Bryce Swan tries not to live with regret.

But he does sometimes think about the NHL contract offers he twice rebuffed.

Swan was a second-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks in 2006. The NHL club offered him a contract in 2007 and again last spring but each time Swan and his agent turned them down. Without a deal in his back-pocket, he re-entered into the 2008 NHL draft but was not selected by any club.

"I was offered a pretty nice contract from (the Ducks)," recalled Swan, who’s now plying his trade with the AUHC’s St. Francis Xavier X-Men. "I think if I did it all over again, I might have taken it. But things happen for a reason.

"Every now or then I think it would have been nice to have that first contract under my belt. But I can’t dwell on that. Nothing’s going to change. I’m happy where I am now and look forward to the challenges ahead. Hopefully this leads to something. Hockey is clearly my life. I want to play as long as I can."

That determination led the former Halifax Mooseheads forward to the Detroit Red Wings’ training camp on a tryout basis. But the Wings didn’t extend a contract offer Swan’s way.

"They said it was a numbers game," the six-foot-three, 200-pound Swan said. "I thought I had played good. Maybe they were just being nice to me by saying it was a numbers game.

"But one door closes and another opens."

After a discouraging summer, Swan switched his focus to getting an education and playing the university game.

The Alder Point, Cape Breton native got in touch with St. F.X. head coach Brad Peddle, who offered him a spot on the team just before the season began.

After a slow start, Swan has adjusted to the fast-paced league and has posted four goals and eight points in 14 games.

"There was definitely a transition period. Coming from the Wings’ camp, it took at least three or four games until I felt really comfortable," said Swan, who’s studying business administration.

"But in the last month, I was playing my best. Being moved to centre and playing with (veteran) Sean Flinn and (rookie) Matt Bragg, they play a similar style as me and we seem to have some success now."

"Swan is coming along good," Peddle added. "The adjustment level to this league is something we talk about every year. They saw it early that it’s a significant jump from junior. But every game he’s making the necessary adjustments that he’ll need to be effective at this level.

"It takes a little while to figure the league out and understand how competitive it is each night. He has been a key part of our offence."

The X-Men headed into the Christmas break on a three-game winning streak, including an overtime win over the Moncton Aigles Bleus and a surprising 6-1 rout of the Saint Mary’s Huskies to conclude the half.

"They (Saint Mary’s) were on such a roll, six wins in a row," Swan said. "We had a slow start to the season but to finish the way we did, with wins against Moncton and SMU was huge for our team."

That moved St. F.X. into the thick of a heated six-team race in the conference. Only four points separate the top six clubs. SMU and Moncton are in a three-way tie for first overall with the defending champion UNB Varsity Reds. The UPEI Panthers are two back of the leaders, the Acadia Axemen three behind and the X-Men four back. The top six teams make the playoffs.

During the holiday break, St. F.X. will play Acadia in the two-game Keating Cup exhibition series, Dec. 30 in Wolfville and Jan. 2 in Antigonish.

The X-Men will open the league’s second half on Jan. 7 with Saint Mary’s returning to Antigonish.

"I think we can carry this over into the new year," Swan said. "We have the talent to compete with the best. Just look at the standings; it’s incredible how close the league is. We’re in sixth place but only four points out of first. The parity in this league is incredible."

Even in the thick of a hot Atlantic university race, the 21-year-old Swan has not given up on his dream of playing pro someday.

He said former UPEI sniper Joel Ward, now a regular with the Nashville Predators, and ex-UNB star Rob Hennigar, who signed a two-year deal with the New York Islanders last spring, are prime examples that the AUHC can be a stepping stone to the pro ranks.

"Just because I’m playing university doesn’t mean it’s the end of the road," Swan said. "Look at Joel Ward or Rob Hennigar. I just have to look at that. And if hockey doesn’t work out then I have a business degree in my pocket to fall back on."

Courtesy of GLENN MacDONALD, The Chronicle Herald