The Colorado Eagles finally returned home last weekend to Budweiser Events Center following a four-game road trip. The Eagles snagged their first win against the Henderson Silver Knights on Saturday after being swept by them earlier this season.

The Knights were a bit depleted with many of their players called up to their NHL affiliate. To pivot around this, Henderson hunkered down and played a strong, defensive game.

Not to be outdone by the large, physical defense, Knights’ goaltender Logan Thompson put on a clinic stopping 73 of 77 shots all weekend.

This proved to be a challenge for the fast, offense-driven Eagles, but they worked hard every shift. The Eagles lost 3-2 on night one and earned a tight, 2-1 win on night two. There is a lot to keep an eye on in this lineup.

For much of the weekend, it was an “all hands on deck” sort of situation. Every player had a series of on-ice assignments and to miss even one was costly.

“When you can’t match size and strength, you gotta’ use quickness and strategy and I thought we did a pretty good job of that,” head coach Greg Cronin said.

The Eagles have a competitive top line in Dylan Sikura, Mikhail Maltsev, and Sampo Ranta. Friday night, down by one goal in the third, Cronin unleashed Maltsev in just about every scenario imaginable – throwing everything but the kitchen sink at the Knights in an admirable attempt to quash the deficit.

“When he plays well, he’s skating, he’s hot on pucks, he’s winning puck battles. You can’t miss him because he’s a big, strong guy,” Cronin explained.

Maltsev’s play is not without intrigue. His brief call-up opportunity on the heels of an encouraging preseason left many wondering what might be next. His excellent play on Friday – scoring a goal on the powerplay and creating many chances – earned him a heightened role in the third period.

What kinds of messages is Cronin sending to Maltsev in a situation like this?

“Just playing faster, shoot more, and dominate on the ice – that’s it,” Maltsev said.

My eye test alone had him winning a competitive number of faceoffs at critical moments in the game. Maltsev is on the top powerplay unit for a reason – he has 12 points in 13 games, six of which came on the powerplay. Colorado’s powerplay is among the top ten in the league right now.

He shows promise. He’s creative in the offensive zone and has the physicality to win battles if he sets his mind to it.

“He’s gotta play with a little bit more pace,” Cronin advised. “He’s a big strong kid and sometimes he plays at kind of a casual pace and we’re trying to get more energy out of him.”

Maltsev reiterated similar sentiments in the feedback he received from his agent after his first call-up experience with the Avalanche.

“To play with more pace, to play quicker,” Maltsev reiterated. “This is a playoff-contending team, they want to see the Stanley Cup. I have to be better.”

Much of Maltsev’s game will benefit from experience too. Misreads in the neutral zone, as we saw in the Tampa Bay game, remain a concern. He’s able-bodied but loses battles someone his size shouldn’t. Playing alongside a teammate like Ranta could really benefit Maltsev’s game.

Ranta’s speed is undeniable and his tenacity to take on the board battles grants him more puck touches. With Maltsev’s innovation and vision and Sikura and Ranta on wing, this line could really push one another.

What is Cronin’s vision for Ranta?

“Well he’s obviously a very prized prospect and he was up in the NHL,” Cronin said. Our challenge with him is to get him to be responsible defensively and then add some offense. It’s all gonna start. He’s like a 3rd line or 4th line NHL player, so he’s gotta be reliable defensively and we’re working on that and then [to] chip in offensively.”

Cronin noted the similarities between what Ranta and Maltsev can expect to work on.

The fear with a talent like Maltsev is a failure to launch. He requires proper development and there’s no need to rush. As his confidence continues to grow, the hope is an energized player who is unafraid to take up space and play with a bit more edge.

Mikhail Maltsev is brimming with the potential to become a bit of a menace. So what happens next?

According to Maltsev, “Just keep playing well, trying hard, and waiting for my chance.”

Other notables from the series include the Colorado Eagles defense:

Dennis Gilbert, a second-year Eagle who has seen a fair amount of NHL play, has been creating more scoring chances than I’d expect for his size with 8 points in 14 games – all outside of the powerplay which he is being optioned for on PP2. 

His effort was some of the most apparent for the entire series. It was exciting to see him paired with the newly returned Justin Barron for game two. I liked this pairing because of the energy and experience of Gilbert combined with the offensive upside both provide.

Justin Barron spent time with Jacob MacDonald on Friday. This was not a bad pairing, but it was clear Barron was shaking off a little rust in night one and Gilbert’s energy seemed to invigorate him in a nice way.

Barron’s defensive game is continuing to improve – he’s seeing opportunity on special teams with a lot of responsibility on the penalty kill. 

Jordan Gross, another standout defenseman in this series, has 13 points in 15 games (5 PPA) and is on the top powerplay unit for obvious reasons. He was one of the four different goal scorers and walked away with two points.

The “all hands on deck” situation had the Eagles d-corps hustling to create offensive opportunities. The Eagles defense contributed two goals and three assists combined this weekend. In a low-scoring series, this kind of effort is critical. They definitely understood their assignments.

Up next is another weekend series at home against the Stockton Heat fresh off the Thanksgiving holiday.