After seven seasons of pro hockey, Nick Drazenovic remains as determined as ever to earn a regular gig in the NHL.
He's been close ever since he left the Prince George Cougars in 2007, and has had short stints as a forward with the St. Louis Blues, the team that drafted him in the sixth round in 2005, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Pittsburgh Penguins, who signed him as a free agent by the Pittsburgh Penguins organization last year.
Having had hip surgery June 9, the six-foot, 192-pound Prince George native is forbidden from taking any golf swings in today's Cougars Alumni charity golf tournament, and he'll have to content with driving a golf cart while he watches some his former teammates battle for bragging rights on the course at Prince George Golf and Curling Club.
"I try to spend as much time as I can in Prince George in the summers -- we had a long playoff run [Wiles-Barrie/Scranton Penguins of the AHL] so the time is limited," said the 27-year-old Drazenovic, who played for the Cougars from 2002-2007.
"I missed a couple games early on and we were hoping [his injured hip] would calm down and I missed two more games deciding whether to get surgery right then or play through it and I decided to play through it and take a run at the Calder Cup. Hopefully they will understand I won't be in the tip-top shape I typically would be in camp."
The Penguins lost to St. John's in the AHL Eastern Conference final. Since then, the NHL Penguins have made major changes at the top, firing head coach Dan Bylsma and replacing him with Mike Johnston. They've also hired Jim Rutherford as general manager to take the place of the fired Ray Shero.
"That's great for me, I came to an organization that was already set and already had guys in mind and I was the new guy, and now everybody is new to Mike Johnston and Jim Rutherford," said Drazenovic.
"When you get drafted you think you're there, but that's just the starting point. When you're younger you always think they will make a spot for you but it's not there, you have to just keep working and try to take someone's spot. It's the longest road you could imagine. But I'm still hanging around the American League and still kicking at the door, and you don't know what kick is going to knock that door down."
Drazenovic, who got married to Illinois sweetheart Billie last summer, was one of the Cougar captains late in his junior career and looks back fondly on his time with the team, even though there weren't a lot of playoff successes with the exception of his final junior season in 2007, the last time the Cats got to the conference final.
"I can't say enough good things about the fans and the public and the way they treated me and my family," said Drazenovic. "We didn't have a good couple years and they could have been all over us but they weren't, they were always supportive and that goes a long way.
"I wish I was 15 coming into the league with this organization now. With [principal owner] Greg Pocock and [part owners Eric Brewer and Dan Hamhuis] and this golf tournament you can tell how first-class they are. It's going to be a good place to play for a lot of developing young players."
