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Rabbit rebounds from rough season

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#1 ·
Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com Senior Writer
Aug 6, 2007, 11:59 AM EDT


Wacey Rabbit desperately wanted to play professional hockey last season. Things, however, didn’t work out quite the way he envisioned. But that doesn’t mean the situation didn’t work out for the best.
After four seasons with the Western Hockey League’s Saskatoon Blades, Rabbit signed an entry-level contract with the Boston Bruins before the start of last season’s training camp. By doing so, Rabbit believed he had finally put junior hockey in his rear-view mirror.

Rabbit joined the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins -- Boston’s top minor-league affiliate -- to start the 2006-07 season and he couldn’t have been happier.

But the happiness did not last.

Rabbit, drafted in the fifth round of the 2005 Entry Draft, struggled mightily at the start of the AHL season. He had just one goal and two assists in his first 22 games; not numbers that would please any player noted for individualistic offensive proficiency. They were numbers that also didn’t please Bruins management, which decided Rabbit’s career would be best served by a move to Long Beach of the ECHL.

It was then that fate stepped in and saved what could have been a disastrous introduction to pro hockey for Rabbit. The WHL’s Vancouver Giants were the hosts of the 2007 Memorial Cup and were on the lookout for players who could help the team make a strong showing in Canada’s premier junior hockey event. Rabbit certainly fit that bill and inquiries were quickly made about his availability.

“The Sunday I got sent down, they talked to my agent and decided it would be better for my development to go back to junior,” said Rabbit, who never suited up for Long Beach.

For most players, an unexpected return to juniors would be seen as a humiliating turn of events. But Rabbit was insistent that he would not fall into that trap.

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