During the summer, LakeErieMonsters.com will preview the young players that spent the last few weeks of the season with the Monsters and will be making their full-time professional debuts in the 2010-11 season.

The first installment features one of the biggest bodies expected to patrol the Lake Erie blueline next season, Colby Cohen, who stands at 6-2 and weighs in at 200 lbs.

After spending the past three years at Boston University, Cohen signed an amateur tryout contract with the Monsters on April 5th and appeared in the final three games of the regular season with the team.

Undoubtedly, Cohen’s finest hour in hockey came in the spring of 2009, when Cohen and Monster teammates Zach Cohen and Kevin Shattenkirk and head coach David Quinn who, at the time was BU’s associate head coach, won the NCAA National Championship.

Known for his booming slapshot and ability to run the power play, Cohen led all BU defensemen and was third on the Terriers in scoring in 2009-10 with 30 points (14G, 16A). Cohen’s 14 tallies were second only to current Monster Zach Cohen, who also spent the 2009-10 season with the Terriers before joining the Monsters.

Aside from his well-documented offensive skills, Cohen also has a scrappy side. In 2009-10, Cohen’s 82 penalty minutes were the second most on the Terrier squad. Carrying that snarl into the pro game, Cohen picked up nine penalty minutes in his first three games with the Monsters, numbers that included Cohen getting into a scrap with Abbotsford’s J.D. Watt in his first game as a pro on April 7th.

Heading into the 2010-11 season, the Monsters will expect top-four minutes and well-rounded play from Cohen, who was drafted by Lake Erie’s parent club, the Colorado Avalanche, in the second round of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft.