Mark Tobin finished up his major junior career a mere month ago and it wasn't the ending he was looking for. His Rimouski Oceanic finished dead last in the QMJHL and Tobin was the oldest player on the squad, leading his team in scoring while handling the role as the team captain. While his last year in junior was not as memorable as he would have liked it, Tobin still brings home with him a lot of great memories and the experience to go along with it.

    Mark remembers the very beginning when he decided to leave home and pursue his dream of one day making the NHL. "My feelings when I first left were pretty simple, I was just very excited to get my hockey career started no matter where I went, I didn't care. I was going away to play hockey and that was the main thing", says Tobin on his initial feelings of leaving Newfoundland for the QMJHL. He also remembers the adjustment period that took place when he first arrived in Quebec to play for the Oceanic, "Yes there was a huge cultural difference and even to this day I still find things a bit different but it's cool because I did get to learn French when I thought I never would."

One of the highlights of Mark's time in major junior was last season when his Rimouski Oceanic made it all the way to the 2005 Memorial Cup only to be ousted by the hometown London Knights in the championship game. Mark brings back fond memories of that great experience, "The Memorial Cup last year was an amazing experience. I mean it was one of the biggest hockey events of the year considering there was no NHL. My entire family was there which was awesome and all the games were televised across Canada." One of the biggest names involved with that Oceanic team was the young phenom Sidney Crosby, who currently plays with the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL.  "Being around the likes of Sidney Crosby was good but I think that the best feeling was that at the start of the year we said that we wanted to be there at the Memorial Cup and we were there and we were the centre of attention."

   Possibly the biggest day of Mark Tobin's life came in June of 2004 when the Tampa Bay Lightning selected Mark in the 2nd Round (65th Overall) of the NHL Entry Draft. He looks back on that time now and it brings nothing but happiness and pride. "It was quite the experience, I was ecstatic when I heard my name announced, it was the best feeling in my life. Tampa Bay is definitely a team that I look forward to playing with. Right now I am waiting to get a deal done and start my professional career with them."

   As the final season of Mark's major junior career swung past the mid-season point, the last trading period for QMJHL teams to trade players was coming to a close. It was highly speculated that the struggling Oceanic would trade Mark off to a contending team but unfortunately things never did fall into place. "During the trading period I really thought that I was going to get traded to a contending team", he explains after it became final that he was in fact not going to be moved. "There were no talks of me coming to the Fog Devils and it would have been ok its just that the Fog Devils were not so much the contending team that I was looking towards", Mark concluded after being asked if the possibility was available for him to join his hometown St. John's Fog Devils, an expansion team of the QMJHL.

   Finally, looking back on his major junior hockey career, Mark is quite proud of what he achieved and how he developed as a player. He now looks forward to continuing his hockey dreams and hopes to sign a pro contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning as soon as possible. "Right now I am just waiting for some news from Tampa Bay, whether or not I am going to sign a contract. But the main thing is that I play pro next year." To conclude we asked Mark if he had to go back and do it all over again would he change anything. "The only thing that I would change would be the fact that I wouldn't waste any time. At times I didn't realize that I was wasting time but then again that's how you gain experience."