I am doing my best to help out the Puck Podcast by being a fan correspondent for them, following the Avalanche. The below is my first submission to them, and from that they may or may not use parts or none of it at all. It is likely much more than they were looking to get, but while I'll adjust what I submit to them I'm going to try to do weekly updates for the Avalanche here much like this one.
Enjoy the first post of "The Week That Was", covering the first week plus of the NHL season as it affected the Avalanche.
Preseason: I'm not going to spend any real time on the preseason other than to mention a few guys that had really good camps and could be seeing time in Denver this year. At the top of that list has to be the last cut, Stefon Elliot. He showed his offensive skills and that he will be a great PP guy, but he may have ran into a numbers game with the Avalanche having as many D-men as they did already. He should be the first call-up however. Another guy with a good camp was Brad Malone. Likely a fourth line guy he showed great energy but also showed a decent offensive side. He will likely see some time if injuries allow it (and they tend to with this team). Others impressed as well, Aittakallio, Barrie, Seimens, and Muers among them, but they all seem to be at least a year off still or longer. The big absences from the camp though were goalie Desjardins who was brought in likely to start in Lake Erie but has a chance at being a good NHLer and played well in his appearances last year and Joey Hishon. Hishon, the surprise pick two drafts ago by Colorado had a great season before an elbow to the head left him out with a concussion. He still suffers from those effects and has yet to return to action.
Golf Charity : Each year the Avalanche host a golf tournament where the proceeds go to charity. This year marked the 15th year of that event and with the $80,000 brought in this year they have surpassed the $1million mark from this event alone in terms of charity donations. Golfers who donate to play get to play alongside coaches and players from the Avalanche, and from what I understand Milan Hejduk won for the third year in a row this year.
Twitter : I am also not a real big fan of Twitter, and I also find that most of what is written isn't interesting, but a number of Avalanche players do have Twitter accounts including Matt Duchene. After the Kings route of the Avs in the pre-season Duchene took to Twitter in apology to the fans stating "Sorry to all the fans that paid their hard earned money tonight to watch that terrible performance of ours. We WILL be better" and then "This Avs team is not the same one from last year so don't get used to seeing games like that. We're not gonna disappoint you guys again". After a horrid loss this simple act gave many fans a boost and pleased them that the team wasn't coming out blaming bounces or the like but a leader for the team was taking it upon himself to let everyone know the performance wasn't acceptable.
Cumiskey trade : The signing of Cumiskey (and Hunwick to be honest) confused the heck out of Avalanche fans. My best guess is they were looking to trade one or both, but the chance wasn't there. When Cumiskey was waived it was thought he could be picked up and may not make it to the AHL, but when he made it through everyone was shocked when he was traded to Anaheim. Given that they could have lost him for nothing a late pick and a prospect who I know little about but seems to have had some success isn't a bad return. Cumiskey has great speed, but needs to put together the rest of his game to make it in the NHL. He is too small, not great defensively, doesn't see the ice extremely well, and isn't great at puck handling ... but he has great speed.
Forsberg retirement : Another great ceremony for a past Avalanche player. There is no doubt that he is still loves by Avalanche fans and that he loved his time in Denver. The ceremony itself was much as the others I've seen in terms of speaches and how it proceeded, but there were a few highlights worth mentioning. Instead of entering through the players locker rooms or a similar area, he actually appeared in the stands and walked down through the crowd when introduced. During his speech there were a few comments beyond the normal thanking of friends, players, and the organization that were memorable. One such was in remembering the good times in which he named one of those things was "of course, beating Detroit every time we played them" which got a huge ovation. Two others were directed to his fiance which also got huge ovations. One such was when he stated "oh hunny, one other thing ... I want to keep the apartment in Denver" and the other was when he informed his fiance that "if we have a boy and he plays in the NHL, he will do so wearing the Burgundy and White". Thanks for the memories Peter the Great!
...on a side note, a coworker mentioned that the banner handed out at the doors was going for a large amount of money on eBay and checking he was right. I saw numerous banners (about 18"x10" or so) going between $30 and $50, and I saw one guy who packaged his ticket stub, banner, replica poster (given out as people left) and the $2 program and currently had a bid of $172 on the collection.
vs. Detroit : First off, there are way too many Detroit fans in Denver. A couple Chicago fans and a couple Montreal fans as well supporting their teams not even in the building. The night also saw a moment of silence and tribute to the players lost this past offseason that was touching (in addition to the Forsberg ceremony that had already taken place earlier). Beyond that though it was a great game and a lot of positives could be taken out of it for Colorado despite the shutout. Varlamov was incredible, the only shots beating him were great shots and nothing he could do. The bigger look defense, now one of the biggest in the league at an average of 6'3" and somewhere near 225 pounds, looked very good. EJ had some issues with puck handling that he needs to straighten out but O'Brien really surprised me and looked better than a bottom pairing guy, and Quincey and Hejda (who had a knee injury that looked to sideline him for the start of the season before he recovered "like Wolverine" (as stated on MHH) and he only missed a bit of the preseason) had really solid games. The offense had chances but got unlucky or robbed on a couple occasions, and the third line of Landeskog, O'Reilly, and Winnik was one of the best on the ice and Landeskog was one of the best forwards This line is going to be good this year. Kobasew on the first line surprised everyone but he didn't look out of place, and Galiardi on the 4th line was another surprise and it will be interesting to see what the future hold for him. Mueller looked ok his first real game back in over a year and he is someone to keep an eye on to see if how he plays in the next few. Overall the Avalanche allowed a great number of shots but for portions of the game controlled the flow and looked good, only really being outplayed in the third. A few breaks their way and they could have been the team to win this one. The Avs started the season with Yip and Olver on the IR and Desjardin injured as well recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. The team also began the season without a captain, instead giving an 'A' to Stastny, Hejduk, and Johnson.
vs. Boston : In the first of 5 road games, the longest road trip of the season for the Avs, the team got their chances but hit posts or got robbed by a backup goalie on a number of chances once again, but in this one they were never outplayed for any long period of time. Varlamov was again incredible. Justin at the goalie guild is right that this kid has incredible skill and is incredibly athletic, but I see where his concerns over his health and his ability to play a full season this way come from. He is explosive and all over making incredible saves (see the one on Lucic) and has great skill but his style could potentially wear him out or injure him as he exerts so much every night. I'm starting to feel much better about the trade, though if we have a top 10 pick (not my expectation) that will have been too high a price. however in a pick in the mid-late teens was worth this kid if he stays healthy. Again the 3rd line was one of the Avalanche best and started all three periods for the team, and again Landeskog led the way being physical, smart, and doing all the things you would want to see him do. O'Reilly looks good and fast as well and could have a great season next to these linemates. Stastny continues to do his thing but Duchene is really showing an improvement and commitment to a comlete game, playing the whole ice and going hard offensively and defensively. He even kept it scoreless after a Varlamov turnover (his one week spot seems to be playing the puck at times) by sliding back into the goal preventing a sure wrap-around goal. At some point he'll start scoring again. One change from last year is the forwards as O'Reilly has gotten powerplay time but none on the kill. Perhaps a shift in his role is in line with his emerging offensive skill shown at the end of last season. The defense also looked solid in this game, getting sticks in lanes and being in the right spots. They also are physical this year, something last year's team wasn't. O'Byrne had a hit that put Chara on the ice leading to the first Boston penalty as Chara retaliated, and later Wilson had a great hit on Seguin. Again O'Brien continues to be the surprise on the team for me as not only is a physical presence but has been good on all ends of the ice and has shown a willingness to jump into the play and has a great shot. Hejda I expected to be a good solid first pairing guy to go with EJ but O'Brien could be the pickup that Avs fans look back at with very happy surprise in what they got in him compared to expectations. Through the first couple of games the Penalty Kill has looked very solid which is a good change, however the powerplay hasn't been overly impressive though EJ did a good job of getting the puck on net on the only (shortened) 5-on-3 this season thus far. Many of the chances were shortened by Avs penalties, but it appears that a powerplay quarterback might be needed though it is early still. Interesting fact, the Avalanche have not lost in Boston since March 1998, now 7-0-1 during that stretch. The team continued to be without a captain as well and Johnson's 'A' was given to McLeod this game (who then proceeded to record 9 hits in the game).
vs. Columbus : Thank you Versus for lifting the Blackout for the Avs, and thank you Center Ice for your free preview. As for the game, the Avalanche have traditionally feasted on the Blue Jackets having a 30-8-1-1 alltime record and the last two years are no different having a 7-1 record with Stastny and Hejduk each with 9 points and Duchene with 7 in those 8 games. Hejda is one Avs looking to keep that going as the Columbus Dispatch writes (http://www.bluejacketsxtra.com/content/stories/2011/10/12/hejda-back-in-town-with-some-bitterness.html), quoting Hejda as saying "I was disappointed. To be honest, it still pisses me off. When the offer came out, to be honest, I felt like I wasn’t respected here. I did some work here for four years, and (the contract offer) was not close to what I was looking for." and then later in the article "From Day 1, I feel much more respected here. That’s a big difference. I didn’t have that feeling here, especially at the end. Maybe they were right. Just time is going to show who made the mistake, right?" The Avalanche came out in this game and didn't carry the play early as they had in the first couple of games. In fact by the end of the second period they were fortunate to be tied at 1 having been outshot 30-14 including 19-7 in the 2nd. Varly was sharp again, though giving up some rebounds, and the first Jacket goal come from a horrible turnover by McClemment and Varly nearly bailed him out with an initial save on Nash similar to the Lucic one but the puck dropped and he couldn't stop the rebound. As stated on NHL.com though, "the Blue Jackets went the last 18:44 of the third period and the next 22:36 including overtime without a shot" so you can see that despite giving up a goal on the first and only Jacket shot early in the third the Avs really carried the play and dominated the third period, outshooting them 16-1. The pressure despite powerplays wasn't paying off with goals though until a late shot by Hejda which changed direction off a screening Landaskog found the back of the net. On the ice was again the Avs third line, and Sacco of that line stated "That line of (Landeskog, Ryan O'Reilly and Daniel Winnik) deserved to be on the ice at the end. They've been so good these first three games, you had no chance but to keep putting them out there." The overtime didn't result in a winner so off to the shootout where Nash first beat Varly with a good move and shot, then Hejduk tied things with a perfect shot over the glove as Avs fans have seen so many times. A pretty goal by Duchene and two stops by Varly later and the Avalanche had their second win of the season. Again O'Reilly looked very strong and was a leader in ice time once again. The powerplay has yet to score and hasn't looked good including during the nearly 2 minute 4 on 3, but the penalty kill is still perfect. The top two lines really need to start producing more for the Avalanche however to spark the offense which now has 3 goals in 3 games. Varly was 1st star for the second game in a row after being third star against Detroit. Landeskog is now the youngest Swede to score in the NHL beating Hedman by 28 days, and I found it funny that NHL.com's recap didn't have a picture for third star Landeskog. Tonight's third 'A' was worn by McClemment, but I don't see that happening again especially with the turnover that led to the goal. O'Reilly would be my pick for the 'A' in the Ottawa game.
vs. Senators : JS Giguere got his first start for the Avs facing off against the man that gave up on the team, Craig Anderson. The Avs looked to continue Anderson's poor start by adding to the 12 goals in 8 periods of hockey he's already given up this season and succeeded putting 7 past him in the game. Six players had goals including another for Landeskog, Duchene's first, and Lindstrom with a pair in his first game after taking Mueller's spot in the lineup. Giguere wasn't tested much as the Avalanche dominated throughout the game. EJ got the third 'A' for the team again this game. The O'Reilly, Winnik, Landeskog line was again one of the team's best, O'Reilly with a great takeaway leading to Landy's goal and Winnik with a shortie. The new big defense looks good and capable of controlling games, and the third line has looked like the team's first line. The risk taken on goalies and the price paid looks good early in the season. This team started strong last year as well, but already there are a number of areas where this team looks better than the team did at the beginning of last year.
Prospects : There aren't a lot of prospects to mention, but the goalies seem to be a bit of an enigma. Aittikallio who had a pretty good camp has gone back to Europe and hasn't played well losing both starts and having a poor save and GAA stat, and Pickard is struggling a bit facing over 40 shots a game once again in Seattle. However Millan and Patterson, the other Avs goalie prospects, have a 1.000 SV% and 0 GAA in their three combined games early in the NCAA season. Still early though. Seimens, without Elliot beside him, seems to be doing pretty well on his own though as the new Blades captain having 2 goals and 5 assists in the first 6 games. Nermark on the other hand is pointless in his first 9 this season. The Monsters have gotten good goaltending but lost their first two games 2-1 and 1-0 having a handful of forwards starting the season injured.
Kobasew on the top line : Many people expected Kobasew to play in the bottom 6 this year and were shocked when he was lined up with Stastny and Jones on the top line. In fact NBC Joe Yerden even made fun of the Avalanche and Sacco in an article he wrote claiming that the Avalanche have a "video game-like setup" with all the potential from forwards they have and criticizes Sacco placing him in the top lines (http://prohockeytalk.nbcsports.com/2011/10/04/is-chuck-kobasew-a-top-six-forward-he-is-in-colorado/). However through a couple games Kobasew has shown drive and good ability and has looked like he fits on that line but that line as a whole hasn't produced much. It is still too early to tell if Sacco made a good choice here or not.
Johnson on headshots : The Washington Post (http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/capitals/nhl-opts-not-to-ban-all-head-hits-but-case-by-case-reviews-leave-many-players-wondering/2011/10/03/gIQAOZkRIL_story.html) recently had an article regarding head shots in the game and defenseman Eric Johnson (among others) put in his two cents. To quote the article... "“If the head is the principle point of contact, you’re going to hear about it, get a fine or a suspension,” Johnson said as he prepared for a new season and a new focus on avoiding concussions. “I think it’s starting to get ingrained in people’s minds now. ... With all these suspensions handed out and guys losing money over it, guys aren’t going to do those plays anymore. For one, they hurt their team. (And) it hurts the league when guys are out with head injuries.”" I believe that Johnson is right and in the games I've seen thus far you can see some instances where a guy would have laid into a guy in the past but this year slows up or changes direction to miss contact altogether.
Other news : Former Avs Goalie John Grahame has joined the Colorado Thunderbirds as the Tier I, triple-A organization’s goalie coach. The one-time Avalanche backup netminder, who played the past two seasons for Colorado’s AHL affiliate, joins Adam Foote, Joe Sakic and Pierre Turgeon as former Avs/NHLers coaching for the T-Birds. (per Denver Post) The irony in this is that the Avalanche are one of few, if not the only, team without a fulltime goalie coach still.
Desjardins new mask has been revealed as well. A crazy psycho Santa in addition to the Yeti which is a staple in Avalanche masks it seems. http://ingoalmag.com/masks/cedrick-dejardins-colorado-avalanche-mask/
Interesting Team stats through 4 : O'Reilly leads the team with 4 points, and Landeskog is among four players tied for second with 3. Landeskog leads the team with 16 shots. Winnik leads the team forwards in ice time per game, and O'Reilly is only seconds behind Stastny and Hejduk. Duchene, Stastny and O'Reilly are all 50% or better on faceoffs. The Avs goalies thus far have only given up 5 goals in 4 games thus far.
Contract Statuses : After this year only 5 skaters (Stastny, Landeskog, Hejda, Kobasew, O'Byrne) and the two goalies are under contract next season currently. An important list of RFAs need re-signed, including Duchene, O'Reilly, EJ, Quincey, and Galiardi (plus 4 others from the opening night roster).
There are a number of sources I want to credit with getting my information, beyond watching games and the usual suspects like the paper and the NHL website. Here they are...
www.milehighhockey.com - regular source of great information and a great Avalanche community with many incredibly informative and entertaining members
www.theavalancheguild.com & thegoalieguild.com - also great sources, especially the goaltending knowledge shared by Justin Goldman
www.coloradoavalancheprospects.com - Jori (I hope I got that right) does an incredible job following all the Avalanche prospects and making regular posts with game recaps, signings, and other such information.
jibblescribbits.com - Jibblescribbits is a man who posts and follows the Avalanche and even was on the first DenverPost hockey podcast by Adrian Dater, though he prefers to remain anonymous and go by this name.
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