As the Boston Bruins' first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2008 NHL Draft, Colborne drew comparisons to former Bruins captain and Hart Trophy winner Joe Thornton. Once the 6-foot-5 center grew into his frame and could focus on being himself, the Calgary native proved to be a productive NHL player in his own right.
The second first-round pick out of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (Brent Sutter was the first, in 1980) Colborne spent two years at the University of Denver before joining Providence of the American Hockey League late in the 2009-10 season. Colborne spent more than a year with Providence before being sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs late in the 2010-11 season as part of a trade for defenseman Tomas Kaberle.
As the Boston Bruins' first-round pick (No. 16) in the 2008 NHL Draft, Colborne drew comparisons to former Bruins captain and Hart Trophy winner Joe Thornton. Once the 6-foot-5 center grew into his frame and could focus on being himself, the Calgary native proved to be a productive NHL player in his own right.
The second first-round pick out of the Alberta Junior Hockey League (Brent Sutter was the first, in 1980) Colborne spent two years at the University of Denver before joining Providence of the American Hockey League late in the 2009-10 season. Colborne spent more than a year with Providence before being sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs late in the 2010-11 season as part of a trade for defenseman Tomas Kaberle.
Colborne made his League debut with Toronto against the Montreal Canadiens in the Maple Leafs' final game of the 2010-11 season and assisted on a Phil Kessel goal for the first point of his NHL career. From there, Colborne had a series of minor-league stints interrupted by brief calls to the NHL. During a recall early in the 2011-12 season, Colborne scored his first NHL goal on Nov. 22, 2011 against the Tampa Bay Lightning to help the Maple Leafs to a 7-1 win.
Colborne played in five games with Toronto late in the 2012-13 season before making his Stanley Cup Playoff debut in Game 6 of Toronto's 2013 first-round series with Boston. After a trade to his hometown Calgary Flames that September, Colborne earned regular playing time in the NHL. In 2013-14, Colborne ranked third on the Flames with 129 hits in 80 games while scoring 10 goals and 28 points.
In 2014-15, Colborne helped the Flames return to the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. He played in all 11 of Calgary's postseason games that season and scored his first playoff goal, shorthanded, in Game 3 of Calgary's second-round series loss to the Anaheim Ducks.
