So for weeks my friend tried to convince me that the Flames would go after Joe Colborne after the Burke hiring. He was adamant that Brian would use his experience and leverage to pick up a player that he clearly coveted when he was running the Leafs. Now, although the Flames have been looking for a big, scoring centre since Joe Nieuwendyk left, I reasoned that it made no sense for the Flames to go after and I was more than willing to list my reasons.
I get that Joe is a Calgary kid, and it would be a GREAT story if he could be an impact player but the evidence simply doesn't justify the move in my opinion.
Joe was an impact offensive player in the AJHL where he netted an impressive 90 points with 33 goals and 57 assists in just 55 games in 07-08. He chose the college route in order to get an education and was more than solid in 2 seasons at the University of Denver putting up 72 points in 79 games in 2 seasons of University hockey which led the Boston Bruins to convince him to forgo the rest of his university eligibility and turn pro.
Colborne had an unassuming 28 points in his AHL time with the Bruins in 61 games, but was much more impressive late in his first full pro season after the trade to the Leafs when he put up 16 points in 20 games to finish out the season and give the Leafs fans something to look forward to. In fact, he even played his first NHL game that season tallying an assist as he got his first taste of NHL action.
But alas, it wasn't meant to be in Toronto as he was simply unable to crack one of the top two centre positions in Toronto with incumbents Bozak and Grabovski initially, and then the emergence of Nazem Kadri last season basically left no chance of Colborne being able to usurp an NHL roster spot since he needs to be a scoring line centre at least at this point.
Which leads to my confusion about his trade to the Flames.
The Flames have Mikael Backlund and Matt Stajan under contract and had them penciled in as the top two centres this season. During the preseason, they have also shifted TJ Galiardi back to the middle where he played in junior. Let's not forget about the Flames latest jewel; Sean Monahan. If this young man makes the club, he HAS to be a top 6 guy or you're limiting his development. That's not even factoring in college kid Corban Knight who was signed with some fairly lofty expectations or Paul Byron or Markus Granlund, who wouldn't slot in above Colborne in the depth chart, but are players who likely have to be top 6 guys if they are to make an NHL team.
That was then, this is now. The Flames pulled the trigger on a deal that admittedly is low risk and didn't cost much. And the possibility of a Monahan/Colburne duo to anchor the Flames top two lines in intriguing, but I still don't know that I'm on board with the decision.
Of course, his ability to reach his potential could go a long way to convincing many people that it was the right move. One has to wonder whether this means Monahan's first year of eligibility gets taken away as well. He'll likely get 9 games to prove himself, but he could find himself back in Ottawa by the end of October, which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing. Monahan needs to play... A LOT... He'll get to play massive amounts in the OHL and likely be one of the lynch-pins in team Canada's WJ team. I still can't say I understand the Colburne deal, but I do hope it works out. He's definitely got top 6 talent, but injuries and consistency issues have been factors in holding him back from becoming a full-time NHL player.
Follow me on twitter @shaunevetter
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»