Victor Oreskovich remembers the watershed moment. He had been out of hockey for 18 months and hadn't seriously contemplated a comeback until he was home in Oakville, Ont., for spring break two years ago.

The Manitoba Moose forward, who recently completed a stint with the Vancouver Canucks and was recalled again on Tuesday, mentioned to his biggest supporter and fan, his Dad, Vic Sr., that he was pondering a return to the game he turned his back on. So father and son rented an hour of ice time at a nearby rink and the comeback was on.

"It was fitting because my Dad has always been there for me," Oreskovich said. "He was the one who taught me how to skate. It was special to go out there with him. He's a self-made man who runs his own business and I'm proud of him."

It was a shocker when Oreskovich decided to step away from the game that had given him so much. Even before he played a game for Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., the Colorado Avalanche had selected him in the second round (55th overall) of 2004 NHL Entry Draft.

When the scene at Notre Dame didn't work out he departed early in his second year and landed with the OHL's Kitchener Rangers and played with his best friend Evan McGrath. In his final year of junior, Oreskovich checked in with a solid 28-goal season. But after his second training camp in Colorado, the Avalanche assigned Oreskovich to their AHL affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. He decided not report that September 2007.

Didn't want to look at a quitter

"When I stepped away from the game I never intended to come back and play," Oreskovich said. "It was a gradual process getting back into it. I went back to school to finish my degree, but I couldn't live with myself if I didn't go back and achieve my life-long goal of playing in the NHL.

"It was tough to look at myself in the mirror and see a quitter. That's the main reason I came back. I missed playing the game, something I had done my whole life."

But the 6-foot-3 Oreskovich had not laced up his skates in 18 months. He went to the gym during this hockey-less period, but he lifted weights instead of staying in hockey shape. He packed on plenty of muscle and weighed 250 pounds, about 35 pounds more than he did when he left hockey.

"To change my body and to start using muscles that I hadn't used in a long time was something else," Oreskovich said. "Sometimes you take a week off from skating and it feels like you've taken a year off. But I was surprised how quickly it came back. I guess it was muscle memory. But the finer things like puck handling took a while longer."

Oreskovich was fortunate that his old Kitchener junior coach Peter DeBoer had moved on and was now behind the bench of the Florida Panthers. So when Oreskovich called looking for a break, DeBoer convinced then Florida general manager Randy Sexton to take a chance on the comeback kid.

He wound up playing 50 games for the Panthers last season before they included him in a pre-draft deal that sent defenceman Keith Ballard to the Canucks in exchange for a first-round selection, which turned out to be Canadian junior and Moose Jaw Warriors forward Quinton Howden, Steve Bernier and Michael Grabner.

Oreskovich found out about the trade when in South Bend, where he had returned last spring to finish his final credits to earn his finance degree at Notre Dame, when he received a text from a buddy.

"The trade was exciting," he said. "I had Pete there in Florida looking out for me. I'm kind of glad it has worked out this way. I didn't want people to think that the only reason I was back was because of Pete. I was glad I was able to move on and play 10 games [so far] in Vancouver with the best team in the NHL."

Oreskovich has missed time this season with a concussion and a separated shoulder, but with the tragic eye injury to Vancouver centre Manny Maholtra, there may be a fourth-line role for Oreskovich with the Canucks down the stretch.

"I feel pretty good, I'm happy with where I am in terms of my career," he said. "I think I'm in a good spot here with Vancouver. I want to be a full-time NHL player and hopefully that will be the case in the near future. 

"I'm fortunate to be able to come back and play in the NHL last year and this year. I'm pretty lucky."