Grbavac putting pieces together at home

By GREGG DRINNAN
Daily News Sports Editor
It was the toughest game Cole Grbavac has played in his young life.
As the Kamloops Blazers played against the visiting Portland Winter Hawks on Sunday night, Grbavac, a sophomore winger, knew it likely would be his last game with the home team.
“I had a good idea,” Grbavac, 18, said Tuesday evening from his family’s home in Calgary. “It was pretty tough. I just went straight home and kept to myself. I was pretty upset . . . actually very upset.”
As soon as the WHL game was over — the Winterhawks won, 4-3, in overtime — Grbavac packed his gear and left the Interior Savings Centre.
“Packing up your gear knowing it will be the last time you will be in that dressing room is pretty tough,” he admitted.
Grbavac can’t put his finger on when his career with the Blazers began to unravel.
“I came (to training camp) feeling really good,” he recalled. “Some things just didn’t fall into place like I was hoping. I don’t even know when . . . I can’t say exactly. It was more of a gradual thing.”
He met with general manager Craig Bonner in late September and expressed unhappiness with his role on the team and the amount of ice time he was receiving. At that time, he and Bonner agreed to leave things for a week and then to re-evaluate the situation.
In the meantime, Bonner made Grbavac available to other teams, but wasn’t able to find a trading partner.
With that week up, Grbavac approached Bonner on Monday and the two agreed to a mutual parting of the ways.
“Some things just weren’t working out,” said Grbavac, who was seeing third- and fourth-line playing time, along with some penalty-killing duty. “I had to look at it for my own sake and make the decision.
“It was really tough. I knew it had to be done, but . . . it was definitely hard to go and follow through with it.”
There have been times, Grbavac said, when he has questioned whether he even wanted to continue playing hockey.
“I was definitely there at one point,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to happen. I think I’m going to try to find a place to play.”
Asked if that might be in the Alberta junior league, he replied: “I just want to play at the highest level that I feel I can.”
Grbavac was a third-round selection by the Winterhawks in the 2006 bantam draft, but was dropped from their list. He walked on with the Blazers prior to 2008-09 and made the team. He finished last season with seven points, including four goals, and 93 penalty minutes in 65 games. He also was involved in a team-high 13 fights.
This season, he was pointless in eight games and had had two fights.
JUST NOTES: The Blazers, who are 5-1-2-0 and tied with the Vancouver Giants (5-1-0-2) for the Western Conference’s best winning percentage (.750), next play Friday against the visiting Prince George Cougars (2-5-0-0). . . . The Giants are at home to the Kelowna Rockets on Friday. . . . The Cougars will be without F Brett Connolly, the reigning CHL rookie of the year. He has a hip flexor injury and was on crutches after a 9-2 loss to the visiting Lethbridge Hurricanes on Saturday. The injury has been bothering Connolly since August, so the Cougars have decided to shut him down for at least two or three weeks. He was still on crutches yesterday afternoon. . . . The Blazers will have their top three 2009 bantam draft picks in the Western Canada U16 Challenge Cup in Blackfalds, Alta., Oct. 28 through Nov. 1. D Brady Gaudet of Carlyle, Sask., who is with the midget AAA Tisdale Trojans; F Logan McVeigh of Kenaston, Sask., who is with the midget AAA Saskatoon Contacts; and G Troy Trembley of Sherwood Park, Alta., who is playing for midget AAA Sherwood Park Kings, all will play in the WHL-sponsored tournament. The inaugural tournament will feature players in the U-16 grouping from the four western provinces.
The Chilliwack Bruins have dealt F Randy McNaught, 19, to the Saskatoon Blades for F Jamie Crooks, 17, and an undisclosed conditional draft pick. That pick likely is tied into whether McNaught plays for the Blades as a 20-year-old. The Blazers won’t miss playing against McNaught, a 6-foot-5, 221-pounder who has 32 penalty minutes, including four fights, in six games this season. Crooks won the Alberta midget AAA scoring title last season, putting up 71 points in 33 games with the Lloydminster Bobcats. He has been languishing on the Blades’ fourth line. . . . The Bruins visit the Blazers on Saturday, 7 p.m. . . . The Blazers also play at home Monday, 2 p.m., against the Medicine Hat Tigers. After that, the Blazers leave on a six-game East Division swing.
gdrinnan@kamloopsnews.ca
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