Rookie Camp Notebook: expectations before Game 1

Yesterday the rookies took to the ice at Family Sports Center for practice before heading to San Joe for the tournament. It was a nice way to set the scene before their first game against LA set to be streamed online at 3 PM MST. The Ontario Reign are a familiar foe of the Colorado Eagles in the Pacific Division, so there will be a host of familiar faces for LA in Quinton Byfield, Samuel Helenius, and Akil Thomas. Faces which are not to be underestimated.

LA will have 14 skaters with varying AHL experience in tonight’s contest as well as 3 with NHL games under their belt. Colorado’s prospect situation is a bit different, but it’s rich with opportunities for especially for organizational depth players.

Director of Player Development, Brian Willsie addressed the media following camp and explained some eligibility parameters.

“There are rules that we put together with the other teams: guys on entry-level contracts that aren’t in the NHL,” he said. “That’s why you’ll see Jean-Luc Foudy, Sampo Ranta, Justus Annunen. We don’t get any college guys because they’ve already started but get the junior guys and draft picks. Ivan Zhigalov will go back to his junior team, but he’s able to come. Obviously, this year’s a bit different because we don’t have many prospects of our own, so we got a lot of free agent invites out of here that are looking for opportunities.”

Having players at such varied levels definitely sets different personal goals for each player, but it can be boiled down to this: “Do what you do best. You’re here because someone in our organization has noticed you and liked you, so show that,” Willsie said.

“We’re developing less prospects now because we just don’t have many. That’s a consequence of going after it and bringing players like Manson and Lehkonen,” he added. “We really want to develop the players we have, and free agents like Ben Meyers are huge for us.”

The Avs have 9 drafted players competing in the tournament though the former undrafted college free agent feels like one of their own. After all, Colorado pursued Meyers hard after his college season ended and it was not for nothing.

“We were high on him all through his senior year at Minnesota. We’re fortunate he signed here with us and we have high expectations for him,” said Willsie.

Line Expectations

Line rushes from practice give a possible preview for Game 1, you can count on the top line remaining intact. It was the strongest by a wide margin largely driven by Meyers. He’s sure good. He demonstrated a leadership role in practice, was vocal with his linemates and was strong on both sides of the puck, moving through guys and creating space wherever he wanted.

Olausson – Meyers – Foudy

Ranta – Fizer – Beaucage

Tardif – Tsekos – McClennon

Wright – Klassen – Nagy 

Roersma – Englot – Stonehouse – Roest

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PP1: Olausson – Meyers –  Foudy – Beaucage – Orzeck

PP2: Ranta – Klassen – Fizer – Wright – Boutin

PK: Tardif – Tsekos – Aamodt – Zhuravlyov

Sampo Ranta Returns

Ranta’s line with Tarun Fizer and Alex Beaucage appeared the most comfortable in practice due to their familiarity with one another from their time with the Eagles and past rookie tournament. I liked Fizer’s development camp – reading guys and gelling quickly was a strength of his then. Beaucage also stood out for his vision and accuracy. Ranta’s contributions were important too and reinforced things that he has shown to do well.

Ranta in particular came to camp hungry.

“Make the Avalanche. That’s the goal,” he said. “Show the player that I am. Bring my best every day and earn a spot on the team.”

He said he was fully healthy after a foot injury kept him sidelined much of last season and spent the summer training and reflecting on the year he had.

“[I did] A lot of training on the ice, skill work. And in the gym too, getting faster and stronger. I feel like that’s part of my game: winning battles and being physical. Being a force out there. I did a lot of studying too, watching film, learning from other players, watching my old games, and learning little details to help me to make the team this year.”

Brian Willsie also touched on expectations for him now that he’s going into his second pro year. He wants to see him take control of the game.

“Protecting the puck and making plays off contact – someone like Gabriel Landeskog or Mikko Rantanen. That’s the model,” Willsie explained. “He’s such a big, strong player, so we’re looking for speed. The way the Avalanche and the Eagles play is a fast pace, transition game. Be a leader out there. Scoring some goals around the net, forechecking, forcing turnovers – that’s his game. We’re looking for another step.”

Ranta wasn’t afraid to play the body like a heat-seeking missile anytime someone had the puck. His commitment to engaging in battles earned him credit and his skating remains quick. He’s a strong puck carrier, but his decision-making once it’s on his stick still leaves some concern. He’s shooting and taking chances but didn’t seem to pose a high threat. This will be truly put to the test in real gameplay, so I am excited to see what he comes up with.

Oskar Olausson Impresses

Coming off a strong WJC and as the only first-round pick for Colorado, you really wanted to see Olausson pop on day 1. The strengths observed in his WJCs when his game was on were present in practice: getting to the dangerous areas, good zone entries, and the high-end shot that makes him special. He’ll be a thorn in the opposition’s side this weekend if he maintains that pace. Some of the loudest cheers of practice came after he fired a shot from the circle and in.

It’s the kind of shot that dazzles people into wishing him into an NHL lineup tomorrow, but the rest of his game is still getting there. He’ll be a first-year pro and according to Willsie his timeline is set by him.

“Some players ascend quicker in their development and some take a bit longer. In the next month he’ll show to us where he belongs [that is] best for his development.”

To get him there, he will work on the details of his game: things like defensive reliability, tracking, and stick positioning.

Expectations

Practice placed an emphasis on working the defensive sides of the game, board battles, and d-zone breakouts. The forward group has a lot of scoring upside – that third line of Ben Tardif, Zach Tsekos, and Connor McClennon is belligerent (in a good way). The d-line is made up of just a bit more unknowns, so I think the heavy D focus from practice is to mitigate a foreseeable risk. Players did stand out: Nate Clurman, Wyatt Aamodt was to my expectation (I like him. He’s as advertised.), and Danila Zhuravlyov already looked more settled from development camp in July.

The generous pro-experience on LA’s side is probably going to test some of Colorado’s invites straight from juniors in particular. It is great experience and can also be influenced by whoever gets the start in net: Annunen, Miner, or Zhigalov who looked a bit raw in practice.