Collins ready to break out

Some people still don't know who Chris Collins is.

Not everybody knows that Collins started playing hockey when he was three and since then has had the ice of the hockey rink flowing through his veins. People don't realize he grew up in the hockey town of Fairport, N.Y., just outside of Rochester, playing against his brother on a rink built by their father, Glenn. Some may not be aware that Collins has wanted to play hockey at Boston College since he witnessed the heartbreaking loss to Michigan in the '98 title game. Some fans might not even know that the assistant captain is one of only three seniors on the BC hockey team this season (the other two are Stephen Gionta and Peter Harrold) and that he has played in 120 games in his BC career. And those Superfans out there who might not realize Collins' talent both on and off the ice will find out soon enough.

Collins is sitting in one of the luxury boxes overlooking Kelley Rink. He's wearing the usual pre-practice garb - the Nike dry-fit shirt and BC shorts. For Collins it always seems like he's either going or coming from practice or a game.

"We usually start [practice] two weeks after the season ends," said the senior forward. "The season ends in April and we'll start in late April. We'll start with spring lifts in the morning and a lot of guys stay during the summer to lift and take classes. It's pretty much a year-round thing. We have three weeks off at the most."

One gets the sense it would be anathema for Chris Collins to be away from hockey for more than three weeks. Ever since he was three he has loved hockey and there hasn't been anything else, save for a few years on the lacrosse field at Taft. The New York native didn't even follow baseball until he came to Chestnut Hill; he's now a Red Sox fan.

Hockey is ingrained in the lifestyle of the Collins family. Glenn's father built him a backyard rink, and Glenn did the same for Chris and his brothers. That lifestyle is what got Collins to where he is today.

"Hockey's such a big part of my life and my family's lives that I've always thought, 'Hockey, hockey, hockey, and everything else second," said Collins.

When Collins wasn't battling with his brothers on their backyard rink, he was either playing against current teammate Steven Gionta or digesting hockey in other ways. He followed the careers of other Rochester legends such as Brian Gionta and Marty Reasoner. He was determined not only to play college hockey, but, after realizing his potential in high school and witnessing the loss to Michigan, to play for Gionta's and Reasoner's Eagles.

While Collins' life has been geared toward hockey and playing in college, there have been challenges at every step.

First, there's the height disadvantage. Standing at only 5-8, Collins is usually smaller than the players he's competing with on a nightly basis.

"Being a smaller guy is tough because every place you go to you know you've got to prove yourself," said Collins.

Collins has done just that. He was the team's top scoring freshman in the 2002-2003 season and has added 36 points since then. His lack of height simply means that he has to work that much harder in the gym and in the corners to win the battles for the puck. Collins' height may only be 5-8 but his heart and desire measure 6-8.

"The speed and the will; just wanting to win the battles [makes up for the lack of size]. Hockey's such a big game of one-on-one battles in the corners and I take pride in winning every single battle that I can. I just try to focus on every battle and if I win them then size doesn't even really matter," said Collins.

His family's devotion to hockey was not always easy either. For example, there was the time when Collins was in the eighth grade and he moved from Rochester to Toronto. Collins' parents were criticized by family friends for pulling their son away from his friends and school. No matter where he went, though, there was always hockey.

He continued to leave friends and schools to play for new teams. Collins went from Under-17 Select Team to the U.S. Under-18 Team to the Junior B Americans and Fairport High School, which were followed by a season at Taft and another in the USHL. He's a New York native who's never even been to New York City.

This season poses a whole new set of obstacles for the collegiate veteran. The program lost 10 players from last year's squad including 2004-2005 Hockey East Player of the Year Patrick Eaves and All-Americans Ryan Shannon and Andrew Alberts. Collins will have help in leading the team with seniors Gionta and Harrold. The seniors have made sure that the team is close by having the freshmen over to their room and, "the biggest thing," showing them how to act off the ice. And Collins is quick to point out that the freshmen have easily gelled with the system. That tight-knit nature is a staple of head coach Jerry York's squads.

"Being with [the 10 departed seniors] for three years makes this a big change," said Collins, who roomed with some of those seniors last year. "The freshman guys have been awesome. They completely filled the rolls that those guys from last year left."

Not only does Collins have to fill the leadership void left by players like Ned Havern and Shannon but York also expects his three seniors to make up for the loss of offense. And Collins is ready to oblige.

"Those guys [Dave Spina, Eaves, Shannon] have been putting up 40 or something points - that's a pretty big gap to fill. But I think I'm ready and guys like Steve Gionta and Boyle are ready to score that amount of points too," he said.

Collins, as he has been his whole life, appears up to the challenge, having already registered three goals and an assist in BC's first two contests.

Now you know a few things about Chris Collins - let him show you the rest this season.