At 21 years old, Colin Grable was technically considered too old to play in the United States Hockey League this past season. He’s only two days younger than Youngstown’s Adam Pietila, the oldest player in the league, and although there is an age cutoff of 20, both were allowed to play based on their birthdates occurring during the season.
The Spring Lake, N.J., native doesn’t think too much about his age because “once you are on the ice, you can’t really tell the age.” It’s more of the experience he has gained that has helped him the most.
“I have two full years of juniors so that is what helps me a bit more,” Grable said. “This is the best junior league. It doesn’t matter if I am going against 17-, 18- or 19-year-olds because they are all elite players.”
The 6-foot-1, 187-pound defenseman came into his own this year for the RoughRiders, serving as a team captain. Grable said the previous season's team, which made the Clark Cup playoffs and beat the National Team Development Program team in the opening round before losing to eventual champion Youngstown in the quarterfinals, helped prepare him for the current season.
