Player Profile: Colby Saganiuk

Photo: Neutral Zone

Team: U.S. National Team Development Program Juniors (USHL)

Hometown: Plainfield, IL

Personal Relationships: Colby’s grandfather, Rocky, played right wing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins. Rocky and his wife, Bonnie, helped Colby’s mother, Candace, raise him. Rocky put Colby in his first pair of skates at two years old and played with him in a backyard ice rink in Edmonton and coached him until Colby turned 11.  The family then moved from Illinois to Pittsburgh where Rocky became the Under-8 and Learn to Play Director at the Penguins’ practice facility. That relationship is not lost on Colby, saying “my grandad, he's probably the biggest one that influenced me, showing me how to skate and everything to help me to where I am today.”

He also understands the sacrifices his mother made, calling her his best friend, and talking about the “time she’s taken off work or missed stuff” for him and the huge impact that’s made on his life.”

Key Quote: National Team Development Program (NTDP) Director Rod Braceful believes Colby leads by example saying “the kid wants to be the best out there every time he laces them up, which is great…he does it by outworking everyone, not being a showboat or showing someone up, but by going about things the right way.”

Social Media: Limited social media presence. Only photos posted are pictures with his teammates.

Off-the-Ice: Colby believes the NTDP is helping him learn on and off the ice about what it takes to become a professional and although it’s a grind every day, he views that as a positive.

Instagram: @csaganiuk