Avs-Stars Preseason Game 1 Studs & Duds

The Colorado Avalanche opened their preseason with a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. Here are the Studs and Duds from the game.

Studs

Matthew Phillips/T.J. Tynan

I tweeted about these two during training camp and said they were going to be revelations for the Colorado Eagles this year. They clicked wonderfully in their first game action together and were two of Colorado’s best and most active forwards. They combined for a beautiful passing play on the first Avs goal of the game, finished by Phillips.

The unfortunate reality here is both players are too limited by their diminutive stature and that will hold them back from using their high skill level to push for significant NHL ice time. They were awesome last night, however, and I would expect them to stick together moving forward.

Nikita Prishchepov

Drafted 217th overall in last summer’s NHL Draft, Prishchepov is the rare late-round draft pick pushing for a pro career right now. That’s because he’s already 20 years old and is facing the prospect of possibly going back to the QMJHL for an overage season.

That path has not worked out well for previous Avalanche draft picks, but the success last season of Ivan Ivan on an AHL contract that became an ELC in March might be what the Avs should try to replicate with Prishchepov.

I say all of this because he was very good last night. He attacked on the forecheck, showed great hockey sense, and his work rate was among the highest in the game for the Avalanche. It was his forecheck that caused the turnover that led to the Phillips goal and he created several more chances as the game wore on.

It was only one game, of course, but it was the kind of performance that made you take notice. An AHL deal would not count against Colorado’s 50 contract limit, at which they are currently only at 42 anyway. I hope we see Prishchepov play the second preseason game and if we get a similar performance, this conversation needs to get louder.

Erik Brannstrom

There was a lot of variance in Brannstrom’s game, but the good was great. His lateral mobility is excellent, giving him latitude to maintain an aggressive gap, especially at the blueline where the Avalanche like to stifle play. We saw that and quality play along the boards from Brannstrom as the night wore on.

What we didn’t see was a player comfortable on the power play. Given his puck-moving reputation, just how bad it was with him trying to carry the puck on the man advantage was striking. That part of his game was disappointing, but there was a lot there to like elsewhere.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

After arguably the strongest camp performance from a PTO since Jack Skille, all Bellemare had to do was not put forth a disastrous performance in an actual game to secure his contract.

Consider that box checked as Bellemare was the best player on his line (with Joel Kiviranta and Jason Polin). He won faceoffs, played well defensively, and kept his game simple. All of that is Bellemare’s bread and butter and he did exactly as you’d like to see.

Combine his on-ice exploits with the intangibles (he wore an “A” on his chest), and it’s clear this is headed towards Bellemare getting a contract and becoming the fourth-line center once again. At 39, this is an impressive and emphatic answer of the questions that forced him to a PTO in the first place.

Cal Ritchie

I didn’t love Ritchie’s game, but I did love that as the game ended up tied in the third period, he seemed to get better. We saw the pace issues that he will surely struggle with until his skating improves a bit, but we also saw all of the things that make Ritchie Colorado’s top prospect.

His hockey sense was on full display as he was a creative and willing playmaker for his linemates, sometimes to a fault. He had more opportunities to shoot and literally passed them up trying to make a play, but he did end up with a good-luck goal when a cross-crease pass was deflected into the net by a Stars defenseman.

Ritchie also won faceoffs and handled defensive responsibilities at the pivot and did well. While the Avs are spoken for at the center spot if we’re assuming Bellemare gets a contract, injuries are always a thing and if Ritchie can prove enough to get a look at wing, he could be a fill-in option if something arises.

It was a solid start for Ritchie. He has more to prove, but he continues to pass the tests provided to him to earn another chance.

Duds

Oliver Kylington

I mentioned this on the postgame podcast, but Kylington’s recovery was great. The problem was that too often his recovery was necessitated by mistakes he made in the first place. Combine that with a total willingness to cede his own blueline, and I came out of this game thinking Kylington had lost the first head-to-head battle for playing time with Brannstrom.

On the other end of the ice, his puck-moving did not impress much and he failed on multiple occasions to get pucks deep and it turned into opportunities for the Stars the other way. I know Kylington has had a lot of off-ice chaos lately so I’m not going to ding him too much for the first game, but in the “every day counts” mindset, this was not a great outing.

The other defensemen

Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen struggled with turnovers, most notably one absolutely brutal one by MacDonald up the middle of the ice that could have easily been a free goal for the Stars.

Keaton Middleton’s limitations were easy for all to see. He’s too slow for NHL hockey and his puck-moving ability is far too limited to be counted upon. The physicality that is supposed to be his calling card did not really factor in.

The only other defender in the game was Sean Behrens and I thought he was decent, so I’m not counting him as either a Stud or Dud.

Unsung Hero

Matt Stienburg

I loved Stenburg’s game. He was feisty, physical, and involved all over the ice. The skill level just isn’t there for me in a fight for the NHL as he is clearly not as good with the puck as Jason Polin, but he does a lot of the little stuff very well.

He’s always been a pest and that was the appeal when the Avs drafted him way back in 2019. A hard-nosed player who attacks with reckless abandon, Stienburg also is a contributor to the penalty kill.

Again, I don’t think he’s in the fight for the NHL, but I wanted to give him flowers for an eventful evening.