By Justin Pelletier,Staff Writer

Last season, Colby Gilbert was green. He had been at the top of the local hockey scene for two years with the Edward Little Red Eddies and won a spot on the Lewiston Maineiacs’ roster as a 19-year-old.

Gilbert started strong, but began to fade after the holidays. The coaches questioned his mileage, while some fans, and Gilbert himself, questioned his ice time, or lack of it. Prior to training camp this past August, Gilbert and the Maineiacs parted ways. According to both parties, the split was amicable, and Gilbert set out to find a new home.

A brief stay with the Woodstock Subway Slammers in New Brunswick, Gilbert was traded to the Antigonish Bulldogs.

Now he’s getting the ice time. The result? Gilbert leads his team in points (23 through 18 games) and has already been named offensive player of the week in the Maritime Junior A Hockey League once.

“You have to be special as a new 20-year-old to stick in the league,” said Antigonish general manager and head coach Danny Berry. “I like to think Colby is. He’s the No. 1 center, he has some experience in a higher league, the QMJHL, and he brings experience to the table other than just in scoring.”

Gilbert welcomed the new challenge, even if it meant a new home eight hours away.

“They expect a lot from me,” said Gilbert. “They give me a lot more ice time here than I got last year, and they expect a lot more from me.”

The adjustment to living away from home has been a mixed experience as well.

“Being away from home I find it easier, I think,” said Gilbert. “There’s no pressure from friends or family of people I know here. I can just go out and play my game.”

His game is perhaps suited better for his new league. A power forward with a deft scoring touch in high school, Gilbert saw time as a grinder for the Maineiacs. Now, he is the go-to guy on the No. 1 line – just like his billet brother Alexandre Picard was for the Maineiacs for two seasons.

“I came here and they expect me to put points on the board,” said Gilbert.

“Here he’s obviously the No. 1 center,” added Berry. “He’s the power play go-to guy, and he gets his share of PK time, too. He’s developing into a great hockey player.”

Before this past weekend, Gilbert had run off a streak of nearly two points per game. That came, he said, on the heels of a frank but eye-opening meeting with the coaching staff.

“To be fair, he got off to a slow start,” said Berry. “So did the team. It takes a little while to adjust to the league. A lot of individuals will take the league for granted, so it was a little bit of a wake-up call concerning what we expected of him.”

In two team games this weekend, Gilbert saw action in only one after getting tossed in Friday’s game against the Amherst Ramblers. After sitting for 10 minutes in the second period of that game, Gilbert was tossed for being the instigator in a third-period fight. He had no points in that game and was forced to sit out Saturday.

Still, Gilbert is optimistic. Success in the MJAHL may turn into Canadian University Hockey, or even a minor professional contract.

“If he keeps up his pace scoring and puts up 70-80 points like we know he can, he’ll have a shot at a university or a minor pro opportunity at the end of the year,” said Berry.

Gilbert, meanwhile, has started looking, too.

“Right now I am looking at a bunch of universities in Canada,” said Gilbert. “Coach said if I can get 80-100 points I could get some semi-pro tryouts, and another coach here has some connections in Europe. I’d like to play some more serious hockey while I can, though.”

It seems that a revitalized Gilbert is well on his way to doing just that.