After signing his NHL contract with the Boston Bruins Friday, North Battleford native Colby Cave has signed a professional try-out with their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins.
Cave said contract talks with NHL clubs came to a head after his Swift Current Broncos were eliminated by the Regina Pats last Wednesday.
“It was kind of going on and off throughout the season, sort of keeping in touch,” Cave said from Providence, RI. “After we lost to Regina there was some contract talk and I made my decision.”
The Bruins weren’t the only team looking to land the Broncos captain.
“There were a few other teams, I think Toronto was in the mix and Edmonton. It was a really tough decision and I’m happy with what I picked.”
There were a few reasons why Cave ultimately decided on the Bruins.
“It’s a storied franchise,” he said. “Looking at their depth chart in Providence I thought I have a good opportunity of coming in next year and making an impact.”
His try-out contract allows his NHL contract to slide and begin next year.
After going undrafted through two NHL seasons, Cave was determined to end his junior career with an NHL contract.
“There was a lot of thoughts about going to school next year but I just told myself school wasn’t really what I wanted to do,” he admitted. “I wanted to play pro, I wanted to keep playing hockey and I just kept that in my head the whole season.”
Putting pen to paper and officially signing his first professional contract is something he’ll never forget.
“A lot of things were going through my head,” he said. “It was a dream come true. All I could think about was all the tough things I had gone through. Going through two drafts, seeing some of my friends get drafted and the excitement I saw in their eyes. I had a couple guys on my team get signed this year and seeing how excited they were made me want to feel that too. It was basically a relief. I still have a lot of work to do, don’t get me wrong.”
Being from a small town never deterred his belief that he would make it to this point.
“There was a lot of people that probably wouldn’t have thought so,” he said when asked if he thought he’d get to this point. “Personally I just took it year by year, started growing up. Made my way into the WHL and made a name for myself here.”
Cave was drafted 13th overall by the Kootenay Ice in the 2009 WHL draft and traded to Swift Current in January of 2011.
Playing at home with the Battlefords AAA Stars from 2009-2011 is something Cave looks back on fondly.
“It was unreal. All my friends I had at school whether it was guys I played with or friends I grew up with, it was nice because I didn’t have to make the adjustment at too young of an age,” he said. “It just made it easy to focus on hockey because your life can change a whole lot.”
Adjusting to professional hockey is something he’s excited to do.
“Just the professional living,” he said. “Living on your own and not with a billet family. Becoming more of an adult,” he added. “I’m really looking forward to it. I grew up in a small town on a farm so the big city might be a little bit more of an adjustment too.”
Cave knows how much work he has to put in not only during the season, but during the offseason as well.
“This is the biggest summer of my career,” he stated. “I’ll be living in Saskatoon and training there all summer. It’s going to be pretty steady, six days a week going pretty hard. Just really have to dedicate myself between workouts and diet.”
Cave is in Providence hoping to be in the lineup for the AHL Bruins who have 10 games remaining.
“It’s nice being down here and getting used to the rink, the lifestyle and meeting all the guys,” he said. “I’ve talked to the coaching staff but it’s really tight right now in the standings and they’ve got a good team this year so it might be tough for me to get in the lineup. I’m going to try my best to be ready all the time and if they need me to hop in the lineup I’ll definitely be ready to.”
The AHL Bruins currently sit fifth in the eastern conference, four points up on the eighth and ninth place teams.
While he’s looking forward to his next visit to North Battleford, he isn’t expecting things to be very different.
“I got a lot of support, I can’t thank everybody enough,” he said. “It’s been amazing with everyone giving me congratulations. But like I said before I haven’t really done anything yet, I have a lot of work to do. Definitely not expecting a hero's welcome.”
He might not be expecting it, but he just might get it.
