Published: October 12, 2008 12:01 am      

HOCKEY: No looking back for Sanborn's McCollum

Thomas McCollum insists his summer was little more than a vacation.

“I spent a lot of time catching up with friends, as well as working out,” McCollum said. “After the draft, I didn’t really have a lot of contact with Detroit. They just worked on getting me set to attend their rookie camp.”

Oh, that’s right. McCollum was drafted by the 11-time Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings in the first round of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft this past June. Maybe his summer was a bit busier than he led on.

The Sanborn native and current goaltender for the Guelph Storm of the Ontario Hockey League, attended Detroit’s week-long prospect camp this past July in Traverse City, Mich. McCollum, along with other Red Wings prospects like Jan Mursak and Corey Emmerton, got in a lot of playing time in their first taste of the NHL.

The camp focused on power-skating drills, various levels of strength and conditioning exercises professional hockey players regularly deal with, shooting drills and all degrees of skating drills. On top of this extensive training, they had daily games, often with the actual Red Wings team.

“We usually had a practice and a game everyday and the rest was free time,” said McCollum on the camp. “My favorite part was definitely getting to meet all the players.”

And it’s easy to see why.

Detroit is home to some of the biggest names in the NHL. Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Pavel Datsyuk, Johan Franzen, Nicklas Lidstrom, newly acquired Marian Hossa, and goaltender Chris Osgood are just a few of the elite players that call Detroit their home.

Being around a world-class goalie like Chris Osgood was a great learning experience for McCollum, who is the all-time Guelph Storm leader in single season shutouts with five in the 2006-07 season.

“Osgood was on my team and I got to sit next to him in the locker room, which was a lot of fun,” added McCollum. “I learned a lot from him, like how he prepares and how to play patiently.”

McCollum, who will turn 20 years old on Dec. 7, is entering his final season with the Guelph Storm, a team he’s been with since the 2006-2007 season. In his illustrious OHL career, McCollum has 2,863 saves, 55 wins and 37 loses, with nine shutouts, five playoff wins and eight loses. In his first OHL start he recorded a shutout, a 5-0 blanking of the Windsor Spirtfires. He was named Rookie of the Year for the Storm after the 2006/2007 season, and represented the USA as a back-up at the 2007 IIHF World Under-18 Championship held in Tampere and Rauma, Finland.

When asked about McCollum being drafted by Detroit, Jason Brooks, the head coach and assistant general manager of the Storm said, “It couldn’t happen to a better kid. We’re proud of him and happy for him having such success.”

So far this season, McCollum is putting what he learned to the test.

“The one thing we noticed right away was his huge boost in confidence,” adds Brooks. “He’s playing with a higher level of confidence, making tough saves and putting in hard work. He gives us a chance to win every night, and the Wings know they have a great player.”

In fact, the Wings have several great prospects, including the guy McCollum is up against, goaltender Daniel Larsson. Larsson, a fellow prospect, spent the past two season playing for Djurgarden in the Swedish Elite League and is expected to start for Detroit’s farm-club, the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League, a job McCollum hopes to take in the near future.

McCollum started the season strong in Guelph, getting five wins in his first six games. It’s a strong start to his final year, and he’ll surely be missed next season.

“He’s an unbelievable kid, so competitive,” adds Brooks. “He hates losing more than any player, he always wants to get the win — it’s infectious in the dressing room, which is great for the team.”

For the one time defensemen-turned-goalie, things are looking great.

“He’s with a great team that is first class in every aspect,” said Brooks. “Detroit epitomizes team.”