Parker Kelly’s on-the-job training with Avalanche as NHL center showing signs of progress

WASHINGTON — Parker Kelly’s initiation as a center in the NHL was a bit like taking a first swimming lesson in the middle of an ocean.

He felt it most when he settled into his position for a faceoff during his first exhibition game for the Avalanche and was nose-to-nose with Matt Duchene. Kelly was in his first NHL game as a center. The guy across from him had more than 12,000 faceoffs at this level on his resume.

“That first game was eye-opening,” Kelly said. “I was just begging (Duchene) to let me win one. It was actually pretty funny.”

Kelly did win five of 13 faceoffs in that game, including two against Duchene and two against another veteran NHL center, Tyler Seguin. For the second year in a row, the Avs have added a forward in the offseason with minimal NHL experience and decided to experiment with him at center.

Last year, it was Ross Colton. This year, it’s Kelly. He just played his 20th game at the position Thursday night for the Avs.

“It’s been fun. Lots of learning, lots of ups and downs,” Kelly said. “I would say, probably the first five games, I was like, ‘Oh my god, I love this.’ Then you start seeing some pretty high-end matchups in the dot. I’ve made some mistakes in D-zone coverage, but everyone’s been great. I’ve been doing a lot of video with the coaches. Guys who have been here a long time are helping me out. So I’m really enjoying the challenge.”

Like Colton, there was clearly a learning curve for Kelly. It didn’t help that Colorado’s lineup was in disarray because of all the injury and availability issues.

A fully loaded forward group before the season began made Kelly the projected No. 4 center. He has spent much of this season as the No. 3 guy, while potential third-line linemates were moved up the depth chart to fill for the top-six guys who were missing.

“I think for anyone when they make a change, there can maybe be a little hesitation to start,” said Avs forward Logan O’Connor, who played a lot with Colton last year. “It’s just finding that comfort and that rhythm. I think over the last handful of games, you’ve seen his game sort of elevate. His offensive instincts are showing up. His time in the D zone has gone down. I think a big reason for that is just his comfort there, his confidence there. He’s breaking up plays quickly in the D-zone. He’s being relied on for D-zone faceoffs. He’s done a great job trying to be a student of the game there and learn that front.”

After Valeri Nichushkin, Jonathan Drouin and Miles Wood all returned to the lineup, Kelly was placed on a line with Wood and rookie Nikolai Kovalenko. That trio has scored three goals in three games, including Kelly’s first with the Avalanche.

Kelly played fewer than nine minutes in the first game with a deeper lineup but also had a goal and an assist. He’s logged 27 minutes in the past two games combined, and Avs coach Jared Bednar praised that trio for its work after the 2-1 win in Washington.

“I would say the first 10 games, you could probably tell I was thinking so hard on where I need to go, where my coverage is and then I’m just paralyzed, like standing in the middle of the ice,” Kelly said. “Just not being aggressive and not playing my game. Now, as those thoughts become more unconscious, you know how to read the play, you can anticipate and know your routes and how to support people to be good on the defensive side.”

Colton should be back sometime in the second half of December from a broken foot. Kelly should settle in as the clear No. 4 center then.

For now, it’s still a work in progress. But the reviews through one-quarter of the season are positive.

“He’s been outstanding. I think (he’s) really embracing the role playing center,” Bednar said. “… He’s just digging in on both sides of the puck. On the defending side of it, he’s really detail-oriented. Wants to know all the time where to be, what to do. He’s digging in on his game off the ice, and then you’re seeing it translate on the ice.

“I think there’s another step you can take on the offensive side, but now he’s getting some more established players on his line. They’re trying to create an identity to be hard to play against and yet still chip in on the offensive side. There’s a lot of want and desire in him and his game and we’re seeing it.”

Kelly’s most memorable sequence in his brief Colorado career came near the end of a 6-3 win on Nov. 5 against the Seattle Kraken. The Avs were defending in a 5-on-6 situation with Seattle’s goalie pulled and Kelly blocked a heavy shot. Then another. And another. And another. And one more for good measure.

Five blocked shots in one shift, and six for the game.

“Just to see him put his body on the line in that type of situation and come up with a handful of blocks — I think the bench after the third one didn’t really know what to do anymore,” O’Connor said. “It was like, ‘OK, this is actually getting insane.’ It was awesome to see. It definitely builds the chemistry and the confidence and the trust and sort of just that mentality of going out there and doing things for your teammates.”

Kelly said the first one, which got him on the knee, hurt the most. There was also one off his hand that didn’t feel great. By the fifth one, which caught him in the leg, he couldn’t stand back up right away.

“That shift … it is what it is. I think the guys liked it,” Kelly said. “Yeah, it felt good to do that. And yeah, I would do it all over again.”

Felt good? He just said he couldn’t even stand up.

“Well, it didn’t feel good the next morning,” Kelly said. “But in the moment, yeah it felt good.”