He would had much rather been with his Nashville Predators teammates, traversing across Canada and the U.S., even though most of its landscape was tangled in the icy grip of early winter.

The 27-year-old Maple Ridge native was one of hundreds of NHL players involved in a labour dispute involving the league and the NHL Players' Association.

One-hundred-thirteen days passed and no resolution, until Jan. 6, when after a 16-hour bargaining session, the NHL and NHLPA reached a tentative collective bargaining agreement.

Eight to 10 years of NHL labour peace had arrived, not quite in time for Christmas, but close enough in the minds of many.

You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief blow across North America, including a giant exhalation from Yip, who had been spending time in the Boston area during the work stoppage.

"I went on a few short weekend trips to stay sane," said Yip, who signed a one-year deal worth $750,000 with the Predators over the summer.

"Other than that I was golfing a lot until the weather went south. There was obviously a lot of downtime, so I took that opportunity to think about life after hockey."

Yip met with business people, educating himself about the business world. The kind of savvy passed on to him may just come in handy once he hangs up his skates. "So I was proud of that," he said.

The lockout also allowed Yip to spend the Christmas holidays in his hometown, where he honed his hockey skills. He joined the Ridge Meadows Minor Hockey Association at six years old and played up to the midget level.

After that, Yip played some junior B hockey for the Ridge Meadows Flames.

"I love coming back and being with family and friends. I also have a special niece and love coming home and seeing how fast she is growing," Yip said.

"There is no other place like home, especially around holiday time."

Prior to that he worked out at his alma mater, Boston University, skating with several NHLers, mostly Boston Bruins.

"We would skate in the morning, then work out right after," Yip said.

Yip's time at BU - a place where he played NCAA Div. 1 hockey for four seasons starting in 2005/06 - was like a rigorous skate down memory lane, for a number of reasons.

"I had the opportunity to skate with my former BU Terriers, so that was a blast," Yip said.

"Brought back some great memories."

Yip was also one of the NHLPA members keeping up to speed with the ongoing negotiations.

"I was very well informed over the course of the lockout," he said. "I attended a meeting in New York early in negotiations, and we got several updates via email, our NHLPA account, and conference calls."

When he heard that the lockout was over, Yip said he was "extremely excited."

"It was a long lockout and many people suffered, so I was not only excited for myself, but for everyone involved," he said. "[Arena] workers, fans. but now that we are back, we will do our best to make it up to everyone."

The time away made Yip appreciate just how much he loved hockey, and the NHL.

"I never knew how much I would miss it, being off this long," he said. "Not only being out there competing every night, but also the camaraderie of a team and the feeling of being part of something bigger than yourself."

Now it's time to get back to work. Yip will continue to try to earn a full-time roster spot with the Preds, a team that scooped him up off the waiver wire on Jan. 19, 2011.

The team began an abbreviated training camp over the weekend.

During the abbreviated 48-game regular season, Yip will strive to be a regular contributor with the Preds and possibly increase his offensive numbers of three goals, four assists, and seven points in 25 games from 2011/12.

Most importantly, he wants to help the Preds make it into the post-season, and play for hockey's ultimate prize in late May, going into early June.

That prize, of course, is the cov-ted Stanley Cup.

"I have a few solid personal goals, but my main goal is what 29 other teams have in common," Yip said.

"I think we all know what that is..."

tlandreville@mrtimes.com