Doctors performed multiple surgeries on Colley and were able to stabilize to him to the point where he would eventually be able to walk again. Recovering physically was extremely difficult, but recovering mentally was much tougher.

"It was a slow process getting back physically, but mentally it took me a solid year," he said. "After the neck brace goes on, there's really nothing to look forward to. You're just kind of a sitting duck. You don't know where your future's going. ... It took me a good year to get over that mentally."

Throughout a half-hour interview in his office recently, Colley repeatedly goes out of his way to praise his family and friends for supporting him throughout the entire ordeal. From his parents, Tom and Diane, to his sister, Tara, to his tight group of friends and wife Stacy, Colley says he's received extraordinary support from those around him over the past three years.

"You see the people that love you are there because they love you," Colley says. "Just to have the support from my family and friends that were there is very special."

Colley moved home after his injury and needed time and space to recover.

"Going through an injury like that, I obviously had some depression," he says. "(My family and friends) just let me work it out. There's no pressure on the timeline. The doc said it could take anywhere from 12 months to 24 months."

"I'm sure I was kind of moody with them sometimes, but everyone understood the situation and allowed me to get out of it with them and move on. I owe it all to them."

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About a year after the injury, Colley called up Bridgeport president Howard Saffan and told him he was ready to get back into hockey.

One thing led to another, and Colley landed an assistant coaching job a season ago under Jason Christie with the Utah Grizzlies, who are an affiliate of Bridgeport and the Islanders. Colley praised the Islanders organization for the way they've treated him since Day One.

"It just goes to show with those guys how much faith they had in me and how much I gave them that they're willing to give me another opportunity, which I'm thankful for," says Colley.

That opportunity led to an even bigger one just 12 months later.

When Christie left to become an assistant coach for the Chicago Wolves of the AHL near the end of last summer, the Grizzlies organization moved to promote Colley to head coach.

Colley hopes to get back to the NHL one day, and he believes that his position with the Grizzlies will be a step in that direction.

"I think everything happens for a reason," Colley says. "But I feel like I'd still be playing (in the NHL) to this date if I didn't get hurt. I had my time in the NHL. It was shorter than I would've liked, but fortunately I got to live my dream and now hopefully I can get back up to that level one day, whether it be coaching or a (front-office) position."

Colley says he "couldn't be happier" about being in Utah right now, and he's looking forward to tackling the challenges that await him as coach of the Grizzlies.

"I've always had a lot of self pride where if I've set my mind to it so far I've achieved it," he says. "Right now I wanna get back up to the NHL. It may take five, 10, 15 or 20 years ... I wanna do the best at this right now and hopefully I can get back up as a head coach."

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E-mail: drasmussen@desnews.com