Cave forged NHL career out of character, desire
Hockey world mourning sudden loss of hard-working kid from the Prairies
As the world bounces from one tragedy to another, here are the musings and meditations on the world of sports:
The larger hockey world didn’t really know Colby Cave before his death over the weekend.
An undrafted free agent who played his junior with the Swift Current Broncos, he played 67 NHL games over six pro seasons, bouncing back and forth between the NHL and the AHL, with first the Boston Bruins, and then the Edmonton Oilers.
He was a spare part in the NHL and a solid depth player in the AHL; the kind of player employed by every organization, even if they’re virtually anonymous to casual hockey fans.
But, if you have spent any time in the game, you knew Cave and what he was about. Raised on a farm just outside North Battleford, Sask., he was a star in bantam and midget before he graduated to the Broncos. He quickly came to understand that he had to grow his game to make it at the next level.
That’s exactly what he did over four years in Swift Current.
“He started off as a fourth-liner, then became a penalty killer, then a matchup guy,” says Mark Lamb, now the coach and general manager in Prince George who coached Cave all four seasons with the Broncos. “By the end, he was our captain and played in all situations.
“He learned how to do all the little things you need to do to be a pro. He loved doing it. He took coaching and advice. There was no arrogance. He had this dream and it willed him to pro hockey.”
While playing in Swift Current, Cave caught the eye of Blair Reid, the longtime Bruins scout, and Boston signed him as a free agent. He played 21/2 seasons with Providence, R.I., before he was called up for his first NHL game. By then, he had already been named an assistant captain with the AHL team.
Two years later, the Oilers picked him up on waivers and he spent the last half of 2018-19 in the NHL.
Cave married Emily that summer and was back and forth between the Oilers and Bakersfield, Calif., this season, but every step along the way he made the same impression. Great kid, great leader and a glue guy. Now he’s gone.
“That’s what makes it so sad,” said Lamb.
But with everything else going on in the world they still lined up in their vehicles along Highway 16 leading to North Battleford, to honour one of their own on Monday.
They knew Colby Cave. They knew his dream lives on, and in this country, it always will.
We’re gratified for the positive feedback on the story profiling Jim Robson and Tom Larscheid over the weekend. Robson, in particular, should be thanked for his contribution to the Canucks at 50 series that ran in both The Province and The Vancouver Sun. He was there from Day 1 and remains a boundless and generous source on the franchise’s history. He’s our Vin Scully, and I don’t say that lightly.
On Sunday, I did something I haven’t done in years: I tried to resurrect our front lawn. This involved weeding, raking, spreading top soil and seeding, and when it was all done, I kept coming back to the same place.
I would rather have been watching The Masters.
On a related note, it’s hard enough convincing the bride that watching televised sports events is a necessary part of the job. It’s extremely difficult explaining why I have to watch an event that happened 30 years ago.
Given the black hole we’re staring at in the toy department, top 10 lists have become a popular diversion in this dodge.
As it happens, squeezing out a top 10 on the following subject would have been a stretch worthy of Willie McCovey. But here’s my top five favourite sportswriters’ roles from the movies:
1. M. Emmet Walsh as Dickie Dunn in Slap Shot. Basically to this category what Olivier is to Hamlet.
2. Humphrey Bogart as Eddie Willis in The Harder They Fall. Bogie’s last movie. I was destined for this job.
3. Spencer Tracy as Sam Craig in Woman of the Year. Tracy plays a sportswriter who marries a young Katharine Hepburn. Enough said.
4. Robert Duvall as Max Mercy in The Natural. Doesn’t portray our profession in the most favourable light, but the great actor packs a punch in the role.
5. Andre Holland as Wendell Smith in 42. Holland doesn’t get a lot of screen time, but the Jackie Robinson biopic highlights Smith’s important role in the story.
Honourable mention: Josh Hartnett as Erik Kernan in Resurrecting the Champ. An underrated movie about a struggling sportswriter who thinks he’s stumbled on a huge story.
Ten days ago NFL vice-president and general counsel Jeff Pash said the league expects to open its schedule on its projected starting date of Sept. 10.
I have a better chance of playing in that game than the NFL has of starting on time.
Losing John Prine to COVID-19 was a gut punch, but if you want to remember the great singer-songwriter, listen to Hello in There.
It takes on a profound meaning in today’s world.