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Sports Oakville Beaver 41 · Tuesday, December 29, 2009 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com www.aplushomes.ca Adam Campbell 905-844-4444 I N D E P E N D E N T LY O W N E D A N D O P E R AT E D Broker of Record B R O K E R A G E SPORTS EDITOR: JON KUIPERIJ Phone 905-845-3824 (ext. 432) Fax 905-337-5571 email sports@oakvillebeaver.com · TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29, 2009 ELIOT SCHECHTER / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER CAREER REBORN By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF For two years it sat at the bottom of the steps in the basement of his parents' house ­a symbol of his past. Seven hundred kilometers away in Indiana, Victor Oreskovich was looking forward to his future. He was attending career fairs and e-mailing prospective employers, pouring his energy into putting his newlyearned finance degree to good use. Even some of his closest friends and former teammates couldn't understand. Hockey was part of Oreskovich's identity. He had played the game for as long as he could remember. He had earned a hockey scholarship to the University of Notre Dame and later played in the Ontario Hockey League. He was drafted in the second round of the NHL draft by the Colorado Avalanche. He was living the dream. Then in the fall of 2007, after attending his second NHL training camp, Oreskovich took his equipment home, put it in the basement, walked back upstairs and closed the door. · · · · Two months ago, Oreskovich was riding a bus along a New York freeway between Binghamton and Rochester. For most players, riding the bus is a bad thing -- a reminder that you're not quite ready for the big time. Oreskovich felt very fortunate to be there. Earlier in the year, he had put on his skates for the first time in 18 months and skated on to the ice at Notre Dame. It was early morning and on the ice he found all the things that had come so naturally to him, didn't feel so natural anymore. He continued to skate every morning, by himself, slowly getting his timing back, working on his shot. Despite all the resumés he sent out and all the job leads he followed, Oreskovich could not shake the feeling. "It just hit me that I really didn't give hockey a chance," the 23-year said. "I thought it was something I had to do." Now he was riding the bus with a veteran of 579 NHL games and a 21-year-old top-10 draft pick. And Oreskovich fit right in. He scored five minutes into his first professional game, later added an assist and was named the game's first star. Now coming off a two-point effort in Binghamton he was being summoned to the front of the bus by Rochester coach Benoit Groulx. He would not be dressing for the team's next game. Instead, he would be making his NHL debut with the Florida Panthers. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would get called up after five games," Oreskovich said. · · · · If this year has seemed like a dream, the 2006/07 season was a nightmare. He went to his first NHL training camp but was not happy with being sent back to junior as an overage player. He grew increasingly frustrated throughout the season and it came to a head when Kitchener coach Peter DeBoer sent him home mid-game. "He was struggling with the pressure of the game," DeBoer said. "At the time he wasn't (being) a good player or a good teammate." After giving up hockey for two years, Victor Oreskovich has taken an unlikely path to the NHL "I was already considering quitting," Oreskovich said. "Part of me didn't want to be there." He returned to the team and despite battling injuries, finished the season with 28 goals and 60 points in 62 games. He went to Colorado's training camp again in the fall and was assigned to the American Hockey League. But his heart wasn't in it and he didn't want to play if he wasn't fully committed. Instead of reporting to the minors he reenrolled at Notre Dame. "I lost my passion (for hockey)," Oreskovich said. "I was burnt out." · · · · Oreskovich reopened the door in the summer. Whether anyone would invite him in was another story. Looking to restart his career, he visited the home of another Oakville resident, Pat Morris of Newport Sports Management. One thing impressed Morris right away. "He looked more fit than 75 per cent of See Oreskovich page 44