Soaking wet, with splatters of mud beginning to cake on his body, Colby Williams was emotionally spent. For over an hour, he had traversed nearly two dozen grueling obstacles, shimmying under barbed wire and leaping over pits of fire in a three-mile race course in the hills north of Edmonton, Alberta. As he lurched back to the car, exhausted and overwhelmed, he picked up his cell phone. Messages from Connor Hobbs were among the dozens waiting for him.
Half a continent away, in the sunny suburbs of Miami, Hobbs was still being led through a gauntlet of media commitments. He had just been selected by the Washington Capitals in the fifth round of the NHL draft, and after a few brief moments with team executives, a small press conference and a session with photographers, word trickled his way that Williams had been the Capitals’ sixth-round pick.
It didn’t take Hobbs long to reach for his phone and call his buddy. It took Williams a while to answer.
“It was pretty expensive and stuff to call, for me, down in Florida, but right away I called him,” said Hobbs, originally believing that another player with the same name was eligible for the draft. “It was probably, I don’t know, three or four hours [until he replied].”
That lapse in communication was a rarity among Williams and Hobbs, who were defensive partners with the Regina Pats of the WHL for most of last season. Now, they have the opportunity to pursue a professional career with the same team, with both having participated in the Capitals’ five-day development camp that ended on Saturday.
Their futures are varied. As an 18-year-old, Hobbs is certain to spend at least two years back in the junior leagues before joining the Capitals organization. Williams could return to Regina, but, at 20, is able to join the Hershey Bears — a decision will depend on his camp performances and where the top prospects land.
“Is it better for him to go back to Regina and be the captain and play 25 minutes a night or be fighting for ice time in Hershey?” Bears coach Troy Mann said. “That’s not really something I can answer, but I’m sure the organization will make the right decision for him.”
Each player has his talents. Ross Mahoney, Washington’s assistant general manager and its top amateur scout, said Hobbs moves the puck well with firm passes that are on-point. Williams, a player who can jump up in the rush, is a good skater with strong character, he said.
That Mahoney, who lives in Regina, Saskatchewan, chose his two hometown players was a “coincidence,” he said. The Capitals had weighed drafting Williams in recent years. Hobbs was on their radar before he was traded in January by Medicine Hat.
Heading the other way in that trade was Kyle Burroughs, who had been Williams’ top-line partner. Hobbs, who had not yet played a full season in the top-level junior league, was tabbed to fill that role.
“We just put them together not knowing if it would work out,” Regina coach John Paddock said. “Colby just took that as a challenge, playing with the younger players. … His experience and the ability to calm things down, I think, then helped Connor.”
The two quickly meshed, Williams the wily veteran and Hobbs the young upstart. Each player’s production improved drastically when paired with the other; Hobbs, pleased with his situation, had a goal and 15 assists over 33 games, and Williams had four goals and 14 assists in the 32 games before the trade and seven goals and 16 assists in the 32 games after it.
“Right away, [I noticed] he’s kind of a big personality,” Williams said. “He likes to talk and likes to joke around and stuff like that, so I kind of knew he’d be pretty easy to get along with. I wasn’t really sure how he was on the ice, and it took a while to get the chemistry going and stuff, but it’s almost super easy because he talks so much off the ice that it just became so easy going back on the ice.”
Their bond strengthened. Despite the two years’ difference in age — a big deal in the WHL, Hobbs noted — they’d grab dinner together after games. They’ve gone ice fishing together and partner up when playing basketball in the driveway at Williams’ family home.
“We’re pretty good two-on-two,” Hobbs said. “We take on all challengers.”
In Arlington, the Capitals did the duo no favors, splitting them up for much of the development camp and declining to assign them to the same hotel room. Williams was put on Team White, the 18-player group that was the first to undergo on-ice workouts, and Hobbs was placed on Team Red. In the dressing room, the stall granted to Williams was in a front corner, and Hobbs, along the same wall, dressed at the opposite end.
Williams flew to Washington through Minneapolis and Hobbs connected in Toronto. Aside from a joint interview filmed for the team’s video network shortly after arrival, their only time together was during the infrequent breaks rarely afforded by a tight schedule.
“That kind of sucks, but that’s all right,” Williams said. “You get to know other guys around here, too.”
Those new bonds are the ones that will help each player throughout his career. To Williams and Hobbs, the past is just the beginning.
“It’s pretty amazing to be able to share this with him,” Hobbs said. “The same camp and the same team.”
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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