In a day 23-year-old forward Joe Colborne went from being unlikely to make the Toronto Maple Leafs’ roster out of training camp to being traded and getting ready to play for his hometown Calgary Flames.
The move quickly brought back a lot of memories.
“One time, when I was about six years old,” Colborne told the Calgary Sun. “When you come out between periods and you play for three minutes and everyone’s just following the puck around. But you remember that.
“I remember meeting Jarome (Iginla) when I think he was a rookie. Those memories excite me and get me going.”
It’s not surprising that he would label the opportunity to play for the Flames as a dream come true, but this might also be great news for his career.
Since being taken with the 16th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Colborne has struggled to stick with an NHL club. He’s put up some decent numbers in the AHL, but has only 16 NHL contests under his belt.
That’s about to change as the Flames are in need of a big center. He’s likely to start the season in a bottom-six role, but there’s even an opening for him to end up on a scoring line.