Bud Holloway had never been “the old guy” on a hockey team.

In his last year in junior, the right-winger from Saskatchewan played with three overagers on the Western League’s Seattle Thunderbirds. In his first three years as a pro, with the American Hockey League’s Manchester Monarchs, there were always a few guys in their late 20s. Playing in Europe over the last four years, he had teammates in their late 30s who could nod their heads in his direction and refer to “the kid over there.”

But now, as a member of the St. John’s IceCaps, he will not be Bud the Kid.

Because at 26, Holloway is the senior player on these IceCaps.

“But oldest or one of the oldest doesn’t mean you have to feel old, right?” said Holloway “For me, I think all it really means is that I have experience from a lot of different suituations that I can bring to the team and help out all these kids we have here.

“At the end of the day, the biggest thing I’ve learned along the way is that whatever your age, it’s all about being a good teammate, about earning the respect of your teammates. That can mean working hard in the gym and on the ice or just simply being polite to people on and around your team, showing you care about them.

“That’s what being a professional means. That’s what makes a team successful.”

Holloway has been a success wherever he’s played. He led the Thunderbirds in scoring in his last year of junior; topped the Monarchs in points two of his three years in Manchester; and led Skelleftea AIK two of his three seasons in the Swedish Elite League (SEL), where he was SEL’s overall scoring leader in 2012-13.

But he has yet to record a point in the National Hockey League. In fact, Holloway has never played an NHL game.  He hopes that will soon change.

The six-foot, 200-pound Holloway had been a third-round draft pick of the Los Angles Kings in 2006, but despite solid showings with Manchester, never got recalled to L.A.

“It wasn’t something to really get frustrated about,” he said. “Disappointing I guess. You just try to work hard wherever you are and hope that leads to something.

“I had pretty good numbers (with Manchester) and I thought I played pretty well, but the opportunity just didn’t arrive.”

In 2011, with the expiration of his entry-level deal, he became a restricted free agent, but the Kings retained a large measure of control with a qualifying offer.

“I said no, because the new offer would heave meant a deal that was actually worse than the deal I had before, plus they still would have control over me for four years.  So decided to change it up.”

That change came with the trans-Atlantic move to Sweden, where he helped Skelleftea to a couple of SEL titles, including 2012, when he set a new league record for playoff points. But after three years in Sweden, he opted for change again, moving to Switzerland and Bern of that country’s top league.

In Bern, he played under former Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Guy Boucher.

“I learned a lot from Guy,”said Holloway “He’s so thorough, an unbelievable professional. I don’t know if that guy ever sleeps at night, because he’s always got something tinkering round in that brain.

“And we played a Canadian game. We were hard-hitting, with good structure. With other teams in that league, you’d get out there and they’d be free-wheeling, but with us, it was pretty tight ship.

“So I have to say he (Boucher) helped me get ready to get back over here.”

Holloway had a year remaining in his contract with Bern, but was able to opt-out by getting an NHL contract. And after four years in Europe, the Kings’ grip on him ended; he had become an unrestricted free agent as far as the NHL was concerned.

He had interest from a number of NHL teams, but settled on the Canadiens.

“The first thing was that Montreal seemed to be really interested,” he said. “The other thing was that I looked at their depth chart and thought there was a good chance (to play in the NHL), that there’s a good chance for a call-up if I play well here.

“After all, that’s why I’m back. That’s what I’ve been waiting for over the last four years.”