For Ross Colton, “The Dream” took a major upturn on Jan. 13.
On that night in Ralston, Nebraska, Colton collected three goals and two assists in the United States Hockey League’s Top Prospects Game. The Robbinsville native led his East team to a 6-2 win over the West in a game designed by the USHL to showcase its top NHL draft-eligible players. The USHL is the top league in America for players ages 16-21 hoping to get drafted.
Colton’s goals were hard earned, as the format is not like a usual all-star game that becomes a high-scoring shootout with virtually no defense. Every player on the ice wanted to show their skills to scouts, so defensemen and goalies were putting it all on the line.
Sitting in the Ralston Arena stands that night were representatives from 28 NHL teams.
Afterward, in a game story on todaysslapshot.com, NHL Central Scouting Director Dan Marr told writer Scott Powers he thought Colton increased his chances of being drafted and noted that, “Typically, that’s what happens with one of these games. You get someone who’s not on the radar that jumps out at you.”
The headline on the story jumped out pretty good too, as it blared “Ross Colton, Others Shine in USHL Top Prospects Game”.
It is heady stuff for the 19-year-old, now in his second year of playing for the Cedar Rapids Roughriders. But Colton keeps it in perspective.
“I get excited about it but it’s all just motivation,” Colton said from Youngstown, Ohio, during a recent Roughriders road trip. “I know I still have a lot of work to do. My ultimate goal is to get drafted and play in the NHL but I can’t think that far ahead, I’m focused on this season and winning the championship here. But all that stuff is great to see and it was definitely a great experience playing that game.”
Colton’s effort in the Top Prospects game was no fluke. As of Feb. 22 he stood fourth in the USHL in scoring with 24 goals and 22 assists for 46 points. He also has 73 penalty minutes, far and away the leader in that category among scoring leaders.
“My uncle’s always texting me about that,” Colton said with a laugh. “He says ‘What are you trying to do, lead the league in scoring and penalty minutes?’”
The brunt of his penalty minutes are majors that were picked up, not from fights, but from yelling things as his temper got the best of him. Other than that, however, Colton has done no wrong.
He has another year of USHL eligibility after this season, but will begin his college career at the University of Vermont in the fall.
“This is a lot of hockey,” he said. “I’m ready for college.”
It is the continuation of a journey that began at a young age, when Colton got hooked on hockey by going to Trenton Titans games and then watching the Devils on TV.
Despite the fact his dad, Rob, was a baseball and soccer standout at Steinert (he will be inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame in April) and his mom, the former Kelly Kiernan, played basketball for McCorristin, Ross was all about skates.
“Once I started watching those games, I just needed to get on the ice,” Colton said. “My dad tried to steer me the baseball route, but I couldn’t help myself. I loved hockey, just watching them.”
Hockey was a brand new world for Rob and Kelly, but Rob said he realized Colton would find success in the sport at an early age.
“At 3 years old, he was roller blading and playing hockey in the street with his brother, Robert and the other older kids in the neighborhood,” Rob said. “Then, when he hit the ice at 4 years old, he just took off.”
He played baseball as well, but by his sophomore year at Princeton Day School, Colton decided to pursue hockey.
In order to get tougher competition, Colton transferred to the Taft School, a boarding school in Connecticut, for his junior year. Living away for the first time was a valuable experience for what was to come.
“It was definitely a step up in competition,” Colton said. “I adjusted well to it. My coach was great there, he worked with me, helped me improve my game a lot and he definitely helped me prepare for my years in the USHL. It was good.”
After his junior year, Colton was chosen in the 11th round of the 25-round USHL draft. He was the 179th player picked.
Colton’s initial reaction was to stay put at Taft, until Cedar Rapids head coach Mark Carlson—a Lawrenceville native—came home to talk to Colton.
“I wasn’t sure if I was ready yet, I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make that step all the way up there,” Colton said. “It’s a big adjustment. My mom and dad just told me, ‘You got to do what you think is best for your career.’ Coach Carlson said he wanted me to come out. He really convinced me. I knew that it was going to be the best hockey and that it would make me a better player. It wasn’t a hard decision when you really looked at it.”
The only downside, where Kelly was concerned, is that Ross would be graduating high school in Iowa. Rob said she would have liked to have seen him graduate with a Taft diploma, but ultimately, going to Cedar Rapids would be more beneficial for his hockey development.
The Rapids players stay with a host family, and Colton resides with Tanya and Dan Moffat, who he can’t speak of highly enough. He went to school in their district and graduated from Washington High.
“My mom wasn’t too happy about that, but what are you going to do?” Ross said with a laugh. “It was a little different for me because I went to prep school for three years. It was little easier, a different change of pace. I met some nice people so it was a good time.”
There was some homesickness at first. Colton went from being two hours away in Connecticut to 16 hours away in Iowa. It had an effect as he got off to a slow start on the ice as well.
The Moffats, however, helped with the transition. Colton feels more independent in Iowa, but added that his host family has made him feel right at home.
Playing left wing for the Rapids, he collected 18 goals and 15 assists. More importantly, Colton learned just how much more he needed to evolve in order to reach the big time.
“When you’re at PDS or playing for the Mercer Chiefs, it’s offense all the time, all you’re thinking about is scoring,” Colton said. “As you get to the higher levels you have to emphasize playing defense and playing in the D zone. So we’re really learning how to play hard in the defensive zone and not worry about scoring goals all the time. That’s probably the biggest adjustment for me.”
As far as scoring goals, Colton always had confidence in his shot. In the USHL, however, he is coming up against defenders and goalies that know how to handle such shots. He has had to become more creative and more tenacious when it comes to scoring.
He finds most of his success right in front of the net.
The goalies are so big and skilled, you’re not scoring on a weak shot,” he said. “You’re not going be able to score on these goalies outside of top of the circle. So if you really want to score, you have to get in the dirty areas, score on a rebound or something. So that’s usually where I try to find myself.”
Although still listed as a left wing on the team’s website, Colton has been moved to center, which he enjoys more because he’s “all over the place,” allowing him a little more freedom.
It got him chosen for the Top Prospects game, which was a thrill for Colton before he even had his big performance.
“It was a huge honor for me, I was just excited to be picked for that,” he said. “I just wanted to make the most of the opportunity. I knew it was going be a great experience.”
It became an outstanding experience as Colton’s hopes of some day being taken in the NHL draft became enhanced. And as important as his playing experience is in the USHL, so to is the minor league lifestyle that includes long bus trips and a 60-game schedule that forces players to have to grind it out night after night.
In fact, Colton doesn’t even know the regular season ends April 9, saying “I just know when we play our next game.”
“We watch movies, we play cards, we listen to music,” Colton said of the 10-plus hour bus rides. “You got to make the most of it. You get a nap in there. We definitely have some great memories on the bus rides that we’ll never forget. Always a good time.”
And while he misses his trips to Long Beach Island with his Mercer County buddies, Colton has grown fond of his Midwest surroundings.
“We love where we play in Cedar Rapids,” he said. “It’s really making us better people and better players. We do a lot of stuff with the community. We read to first-grade classes, we play floor hockey with them in the gym, do some fundraisers. I can tell I’ve matured a lot since I’ve come out here.”
Rob agreed. Though Colton’s absence at home has been tough on him and Kelly, it’s worth it to watch him pursue his dreams.
“Kelly and I are extremely proud of Ross,” he said. “He’s had to grow up a little faster than we would have liked but that was the price to achieve his goals.”
Although he’s not sure when, Colton will come home some time between playing for Cedar Rapids and starting up at Vermont.
He will enter college hockey with the best on-ice education possible from his two years in the USHL, and feels his career is right where it should be at this point. He said he is currently in the best shape of his life.
“There’s times when things aren’t going well you might say ‘I wish I stayed at PDS,’ or stuff like that, but I definitely took the best route to get me where I have to be right now,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier.”
,
