RAPID CITY - There's no looking back for Matt Zultek.

The former draft pick for the Los Angeles Kings and Boston Bruins who later spent three years with the Philadelphia Flyers, doesn't regret that his shot at playing in the National Hockey League never quite materialized.

Since Zultek was first picked 15th overall by the Kings in the 1997 NHL entry draft, the

6-foot-4, 210-pound left wing has laced up his skates for the Trenton Titans, Philadelphia Phantoms, Manitoba Moose, Greenville Grrrowl and Toledo Storm.

This year Zultek signed with the Rapid City Rush and in 15 games has scored five goals and four assists. He's pleased to be fitting in.

"I'm playing hockey for a living. I'm happy to be wherever I am," he said.

Zultek, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, is known for scoring an overtime goal to boost the Ottawa 67's to the Canadian Hockey League Memorial Cup championship in 1999.

But his NHL career was derailed by a serious knee injury suffered after he was picked by the Kings.

"It came between my 19- and 20-year-old seasons and that's a pretty important time. It took me a long time to rehab and get my confidence back up. It's never gotten back to 100 percent and it still nags me quite a bit," he said.

Re-entering the draft in 1999, he was picked by the Boston Bruins in the second round, 56th overall, and was offered a 25-game tryout.

"I was looking for a contract. They traded me to Philly and I spent three years there, but just didn't play at the caliber I was playing at before. It was a lot of things. It wasn't just the injury," he said.

Since then he has found his rewards in places not exactly known as hockey hotbeds.

"One the best minor league hockey teams was in Toledo, and some people said it was a terrible town. It turned out to be one the best places I've played. So you can't judge a book by its cover," he said.

"You're playing hockey for a living. It's the greatest gift in the world to be able to play a sport that you love for your job. You can't ask for anything more, no matter what level you're at," said Zultek, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday.

He's also looking ahead to the day when his hangs up his skates for good.

"I've finished almost all my schooling in firefighting. A lot of my family are firefighters. As soon as I'm done that's what I'll go right into," he said.