Joe "Frickin" Colborne

[GranteedEV]

He has literally been everything from fourth line center to first line winger in the same season!

[heep223]

Tower and the two timbits v2



Since this is such a weird bump...ah, summer....I'd be interested in opening a discussion on Colborne because I've been a bit up and down on him this year.

I personally thought he found another gear during playoffs and he showed flashes that he could be a very valuable 3rd line C/RW on a good team. Also fantastic off the ice with media and (I'm assuming) in the room. Does anyone see 2nd line upside with him? Or am I out to lunch in thinking he could be an excellent 3rd line player on the 2017/18 cup winning Flames? Also - note that he was playing through what I believe was a fairly significant wrist injury.

[Northendzone]

^ i like big joe - i think he demonstrates some talents at times -so it would be great if he could find some consistency

[EldrickOnIce]

^ I think he can definitely be that 3rd line winger.
I do not see 2nd line offensive upside at all, other than occasional flashes of absolute brilliance.

[ForeverFlameFan]

Originally Posted by heep223

Since this is such a weird bump...ah, summer....I'd be interested in opening a discussion on Colborne because I've been a bit up and down on him this year.

I personally thought he found another gear during playoffs and he showed flashes that he could be a very valuable 3rd line C/RW on a good team. Also fantastic off the ice with media and (I'm assuming) in the room. Does anyone see 2nd line upside with him? Or am I out to lunch in thinking he could be an excellent 3rd line player on the 2017/18 cup winning Flames? Also - note that he was playing through what I believe was a fairly significant wrist injury.

I think you're assessment of him being a 3rd liner is correct when we are strong contenders. He'll continue to play middle 6 minutes and will be a 2nd liner with Backlund until we have players that bump them out of the top 6. I'm fully expecting that Bennett - Backlund - Colborne line to be formed again.

It was really great to see how much of a force he can be when he adds physicality to his game. Only problem is he took way too many dumb penalties because of that.

He is a player that I can see being a Flame for a really long time.

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by ForeverFlameFan

I think you're assessment of him being a 3rd liner is correct when we are strong contenders. He'll continue to play middle 6 minutes and will be a 2nd liner with Backlund until we have players that bump them out of the top 6. I'm fully expecting that Bennett - Backlund - Colborne line to be formed again.

It was really great to see how much of a force he can be when he adds physicality to his game. Only problem is he took way too many dumb penalties because of that.

He is a player that I can see being a Flame for a really long time.

That's all learning curve, that type of game was foreign to him until this past season. He bought into what the team needed and tried. As with everything, it'll take a bit of time to perfect that type of play for Joe. Kind of the same things with Ferland, except Ferland knows how to play that kind of game but needed to learn to pick his battles.

[EldrickOnIce]

^ Referencing Ferland is perfect here. When you have young players who are coachable and work hard, they can become great contributors to a team.
Colborne and Ferland are two examples of just such players.

[CroFlames]

I think when Matty Stajan moves on, Joe will become the next 4C, and will be damn good at it.

Until that time, he'll be great on the wings on the 3rd line, and will be good when injuries eventually force him onto the 2nd line. He has much to learn, but his talent is there. He does have great hands, and isn't afraid of hard work. He will continue improving, and he'll be a part of the Flames in the long run.

It's a great problem to have an abundance of centers since I think going from C to RW/LW is a lot easier that going from RW/LW to C. Plus, centermen are typically more responsible defensively anyway.

[GioforPM]

The Flames have 5 first round picks still possible for their centre position going forward, and they are all relatively young. Plus a second rounder in Shore.

[Fighting Banana Slug]

Colborne has one of the highest variances of possible outcomes for our forwards. He could turn out to be a high quality 4th liner (Brian Boyle?) or someone with a much higher ceiling offensively. I am excited about his growth.
Because of the high variance, I am a little concerned that he will be come the new whipping boy, now that Glencross is gone. Fans see the talent and sometimes want more than what he shows from time to time.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Fighting Banana Slug

Colborne has one of the highest variances of possible outcomes for our forwards. He could turn out to be a high quality 4th liner (Brian Boyle?) or someone with a much higher ceiling offensively. I am excited about his growth.
Because of the high variance, I am a little concerned that he will be come the new whipping boy, now that Glencross is gone. Fans see the talent and sometimes want more than what he shows from time to time.

There's plenty of guys who get that treatment already (rightly or wrongly). Raymond, Stajan, Engelland, Byron, Diaz, Bollig, Backlund, depending on the poster.

It's funny that Bouma and Colborne have almost identical PPG. Expectations differ I guess.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Colborne is a man with flashes of brilliance. He's filled out a lot and has adopted the physical game a bit. If he can get a bit quicker, he'll generate plenty of break-away chances and has the ability to cash in on virtually every opportunity.

For a 4th round pick I'd make that trade every day of the week. Even if it was a 2nd rounder I'd say the flames still won that deal.

Colborne has steadily progressed, but I don't see him moving back to centre. His fore-checking is amazingly good and play-making is sub-par so it makes sense to move him into RW.

He'll be a 2nd line RWer on a stanley cup contending Flames team in 2016/17. Book it.

[Red Menace]

I'm a fan of Colborne for sure, but he needs to distinguish himself more from the multitude of 3rd-4th line forwards we have on this team right now.
With Bouma, Stajan, D.Jones, Granlund, Ferland, Shore, Jooris, Raymond, Bollig, Poirier, Byron, Arnold all fighting for spots on the bottom 6 something has to give.
I don't quite see him being a real top 6er any time soon.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

I'm a fan of Colborne for sure, but he needs to distinguish himself more from the multitude of 3rd-4th line forwards we have on this team right now.
With Bouma, Stajan, D.Jones, Granlund, Ferland, Shore, Jooris, Raymond, Bollig, Poirier, Byron, Arnold all fighting for spots on the bottom 6 something has to give.
I don't quite see him being a real top 6er any time soon.

Stajan/Jones/Raymond/Bollig are only here for the erst of their contract, max.

I'd say Colborne has a leg up on all of the younger players except Ferland and Bouma. He also has the advantage of having to pass through waivers, unlike Granlund, Poirier and (I think) Arnold.

[Red Menace]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Stajan/Jones/Raymond/Bollig are only here for the erst of their contract, max.

only?
Stajans has 3 more years left.
Raymond and Bollig 2 more each.
Jones 1 more.

If you want to discount the next 2-3 seasons, then i guess there is no issue.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Red Menace

only?
Stajans has 3 more years left.
Raymond and Bollig 2 more each.
Jones 1 more.

If you want to discount the next 2-3 seasons, then i guess there is no issue.

I do discount the next couple years a bit. It's still a rebuild. If those contracts can be moved earlier they will be, except maybe Stajan, who has intangible value. And of those, only one guy is a top 6 regular (Jones) lately.

I'd put Colborne ahead of Granlund, Jooris, Poirier, Byron, Bollig, Raymond, Shore and Arnold out of the guys that were listed.

[NewFan]

Originally Posted by heep223

Tower and the two timbits v2



Since this is such a weird bump...ah, summer....I'd be interested in opening a discussion on Colborne because I've been a bit up and down on him this year.

I personally thought he found another gear during playoffs and he showed flashes that he could be a very valuable 3rd line C/RW on a good team. Also fantastic off the ice with media and (I'm assuming) in the room. Does anyone see 2nd line upside with him? Or am I out to lunch in thinking he could be an excellent 3rd line player on the 2017/18 cup winning Flames? Also - note that he was playing through what I believe was a fairly significant wrist injury.

I hope that left wrist heals well that he can play 100%

[DoubleF]

IMO, Colborne will be fine. He has stated he is going to dedicate himself to continue to develop like he did last summer with Monahan. That's a great sign. Bulking up and strength alone would be huge. I would love to see the results of Bennett and Monahan doing the same.

[T@T]

Originally Posted by Bandwagon In Flames

For a 4th round pick I'd make that trade every day of the week. Even if it was a 2nd rounder I'd say the flames still won that trade.

Yet leaf fans say he wasn't good enough for their team full of depth.

[Bandwagon In Flames]

Originally Posted by T@T

Yet leaf fans say he wasn't good enough for their team full of depth.

The leafs didn't think they'd have room for Colborne on their NHL roster and didn't want to spend time developing him further. They must of forgot that injuries happen, as their team absolutely crumbled after losing 2-3 of their top 4 centers. There's not a sane leaf fan out there who would still be backing that decision even just a month after the trade.

He's progressed immensely since joining the Flames. Great ability to protect the puck down low, uses his size to play more physical, getting quicker and making better decisions with the puck.

Colborne has the skill set and physical attributes necessary to become a top 6 forward. He just needs to put it all together now and establish a permanent role for himself.

Also want to bump this thread because I'm tired of the never ending battle in the Jankowski thread which is going nowhere. So many good things happened this season and yet everyone is focused on the only negative storyline in the Flames organization right now.