We already wrote last week about Joe Colborne’s attempt to make the Toronto Maple Leafs and prove he belongs in the NHL. But upon further review, one thing that was missing from our analysis was a good bus analogy.
For that, let’s turn to Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle.
“The way this thing works is the bus only goes by so many times,” Carlyle said Thursday, per the National Post. “And you want to be on that bus. That was the way it was when I started and it’s the way it’s been for years.
“You’re only going to get so many opportunities and who knows when the last one is? I’m not saying that’s happening, but the bus is going by and it’s another opportunity so you want to be on it. That’s the simplest form that I can put it. If you want a ride downtown you get on the bus.”
Colborne, 23, is no longer exempt from waivers, so he’d need to clear them if the Leafs chose to send him back down to the AHL. (Which we suppose is a bit like getting on a bus, except you’re not sure where it’s going.)
Colborne should have a great chance to show his stuff tonight in Ottawa, as he’s expected to center wingers David Clarkson and James van Riemsdyk versus the Senators.
Here is a picture of a bus: