Hi, My Name Is ... Joe Colborne

Hi, My Name is ... appears weekly on NHL FanHouse. We will spotlight future NHL prospects currently making a name for themselves in college hockey. Where applicable, the players' draft rights will be listed. Check back each Tuesday at 8AM ET. Hit me up in the comments section if you have a nomination.

When you're a first-round pick, expectations become high automatically. It doesn't matter if you're playing major junior, college hockey, or if you're in the minors. You need to produce, and preferably now.

That hasn't quite worked out for Joe Colborne (NHL rights: Boston). A first-round pick of the Bruins this past summer, Colborne began his college career at the University of Denver with ridiculous expectations. The Pioneers have seen plenty of young forwards make a name for themselves at the school lately. Guys like Rhett Rakhshani (N.Y. Islanders), Tyler Ruegsegger (Toronto), and Tyler Bozak (undrafted) have found success at DU and are still playing there. Coach George Gwozdecky has also tutored current pros such as Paul Stastny (Colorado Avalanche) and Brock Trotter (Montreal system), among many others.

The reality is that Denver produces offensive talent. Colborne was expected to be the next great Pioneer forward from Day One of his DU career. Probably an unfair expectation, and it put a lot of pressure on the 18-year-old.

While the statistics suggest a struggle through his first nine collegiate games, watching him play twice over the weekend left me with a slightly different impression.

In Denver's first seven games, Colborne managed just one goal and one assist. When I got to the press box Friday, I asked a couple Magness Arena regulars about the Denver freshmen, especially Colborne.

I've seen many highly-touted freshmen struggle in college hockey, and it's rarely because the scouts were flat-wrong about a kid. Sure, that happens, but anyone willing to write off Colborne so quickly is totally unwise. The reality is that if you ask any college player, they'll tell you the transition from high school or junior hockey to the college game is very difficult. Even the ones who make it look easy (like fellow DU freshmen Luke Salazar [undrafted] and Patrick Wiercioch [Ottawa]) will say that.

Colborne was a presence in Friday's 5-1 win over Minnesota-Duluth, though he didn't register on the scoresheet. He got caught out of position and took a second-period penalty, but his team was already up by four goals. You could see some freshman mistakes (bad passes, out of position, a lazy penalty) if you watched closely enough, but you could also see what had scouts so high on him going into the draft.

He's six-five but still a bit thin, meaning he's going to develop a body that's really tough to move out from the front of the net. His arms are insanely long (though I guess maybe not so much for a six-five guy), so he can dig for loose pucks and be really disruptive in the defensive zone without being an overly physical presence. He also has soft hands, good vision and passing ability, and a good shot.

We saw more of the kind of player everyone expected Colborne to be at Denver during their Saturday win over UMD. Colborne scored the game's first goal off a great centering pass in the second period, then made the pass that led to Ruegsegger's game-winner in the third.

Colborne's transition from junior hockey superstar (he played for the Camrose Kodiaks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League) to developing college hockey star will undoubtedly continue. I expect that he will be among the most dynamic offensive players in college hockey by the time I see him play again. Denver is scheduled to visit Duluth for a two-game series in early February.

If you're a Boston Bruins fan, ignore the early stats and take heart. You've got a good one on the way.

Other players to watch

Wisconsin has come alive. The Badgers swept Michigan Tech to run their winning streak to three. Forward Blake Geoffrion (Nashville) scored twice in their 6-0 win Saturday, and he added two assists (one each night) for a four-point weekend. Defenseman Jamie McBain (Carolina) scored one and assisted on another in Friday's 3-2 win and added three points (one goal and two helpers) Saturday.

Big defenseman Joe Stejskal (Montreal) scored three goals on the weekend as Dartmouth beat Union and RPI by matching 5-2 scores.

Senior goaltender Jordan Pearce (undrafted) stopped 53 of 55 shots for Notre Dame in two wins. The Fighting Irish beat defending national champion Boston College and Providence by matching 4-1 scores. College hockey fans will remember that it was Notre Dame whom Boston College beat last spring for the national title.

How about the play of Quinnipiac goaltender Nick Pisellini (undrafted)? The freshman stopped 48 of 49 shots in games against Colgate and Cornell over the weekend. Here's the kicker. The Bobcats didn't win a game. Colgate beat them 1-0, and the Cornell game ended in a 0-0 tie. Thanks for the offensive support, guys.