BOSTON — Joe Colborne played his first NHL exhibition game on Thursday night, but that wasn't the biggest thrill of his week.
That honor went to the simple act of blowing his nose Friday morning. Such a routine daily task had been denied Colborne since taking an errant stick in the face in the first of two rookie games at the Garden last Wednesday. On Friday, he finally got the stitches out of his nose and was able to shed the cumbersome full face shield he had been wearing since the injury.
"I got the stitches out this morning," said Colborne. "So I got to blow my nose, and that was a treat, let me tell you. I felt like a brand new player out there. I felt great.
"It's almost like I can put [the injury] behind me now," added Colborne. "It was more the nose than anything. Those stitches, especially the ones inside my nose were really cutting into my breathing. As funny as it sounds, to blow my nose was probably the most exciting thing I've done all week."
That's not to say that Colborne didn't appreciate his chance to play in Thursday's preseason clash with Florida in Rochester, N.Y., though that opportunity brought about its own challenges and growing pains for the 20-year-old center.
"The first period was a blur, that's really about all I can describe," said Colborne. "Everything was just flying all around me and I think I was just a little too hyped up. But I really started to feel like I started to play a hockey game in the second and third period. I felt like the third period was my best period."
Bruins coach Claude Julien agreed, and liked the way Colborne and the club's other youngsters improved during the course of the contest.
"What he did yesterday is what we saw from a lot of those younger guys," said Julien after Friday's afternoon practice at the Garden. "As the game progressed, so did they. That's why I kind of liked our team yesterday for the way we had a pretty young team and at first you could see that guys were a little nervous. But once they got feeling comfortable and feeling they could play with these guys, you saw them progress.
"Joe Colborne is the same way," added Julien. "He really started getting better and better as the game went on. We'll get a chance to see him continue to get better because he's one of those guys that brings you size, that brings you skill and really some character. Whether he needs some time to grow, I guess we'll find out in the next little while."
Colborne is in his first full camp with the Bruins after leaving the University of Denver at the end of last season. He did get a taste of pro life with six games in Providence at the end of last year, but this camp is a completely new experience for him.
"We tend to forget that this is his first real pro camp," said Julien. "He played a few games at Providence last year and came to some of those development camps, but he never really got the opportunity that some others had to come to the main camp. I think he's adjusted well."
Other than adjusting to playing with a plugged up nose and a full cage, that is.
"It was a struggle," said Colborne, who still had the cage on for Thursday's game, giving the Panthers plenty of ammunition for a few verbal jabs. "I got a few comments on it, but that was to be expected."
Colborne will still wear a visor to protect his eyes, an authority greater than even Julien's has seen to that.
"I'm going to keep the visor on," said Colborne. "I don't think my mom would approve [of ditching that]. I played with the visor for two years in junior before I went to college and I don't find that the visibility is any problem. It's definitely a step up from the cage and I'll take anything right now other than that thing."
Colborne is also seeing things better at his natural position of center, where he's played throughout camp. He was between Michael Ryder and Jeff LoVecchio in Thursday's game, and was flanked by NHL veterans Ryder and Daniel Paille in practice on Friday.
"It feels good," said Colborne. "Down in the D zone I feel comfortable. I've noticed as I've been playing with some of the better guys it's a lot easier than what I felt like in rookie camp or even what I was feeling like in Providence last year. The guys here do their jobs so well I can just focus on what I need to do. That's just a testament to the guys I've been playing with."
Colborne did spend much of last season at Denver on the wing, and that versatility could help him win a spot in Boston this year.
"I feel confident playing both positions," said Colborne. "So I'm just going out there trying to show my versatility and hopefully there's a spot for me at the end of camp."
