Canucks Fanz.com Questions DU Recruit

From: Cunucks Fanz.com

Joe Colborne, a 2008 draft eligibile centerman who is projected to be available around the 20-30th overall pick, recently answered not three but six of our questions! Read more to see what connection Colborne has to Mason Raymond!

Six Questions with Joe Colborne

1. You're currently projected to go 29th overall in December's ISS 2008 rankings. Do you feel an added pressure knowing that this is your draft year?

JC: Personally, I dont really feel much pressure because I am trying to focus on each game as it comes and hopefully the draft will take care of itself.

2. Mason Raymond, who also played for the Camrose Kodiaks, is rapidly becoming a fan favorite for Vancouver Canucks. Does it reassure you that someone who took the same route as you is having success at the professional level?

JC: Mason has been a huge role model for me as I have been able to work out with him in Calgary over the past few summers and it has been great to watch someone who is doing exactly what I hope to do in my career.

3. How would you describe yourself as a player, and is there an NHL player (past or present) that you would compare your style of play to?

JC: I feel like I am a skilled forward, and I try to model my game after players like Lecavalier, Thornton and Spezza.

4. Where did you play your minor hockey, when did you start, and when did you realize that you could very well make a career out of playing hockey?

JC: I played my minor hockey in Springbank, a community just outside of Calgary, I began playing when I was 5 and it has always been a dream of mine to play hockey in the NHL.

5. What has been your fondest hockey memory to date?

JC: My fondest memory in hockey would either be the playoff run my team went on last year when we reached the Royal Bank Cup Semi Final game and lost in the 5th overtime period, or winning the World Junior A Challenge in Trail BC earlier this year.

6. Why Denver?

JC: Denver really stood out from the rest of the schools because of firstly its coaching, which is some of the best in the nation, second, the tradition of having a perennial chance at winning a national championship as well as the top level of education that it offers.

Thanks again Joe.

Featured Bio
#12 - JOE COLBORNE
Ht: 6-foot-4
Wt: 195 lbs
Age: 17
Country: Canada
Shoots Left
Draft: 2008
NHL Rights: undrafted

TALENT ANALYSIS (courtesy of Illegal Curve: Prospect Pulse)
A standout face-off man, he plays a smart 2-way game that belies his young age. He needs to take the edges off his offensive game, but scouts feel he is a solid bet in the first round. Observers who saw him play at the recent World Junior A Challenge felt that he was a dominant skater but would have liked to see him get involved in the play a little more, as he seemed content to play a perimeter game. They described him as cross between Brandon Sutter and James van Riemsdyk.