DENVER, CO – With just two games remaining in the Avalanche’s pre-season schedule, both of which will be played on the road, the team has yet to notch a victory. And again, that does not matter. What does however matter is that games like tonight certainly make decisions much less complicated for management. I’ll spare you the blow by blow of 6 Vegas Golden Knights goals, and instead examine what a result like tonights means to the guys trying to make the opening night roster.
Tonight, the game can simplify be defined as the land of missed opportunities. Not by the teams superstars, who for the first time in this pre season got game reps, but by the 10 players whose training camp came to a conclusion and won’t be on the roster when the puck drops on the 9th of October in Vegas. We have talked in detail about the importance of making management make decisions, and that holds true for both sides of the coin. Tonight saw a lack luster and un-inspired effort through 60 minutes of hockey at a point in camp where the time is running out to impress. The NHL is an elite brotherhood consisting of 736 plus players from all across the world who get to play in front of the best sports fans and in the greatest sports league in the world, so to be a part of it…you better demonstrate a level of jam and jump.
Let’s start on the blue line…easily the position with the most questions this pre-season. Calvin de Haan and Cale Makar were as expected. For de Haan, he was the best player on defense tonight. His metrics led the team and he was able to flex some versatility by adapting to multiple different partners. He showed leadership and also that he is quickly grasping the Avalanche style of defensive play. He will be a very good addition to this teams already solid defensive core.
As for the others, one of the Avalanches UFA summer signings in Erik Brannstrom, had his toughest outing of the pre season so far, but the NHLer will certainly have the memory of a goldfish tonight after several other solid pre season performances. But evidenced by the cuts made tonight, Sean Behrens, Calle Rosen, and Jack Ahcan didn’t particularly fair well with the big club, but will now head North to join the Eagles at camp where they will most certainly thrive in the AHL.
Up front, it was a mixed bag for the fellas trying to fortify a spot. To be fair, this game, much like the others thus far, had zero flow. Six minors in the first and three in the second handicapped the players trying to settle into a rhythm. Thankfully the officials stowed the whistles in the third. But the penalties called really had no rhyme or reason and it became difficult to understand where the line was on what a penalty was or wasn’t. As a result, in addition to other factors, the casualties of which were Jason Polin, Jean-Luc Foudy, Matthew Stienburg, Matthew Phillips, and Jere Innala. These are players who will have a chance up north and most certainly will be names to keep an eye on in the coming years.
Between the pipes…Trent Miner is headed to the Eagles. As for Alexander Georgiev, this was a chance to get his feet wet and back into the rhythm of NHL game speed. Not his best showing on 37 shots and certainly some bounces and misfortunes that are un-avoidable, but at the end of the day, it was an opportunity to play a full 60.
On to the next. The Avalanche will more than certainly whittle their roster further in the next day ahead of a final two game road trip to Vegas and then Utah. Coach Bednar eluded to the fact that the roster for those games will be very close to what could be expected in Vegas opening night. Colorado will also travel directly from Vegas to Utah.
The coming days will be very telling and certainly clarify the picture of what the Avalanche are going to look like when the puck drops on the 2024-2025 season.
