(left) DU recruit Joe ColborneFrom: Calgary Herald
by Kristen Osland
Understandably, Joe Colborne has his share of distractions these days.
But don't expect this latest acknowledgment to derail his train of thought.
After his Camrose Kodiaks earned a trip to the Canadian junior 'A' championship in Cornwall, Ont., the 18-year-old was dubbed the 2008 RBC Canadian junior 'A' hockey league's player of the year.
And oddly enough, personal accolades were the furthest thing from his mind.
"My coaches gave me the phone (after winning the Doyle Cup) and said that someone had to talk to me, someone from Hockey Canada . . . it hasn't really sunk in yet," said Colborne, one of eight Calgarians on Boris Rybalka's Kodiaks. "We are focusing so much on the RBC (Cup). I probably won't grasp how nice it is until after the tournament . . . it's a nice thing to have but right now, my main goal is to win the RBC."
Camrose, the AJHL champs, took down the Penticton Vees and hoisted the Doyle Cup for the Alberta/British Columbia title to advance.
But to get there, Colborne contributed eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 18 post-season games.
The former triple 'A' midget Notre Dame Hound of Wilcox, Sask., won the MVP award out of eight nominees across the country.
"It's been such great year, with the guys on our team and the coaches," said Colborne, also the AJHL's MVP by finishing No.2 in regular season scoring after his second year with the Kodiaks. "You can't really ask for much more."
While he'll be the property of the University of Denver this fall -- toting a 90 per cent average out of high school -- Colborne will likely be plucked in the first round of this summer's National Hockey League draft
And after adding 20 pounds of muscle to his six-foot-four frame this year, he's ranked 28th in the final NHL Central Scouting report.
"His physical strength alone, that's allowed him to probably do some things that he couldn't do before," said Miles Walsh, Kodiaks' assistant coach and Colborne's billet in Camrose. "But he'll be the first to tell you that he probably needs another 20 to 25 pounds . . . it paid off for kids like (former Kodiak and Vancouver Canucks property) Mason Raymond, we're glad that Joe stuck around that second year."
Colborne and the Kodiaks head to the national championships for the second straight year and fifth in eight seasons. They open the tournament on Sunday against the Maritime reps, the Weeks Crushers, who hail from Pictou County, N.S.
But don't expect this latest acknowledgment to derail his train of thought.
After his Camrose Kodiaks earned a trip to the Canadian junior 'A' championship in Cornwall, Ont., the 18-year-old was dubbed the 2008 RBC Canadian junior 'A' hockey league's player of the year.
And oddly enough, personal accolades were the furthest thing from his mind.
"My coaches gave me the phone (after winning the Doyle Cup) and said that someone had to talk to me, someone from Hockey Canada . . . it hasn't really sunk in yet," said Colborne, one of eight Calgarians on Boris Rybalka's Kodiaks. "We are focusing so much on the RBC (Cup). I probably won't grasp how nice it is until after the tournament . . . it's a nice thing to have but right now, my main goal is to win the RBC."
Camrose, the AJHL champs, took down the Penticton Vees and hoisted the Doyle Cup for the Alberta/British Columbia title to advance.
But to get there, Colborne contributed eight goals and eight assists for 16 points in 18 post-season games.
The former triple 'A' midget Notre Dame Hound of Wilcox, Sask., won the MVP award out of eight nominees across the country.
"It's been such great year, with the guys on our team and the coaches," said Colborne, also the AJHL's MVP by finishing No.2 in regular season scoring after his second year with the Kodiaks. "You can't really ask for much more."
While he'll be the property of the University of Denver this fall -- toting a 90 per cent average out of high school -- Colborne will likely be plucked in the first round of this summer's National Hockey League draft
And after adding 20 pounds of muscle to his six-foot-four frame this year, he's ranked 28th in the final NHL Central Scouting report.
"His physical strength alone, that's allowed him to probably do some things that he couldn't do before," said Miles Walsh, Kodiaks' assistant coach and Colborne's billet in Camrose. "But he'll be the first to tell you that he probably needs another 20 to 25 pounds . . . it paid off for kids like (former Kodiak and Vancouver Canucks property) Mason Raymond, we're glad that Joe stuck around that second year."
Colborne and the Kodiaks head to the national championships for the second straight year and fifth in eight seasons. They open the tournament on Sunday against the Maritime reps, the Weeks Crushers, who hail from Pictou County, N.S.
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