March 29, 2010
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Colborne and Wiercioch Leaving Denver?
CHN Staff Report
Denver is losing sophomore stars Joe Colborne and Patrick Wiercioch to the NHL, in moves that were expected by the team, according to a report in the Denver Post. Colborne is signing with Boston, and Wiercioch is signing with Ottawa — the teams that held their draft rights.
However, the Denver Post later revised its article, and said that Denver coach George Gwozdecky was trying to talk the players into returning.
Colborne was the 16th overall pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. The 6-foot-5 forward scored 22 goals this season for the Pioneers playing on the top line. He scored Denver's only goal in a 2-1 loss to RIT in the NCAA Tournament First Round last Friday.
Wiercioch, a 6-4 defenseman, had six goals and 27 points. He was a second-round draft pick of the Senators (42nd overall) in 2008.
Denver won the WCHA regular season, but lost two games at the Final Five and then the first game in the NCAAs. In addition to losing this sophomore pair, the Pioneers have a number of key seniors graduating, including Hobey finalist Rhett Rakhshani, and may lose other players early.