That Michael Raffl and his homeboy Michael Grabner both have jobs in the NHL defies the odds.
Raffl plays wing for the Flyers. He was best man at the wedding of Grabner, who then played wing for the Rangers and now plays for the Devils. Both are from Villach, Austria, an Alpine town in the middle of a cluster of ski resorts.
Villach has a population of only 61,000. This would be like having two current NFL starters from Medicine Hat, Alberta.
Raffl is the 15th and most recent Austrian to play in the NHL, though his (really) big brother, Thomas, almost made it, too.