Triangle talent takes hard road to the NHL Draft

Tyler Weiss has put in the hours, growing from a precocious four-year-old at the Iceplex into an NHL draft pick.

Weiss was taken 109th overall by the Colorado Avalanche, becoming the first non-Canes offspring from the Triangle to ever get selected.

That's no slight to the work that Josh Wesley (son of Glen) and Skyler Brind'Amour (son of Rod) did to earn their selections in recent years, but clearly, Tyler didn't have the benefit of NHL genes or access.

Weiss began in Raleigh youth hockey, then sharpened his skills north of the border and finally earned his way onto the U.S. National Development Team.

Along the way, his family's finances were often stretched beyond the breaking point.

In fact, it took a selfless act of sacrifice from his big brother to keep Tyler's hockey dreams alive.