SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today that Toronto Marlies center Joe Colborne has been named the Reebok/AHL Player of the Month for October. Colborne scored eight goals, recorded eight assists and posted a plus-8 rating in nine games to lead the Marlies to a 5-3-1-0 record and first place in the North Division.
Colborne began the 2011-12 season with points in each of his first eight games, starting with a goal in a 3-2 win at Binghamton on opening night (Oct. 8). Colborne, who had recorded three points in a game just once as a rookie last year, hit that mark three times in October, earning first-star honors for each performance on Oct. 15 vs. Lake Erie (1g, 2a), Oct. 22 vs. Rochester (overtime goal, 2a) and Oct. 26 vs. Abbotsford (2g, 1a). Colborne’s 16 points leave him tied for the AHL scoring lead through the end of the month.
A first-round draft pick (16th overall) by Boston in 2008, Colborne totaled 20 goals and 22 assists for 42 points in 75 AHL games between Toronto and Providence as a rookie last season, and also registered an assist in one NHL game with the Maple Leafs. A 21-year-old native of Calgary, Alta., Colborne was acquired from the Bruins by the Toronto Maple Leafs with two draft picks for Tomas Kaberle on Feb. 18, 2011.
In recognition of his achievement, Colborne will be presented with an etched crystal award prior to an upcoming Marlies home game.
