DENVER -- If hockey hadn't worked out, Brandon Yip would probably be working in the justice system.
The Colorado Avalanche forward has a criminal justice degree from Boston University to go along with the national title he won there last season.
Yet judging by his play this year, it might be a while before he needs to use it.
Heading into Saturday's game against the Edmonton Oilers, the Maple Ridge, B.C., native had eight goals and 15 points in 20 games this season.
"I've just been fortunate enough to catch some good breaks and play with some good linemates," Yip said. "We've developed good chemistry since I've been here. It's been working out well, and it's been fun."
Passed over in the WHL bantam draft, Yip decided to take the college route to the NHL. He played Junior A with the Coquitlam Express in B.C., before accepting a college scholarship with the Boston University Terriers.
"I had a few major junior offers to go play, but talking with my parents, I always wanted to go to college, get my degree and have something to fall back on just in case hockey didn't work out," he said.
"I was a small guy growing up. I was definitely on the lighter side. That's probably why I didn't get looked at in major junior. It just took me a while to grow, so I think college was a good route for me to go, it helped me develop my skills and get bigger."
Yip, 24, was selected by the Avalanche in the eighth round, 239 overall, of the 2004 NHL draft.
He spent four years with the Terriers before turning pro at the beginning of this season.
The six-foot-one, 180-pound winger had an opportunity to crack the Avalanche roster out of camp, but an injury to his finger in his first exhibition game set him back for two and-a-half months.
"It was during a fight in exhibition," he said.
"It was the first period in my first exhibition game. I don't know how it happened, the tendon in my finger snapped and I had to have surgery. It was one of those fluky things.
"But the coaching staff and trainers did a great job of keeping me in shape, so when I came back I was ready to play."
Yip started his season with the Lake Erie Monsters in the American Hockey League, where he scored two goals in six games before being recalled by the Avalanche in mid-December.
He's playing on a line with rookie sensation Matt Duchene and T.J. Galiardi.
"He had an injury early in the season, but as a coach and a staff we had some expectations that he could come in and join us sometime during the season," said Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco. "Then, when he got his opportunity, he came in and played really well. He plays a gritty game, he plays a north-south game. He goes to the net extremely hard and because of that, he's had some positive results. He skates well and he fits in to what we're trying to do here."
Yip is one of a number of young players who have stepped in and played well for the Avalanche, helping them challenge for the lead in the Northwest Division.
"We do have a lot of young guys coming in and doing a great job, but it comes down to having great leadership," Yip said. "The older guys are doing a great job of teaching us a lot of things. Every day I'm learning here, so it's been great."
DEREK.VANDIEST@SUNMEDIA.CA
