Colby Cherneski has been a busy man in Calgary for the past few years building luxury custom homes.
The biggest build is just under 10,000 square feet featuring 10 bedrooms, nine bathrooms and an in-ground pool in the basement. Before moving to Calgary, Colby moved to Pilot Butte to play with the Storm of the Prairie Junior Hockey League where the Roblin native notched nine points in 15 games and also scored six more points in 14 games with the Grandview Comets.
Upon arriving in Calgary, Colby not only focused on building homes but also continued his hockey journey at the Junior B level with the CRAA Gold U21 team. He made a notable impact, scoring nine points in 22 regular-season games and adding a playoff goal in four games. After that season, Colby shifted his focus to work, stepping away from competitive play for a couple of years. However, he remained active on the ice through recreational games, and eventually, the desire to return to competitive hockey reignited.
Cherneski is three games into the new season with the Nanton Palominos of the Ranchland Hockey League. Nanton is one hour away from Calgary and the league includes the Lethbridge Lightning (3-0), Siksika Buffaloes (3-0), Fort Macleod Mustangs (0-3), Cremona Coyotes (0-2), and the Piikani Reign (0-2).
Being away from the competitive side of the game for two years, Colby is happy to be back doing what he loves.
"It feels really good, it's nice to be out there working towards something, after those two years off," said Cherneski. "It's nice to be out there fighting with our group, I'm very happy to be back."
Three games into the season, Nanton has two wins. They scored 11 times in a victory against Fort Macleod before putting up 12 in a win against Cremona. In their most recent game, Cherneski and the Palominos lost their first game in an 8-3 defeat against Lethbridge.
They sit in third place, just two points behind Lethbridge and Siksika for first. The team returns to the ice on Saturday when they head to Lethbridge to play the Lightning and Colby will be in search of his first point with his new team.
"It's a very high skilled league so it's taken me a bit to get used to," said Cherneski. "I feel like my third game was my best yet and I'm only going to improve and get more comfortable with reps. I'm back to my same old comfortable self, battling hard in the corners and doing what I love."
While he's 11 hours away from Dauphin, Colby still keeps tabs on the Parkland Rangers program. The Roblin native played 67 games with the U-15 team, recording 32 points before playing 95 games with the U-18 team.
Cherneski recorded the most penalty minutes (151) in the league during the 2018-19 campaign. Looking back, the Roblin star is grateful to have been allowed to play with the Rangers.
"It was the biggest moment of my career up until this point, I can't express my gratefulness and gratitude enough for everyone involved with the organization," ended Cherneski. "I still follow them diligently and I'm very proud to be a Parkland Ranger alumnus."
Colby will don his Rangers hat in support on Friday night when they play in Winnipeg against the Thrahsers before playing on Saturday afternoon against the Bruins.
