Avalanche prospects impress in Rookie Showcase

Over the weekend the Colorado Avalanche rookie roster went undefeated against prospect teams from the Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks in the franchise’s inaugural rookie showcase tournament. While the majority of the team showed well in their two weekend victories, today we’ll take a look at a few players who stood out for the right and wrong reasons.

Standouts:

Spencer Martin

The Avalanche’s top goalie prospect stopped 40 of the 42 shots he faced throughout the weekend and it would be impossible to fault him for either of the two goals he surrendered. Both goals: one, a backdoor tap in on an odd man rush and the other, a rebound goal after Cody Corbett slid into the Avalanche goaltender.

Through 90 minutes of play, Martin showed a lot of pluck for a young goaltender. He played his angles aggressively and battled through frequent contact to keep strong position inside of his crease and often made difficult saves despite chaos in front of his own net. Martin is growing quickly as a professional hockey player and if this weekend is any indication, he could put up a real fight for the starting job in San Antonio this season.

Troy Bourke

Troy Bourke only played one game in this weekend’s rookie showcase, but one game was all he needed to make an impression. The diminutive, 5’10″ winger flew up and down the ice like a little wrecking ball on skates, wreaking havoc wherever he went and advancing the puck in the process.While he didn’t pick up a point on the scoreboard, Bourke was part of

While he didn’t pick up a point on the scoreboard, Bourke was part of several quality scoring opportunities and his physical play helped to change the momentum of the game any time the Avalanche took their foot off the gas pedal. If nothing else, Bourke definitely won some new fans over with a great postgame interview.

Sam Henley

You could make a strong argument that Sam Henley was the Avalanche’s best forward in the two-day rookie showcase. The 6’5” AHL forward seemed to take very quickly to the team’s new systems and thrived providing puck support in the dirty areas of the ice. Henley played a patient, intelligent game all weekend but showed his best work on the penalty kill. The Avalanche took a slew of penalties in their two games but did not surrender a power play goal all weekend thanks, in large part to strong penalty killing from the likes of Spencer Martin, Shawn St-Amant, Travis Barron, and Sam Henley.

Henley played a patient, intelligent game all weekend but showed his best work on the penalty kill. The Avalanche took a slew of penalties in their two games but did not surrender a power play goal all weekend thanks, in large part to strong penalty killing from the likes of Spencer Martin, Shawn St-Amant, Travis Barron, and Sam Henley.

Shawn St-Amant

The Avalanche quietly added Shawn St-Amant to the San Antonio Rampage roster earlier this summer with an AHL contract. The 6’0” winger developed very slowly in the QMJHL, but had some significant success in that league nonetheless. In his rookie QMJHL season St-Amant scored just 20 points in 66 games en route to a QMJHL championship with the Val-d’Or Foreurs.

Three years later he scored a career high 23 goals and 57 points in 60 games, served as an alternate captain, and won the Guy Carbonneau Trophy for the QMJHL’s best defensive forward. St-Amant spent the weekend showing off those impressive defensive chops and played solid two-way hockey in all situations. By the end of the tournament when the Avalanche lost some players to injury, St-Amant even earned time on the top lines.

Chris Bigras

Without question, Chris Bigras was the most impressive and most impactful player on the ice for any team this weekend. The smooth skating defenseman did what he always does; using his feet to outmaneuver attackers and his game sense to anticipate the play at a high level and take away offensive opportunities before they can even begin.

Additionally, the more developed Bigras brought more sandpaper to his game than we’ve seen in years past. He appeared stronger this camp, overpowering larger players on the boards several times and even getting chippy when the game called for it.

Of course, Bigras’ weekend was punctuated by two massive slap shot goals from the left point, a part of his game that wasn’t up to NHL standards when he tried to make the Avalanche out of camp a year ago.

For anyone who thought Bigras was destined for the AHL this fall because of his waiver status, the 2013 2nd round pick appears driven to prove you wrong.

Honorable Mentions:

The Avs’ 7th round Travis Barron had a strong showcase playing the role of agitator, but left the tournament early after sustaining an injury on a shot block. Nicolas Meloche also showed well. While paired with Chris Bigras he played a cool and collected game, excelled under pressure on the breakout and even picked up a goal.

Mikko Rantanen, JT Compher, and Nikita Zadorov all displayed some impressive play this weekend but have been left off this list today for not “over achieving.” They showed as well as three NHL players in a rookie camp should, but didn’t do enough to change my expectations of them for them heading into the NHL season.

Players who struggled:

Cody Corbett

Cody Corbett’s struggles are nothing new for those who have watched him play before. Corbett has some nice offensive gifts, but his decision making and defensive play hold him back significantly at the AHL level and beyond. The defenseman picked up a pair of assists in Day 2 of the rookie showcase, but his defensive play was suspect all weekend.

All of Corbett’s warts were on display in one particular sequence where he turned the puck over in his own zone on the power play then went sliding into his goalie to try and stop the pass, but instead took his own goalie out of the play and surrendered a goal.

Josh Anderson

Everything that Avalanche fans were worried about was on display for the team’s 3rd round pick from earlier in the summer. Josh Anderson didn’t jump off the ice defensively, was routinely out-skated, and struggled with the puck. One has to hope that some of that is rust showing through as Anderson is returning from a long term injury, but for a player with a career high of just 6 points in the WHL, it’s a discouraging start.

Cole Sanford

The shifty little right wing recently earned an AHL contract with the San Antonio Rampage and has looked good in rookie camp where his speed and hands are on full display, but he really wilted under the physicality of the games this weekend.

Brogan O’Brien and Jackson Houck

They’re amateur tryouts so there’s nothing at stake for the Avalanche if they don’t perform, but for two guys fighting for a professional contract, you’d like to see more. Neither forward did enough to earn a real look at an AHL contract.