis Riverkings. He was called up to play for the St. John Maple Leafs a couple times, but never made it to Toronto.

Cote didn’t re-sign with the Leafs. Instead, he signed a two-way deal with Columbus, good for one year. However, he played in the ECHL for most of that year.

For the next year he went back to Memphis to play another season in the CHL with the Riverkings, but was also offered an invitation to the Philadelphia Phantoms’ tryout camp. From there, he would go on to help the Phantoms win a championship.

In the 2006-07 season, Cote signed a two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.

This past season he played 70 games with the Flyers, collecting one goal, three assists, and 202 penalty minutes. His solid and aggressive style of play landed him a two-year, one-way contract this offseason.

It shows that hard work can and does pay off.

Riley didn’t give up, and I respect him for that. He is now one of my favorite players, and I try to follow him as much as I can. I am really disappointed that the Leafs made no effort at all to resign him. But with that said, the fans in Philly love him, and he loves it there.

Congratulations on the contract, Riley. You've officially made it. Best of luck in the upcoming season.