Tom Draper had a six-year NHL career, but it translated in to just 53 games in the lineup with four clubs. Selected 165th overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the eighth round of the 1985 Entry Draft, Draper opted to play a season in Finland after his NCAA career at Vermont was over.
In 1988-89, he returned to North America and started 54 games for the AHL's Moncton Hawks, going 27-17-5 with two shutouts and a 3.46 goals against average. He was called up for just two games with the Jets that year, but he was drilled for 12 goals, leaving him with an unimpressive 6.00 goals against average.
Draper's next NHL opportunity did not occur until the 1991-92 season when he played 26 games for the Buffalo Sabres, going 10-9-5 with a 3.21 GAA. The following year he started eleven games, going 5-6-0. He played in seven games for the New York Islanders in 1993-94, but was the goalie of record in just four of them, officially going 1-4-0. His final NHL appearance came in 1996-97 when he played one game for the Winnipeg Jets.
For the past five years Draper has toiled in the minors and most recently played for a team in Finland in 2000-01.
