Simmonds was chosen in the second round (No. 61) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2007 NHL Draft and blossomed into one of the top power forwards in the NHL with 499 points (251 goals, 248 assists) in 909 games with the Kings, Flyers, Nashville Predators, New Jersey Devils and Sabres.
"When I go back to when I was younger, I had
Kevin Weekes
as a mentor. He had a hockey camp and he would bring in other guys like
Anson Carter
," the 31-year-old said. "I looked up to Anson Carter for a long time. I met guys more my age, Anthony Stewart and Chris Stewart, and we started grinding together. Guys like us, we've always had positive mentors, and to pay it forward to guys like Akil (Thomas) and Zayde is important.
"I think when you have other people who have been in the situation before and you know they're willing to do what they can do to help you, that's huge. If he (Wisdom) ever wants to talk to me or he needs to pick my brain, I'm just a phone call away. You keep paying it forward in hopes of getting that guy to the next level."
Anthony Stewart, who was selected in the first round (No. 25) by the Florida Panthers in the 2003 NHL Draft, agreed.
"The one thing you can say about him (Wisdom) is to go from a fourth-round OHL draft pick to a potentially top two (rounds) NHL draft pick, it's more than luck," said Stewart who had 71 points (27 goals,44 assists) in 262 games for the Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and Carolina Hurricanes from 2005-12. "I think with him, he's got a good support group in his training staff with Derrell Levy, and I think the leadership starts with Eustace King, his agent."