A new year brings greater expectations for Ryan Graves

When the Avalanche arrived at training camp last season, no one expected much from Ryan Graves, even the Avs coaching staff.

“There was no expectations for him last year,” Jared Bednar said on Sunday in his season opening press conference.

This year, things will be a little different. That’s a credit to Graves and what he did on and off the ice last season.

“I expect his job to be very similar to what he did last year for us. He was relied upon in a lot of key situations on the defensive side of the puck. He saw a lot of ice time playing with Cale and playing against top lines for opposing teams. I don’t see a lot of that changing.”

The departure of Patrik Nemeth the summer prior opened the door for Graves to play full-time, and after a really strong start, he got an opportunity to play with rookie star Cale Makar. He never looked back from there.

Even with the chemistry the two showed last year, Graves will not begin training camp paired with Makar. Newcomer Devon Toews will assume that role, with Graves beginning in a third pairing role with Ian Cole. That doesn’t mean anything is set in stone for the start of the season, however.

“He was, at the time, the best partner, we felt, for Cale Makar,” Bednar said of Graves. “Although he’s not paired with Cale to start, we’re not going to get locked into guys just only playing with their “D” partners. I think it will be a little bit more fluid than that now that our team is growing.”

Bednar admitted that Graves “probably took a little bit of a step back” in the playoffs, but reminded people that it was his first postseason and a unique situation with the bubble. Still, like all young players, they are looking for improvement this coming season.

“Like a lot of the guys on our team, it’s not major changes,” Bednar noted on what they want to see from Graves. “One of the things I think he can keep continuing to improve on is his quickness and his first few steps, and just awareness out on the ice.”

While the expectation is for Graves to continue to play a big role on this team in the defensive end, particularly the penalty kill, he did provide a surprising amount of offense to the team last year.

The nine even strength goals from Graves actually led all Avs defensemen during the 2019-20 campaign, besting his defensive partner Makar by a goal. The Avs are hoping that they can still get production from him, even if he may not get the offensive opportunities he did playing with Makar last season.

“He showed that he’s got the ability to help us on the offensive side of things,” Bednar said. “I thought we saw some real good instincts from him last year and hopefully that can continue.”

Graves will hit the ice with his Avalanche teammates for the first time on Monday afternoon 10:15 AM. Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, Avalanche training camp will be closed to the public. Stick with DNVR for coverage on Graves and his teammates all season long.