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A Cole-den opportunity: Local selected by Devils in NHL Draft
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
The adage “mother knows best” couldn’t have rang truer than from Plano native Blake Coleman’s NHL Draft gathering June 24-25.
Watching on with family and fellow draft hopefuls from Minnesota, Coleman was well prepared for the rigors of the event’s unpredictability; some of which just happened to swing the Planoite’s way 74 picks in.
“It was a long day,” Coleman said. “It seems longer when you’re waiting to hear your name, but the third round rolled around. Then [the New Jersey Devils] came up and my mom told me to pay attention for this one.
Ranked No. 198 among North American skaters according to the April edition of the Central Scouting Rankings, Coleman felt he would go higher than projected. Nevertheless, last Saturday’s third-round selection as the 75th overall pick took him by surprise.
“It was a pretty extreme jump, but it was obviously a good feeling,” he said.
The build-up to that night of prosper and promise proved an arduous one for Coleman, who spent his junior year in high school at Spring Creek Academy before graduating out of Nebraska.
From that point, Coleman said he looked into the Western Hockey League, a junior league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern U.S. With his rights initially picked up by the Calgary Hitmen, it was actually direction from general manager Kelly Kisio that swayed Coleman to go college and then the United States Hockey League.
“[Kisio] said they would have loved to have me there,” Coleman said, “but he wanted me to do what was best for my family and that it was important to get a college degree. So I was just looking to go play in the best junior league that there was, and the USHL was a pretty easy choice.”
As such, Coleman was drafted in 2009 by the Tri-City Storm with the 14th overall pick of the USHL Entry Draft.
Working his way into the Tri-City system as a roleplayer, Coleman amassed 12 points in 22 games of work before being dealt to the Indiana Ice, where he played out the rest of his rookie season by totaling 16 points on eight goals and eight assists.
To say Coleman’s sophomore campaign wielded signs of improvement is an understatement.
Opening his foray with Indiana as a shutdown center on the third line, the local worked his way onto the Ice’s first line and into one of the most imposing forces in the USHL.
“It was just the experience and a lot of trust from my coach,” Coleman said. “They had made a coaching change that year and I was just able to work my way into the first line rather than a shutdown guy in the third line.
“I came back with some confidence and a jump in my step after working hard that summer.”
Coleman’s 2010-11 ledger featured 34 goals alongside 58 assists. His league-best 92 points proved 17 better than the next closest player. The center complemented that figure with a plus-minus of +52, the highest rating on record since the USHL achieved Tier I junior league status in 2002. As a result, Coleman was named USHL Player of the Year, Forward of the Year, notched a first-team All-Star appearance and was named Junior Player of the Year by USA Hockey.
“It was an incredible year,” Coleman said. “The draft was kind of just putting a hat on it and summed up how incredible the past few months had been. The USHL has been great to me and I’m very thankful for the opportunity.”
Along with on-ice accolades, Coleman said his two years in the USHL helped him grow off the ice as well.
“It’s a place where the kids get separated pretty quickly,” he said. “It’s a lot of hard work, but it just helped me realize how to mature as a person. You grow up real quick and working as a group with the rest of the team really helps you mature on and off the ice.
“It was a much-needed two years for my development.”
Coleman has since parlayed his stellar sophomore season into a commitment to grace the college rink at Miami of Ohio, one of the top programs in the nation.
“I want to go and have an impact on the team right away,” Coleman said. “Whatever they need there, I hope to give it to them. It’s an unbelievable group of guys, part of a great class, so I can’t take anything for granted.”
There was also getting geared up for the draft, which consumed the past two months of Coleman’s life following the conclusion of the 2010-11 USHL season.
“Teams will call you up to go do testing for on- and off-ice stuff; running, lifting, power and all the other basics,” Coleman said. “I actually met with New Jersey on the Tuesday leading up the draft and I guess it must have gone well.”
Coleman also enjoyed workouts with the Buffalo Sabres and Dallas Stars, with the session generally consisting of a VO2 Max test conducted on a treadmill.
“It just measures your power output,” Coleman said. “It starts off pretty easy, but just gets harder and harder with the incline and the speed. Usually you run anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes depending on your levels of power, but it’s basically running until you pass out.”
Despite his plans on attending college in the fall, the Devils will still have Coleman’s rights for the next four years. From that point, it’s a matter of performing on the college level and playing a bit of a waiting game.
“When they feel you’re ready to play, they can call you up whenever they feel like it,” Coleman said. “Obviously, it’s the player’s decision, but signing that pro contract makes it tough to turn down with the option to finish up school and get my degree afterwards.
“I’ll just have to keep my options open and do what’s best for my family.”
For the time being though, Coleman’s offseason is just getting underway.
Training in Dallas for the summer alongside Stars trainer J.J. McQueen, Coleman will venture north July 10 for a week-long Devils training camp where he’ll get to know the staff and different players in the system.
The culture shock of the moment won’t last for long though as the Planoite fully anticipates the lengthy grind ahead.
“It’s exciting and a little nerve-wracking,” Coleman said. “But I’m always up to a challenge. I know the draft is just the beginning and nothing is over. I’ve got to work twice as hard, put in the time and I hope to be there living my dream soon.”
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