The Colorado Avalanche announced on trade deadline day that the team has called up young center Joey Hishon from the Lake Erie Monsters. Colorado moved out a few pieces including Max Talbot and Paul Carey, while bringing in Jordan Caron, Freddie Hamilton, and Mat Clark. Currently, Caron and Hishon will be the reporting to the Avs, and Hamilton and Ryan will go to Cleveland.
It’s likely that Hishon will battle Caron for a top 6 spot, while the other will see bottom 6 minutes. That is, if coach Roy continues to stretch the offense out like he has been doing. With all the peeks and valleys throughout his young career, people will wonder is Joey Hishon finally ready for the big show? I say yes, but I’ll let the coaches and Joey Hishon himself be the judge of that.
“I’m just going to try to work hard every day. Take it one day at a time.” – Hishon WATCH: http://t.co/rQiyKVhiAA pic.twitter.com/TnTEq8cAET
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 4, 2015
Hishon the Magician
Joey Hishon was drafted in the first round, 17th overall in 2010 by the Avs and possesses tremendous hands and overall hockey IQ. He was a star for his junior team in the OHL, the Owen Sound Attack. In the four years spent there, Hishon the Magician put up a total of 255 points in 214 regular season games for the Attack. Also a tremendous playoff performer, Hishon tallied 31 points in 26 playoff games. In his last season with the Attack, Joey racked up 87 points in 50 games.
He has so much talent, Hishon was named an OHL first team All-Star, while also receiving the “Best Playmaker” and “Best Stickhandler“ awards in the OHL Western Conference Coaches Poll in his final season. Though, Hishon’s pro career hasn’t gone quite as planned to this point. Missing many games due to his unlucky injuries, Hishon has still managed 62 points in 109 games in the AHL. Not earth-shattering numbers, but certainly a positive sign considering the hell he has been through.
Terrible Luck With Injuries
In Joey Hishon’s last season in juniors, he was coming off a career year, leading his team to the Memorial Cup, had been drafted by the Avalanche, everything was great. That was, until one game at the Memorial Cup, where Hishon suffered a season ending head injury on a dirty hit from Kootenay’s Brayden McNabb. In 2011-12, Hishon missed the entire season due to the lingering effects from the concussion he suffered by McNabb’s hit.
Hishon didn’t make his pro debut with Avalanche’s AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters, after nearly two years off the ice due to the injury. Now, however, Joey Hishon is as healthy as he’s ever been, gaining confidence, and most of all, playing well enough for the Lake Erie Monsters to get a call from the Colorado Avalanche.
Time to Shine
Now is the time for Hishon to show the Avalanche that they were right to pick him, and to prove to everyone that he has overcome his bad spell of injuries. The talent and determination are definitely there, let’s watch him display it on the NHL ice.
Joey Hishon has already gone through more than a lot of players ever have to deal with. The fact that he is still playing hockey after that hit and subsequent concussion/injuries is a miracle. Now he is up with the big boys, and on the same team with his very close friends Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly. I won’t say it’s now or never for Joey Hishon and the Avalanche, as the kid has missed a ton of hockey, thus slowing his development considerably. However, now that he is healthy and on the big club, it’s time for him to make Sakic and Roy a believer too.
