Avalanche development camp Day 1: Timmins, Byram, player analysis, and more

The first day of Avalanche development camp is in the books and boy have things changed. First off, the Avalanche put nameplates on the back of the jerseys for the first time ever so the days of squinting at the back of player helmets and trying to decipher who everyone was are clearly over.

The other noticeable difference in this year’s camp was simply…more. More speed, more size, more skill. Hell, even more storylines for guys like myself to sink our teeth into.

Conor Timmins was the primary storyline today, however, as he was a full participant in the on-ice sessions in both the morning and afternoon. Timmins wasn’t donning the familiar red (orange?) non-contact jersey he sported so frequently last season but instead wore a regular burgundy jersey to match the rest of his group.

It seemed Timmins was, finally, full steam ahead for the first time since he originally suffered the injury last year in the OHL Finals. Alas, Timmins changed the narrative again following the afternoon session.

“I think things are progressing well,” Timmins said. “Obviously, you don’t know how things are going to go with this kind of injury, so I’m just trying to take it day by day and work on getting better each day. I’m not officially fully cleared, but I’m just taking it day by day. We’re trying to kind of wrap things up as we go.”

As the development wraps up with a 3-on-3 game in Fort Collins on Friday, Timmins is hopeful he’s able to participate.

“It’s not really a full-contact event and I’m just trying to take it step by step, and that’s the next step,” he said. “Every day I take a step forward is a big step with this kind of injury. It’s been a while and just for me to get out there with the boys is really fun. I really enjoyed myself out there.”

The fear moving forward is the dreaded setback, which caused issues last year as he was preparing for training camp last summer.

“You don’t want to have setbacks at this point once you’ve come so far, so we’re still being cautious, we’re still being safe,” he said. “At the same time, you have to push yourself back into game situations.”

What that means for his availability this September when regular training camp opens up remains unclear but right now it’s all positives for Timmins. That he’s even allowed to talk with the media, something the Avalanche never allow unless a player is good to play, is an extremely encouraging sign.

This will continue to be a story to monitor heading into September.

Player thoughts

It’s a pretty jam-packed camp so I’ll keep my thoughts on players pretty brief until it’s all said and done and then likely expand a bit more.

– Timmins looked pretty damn solid to me. Good in different situations and a few plays he made with the puck would fit into Colorado’s current NHL blueline perfectly. He still has work to do on his skating but as long he’s healthy, I imagine an accelerated timeline for him this season, even after missing a year.

– I really liked what I saw from Martin Kaut. He just looks the part of an NHL player right now. Those broad shoulders are starting to fill out more and he maintained his happy-go-lucky demeanor throughout the day. The guy simply loves to play hockey.

– I was down on the pick last year but a good freshman season at Minnesota and a strong showing today really have me feeling the love for Sampo Ranta. He’s always going to look great in settings where he can skate and shoot freely. He did both today. A lot of both.

– I jokingly refer to Cam Morrison as ‘Colorado’s forgotten prospect’ because rarely does a player selected 40th overall get talked about so little. His anonymity is due to a couple of factors but his lack of major growth is one. He can still sure as hell shoot a puck, though. He wired a couple of elbow-in that remind you this could put up some pretty impressive goal-scoring numbers before he got to the offensive abyss that is Notre Dame. More on him below.

– Alex Newhook is an unbelievable skater. It was one thing to see on video but seeing it live is no joke. He might be the best skater they’ve drafted since Nathan MacKinnon. Yes, potentially better than Cale Makar. Newhook’s edgework, agility, and acceleration are simply ridiculous. He’s short but already stocky.

– The word that comes to mind when watching Shane Bowers is “polished.” He’s such a smart player and he has a mature approach even to just running drills. I can already feel Jared Bednar, who ran the afternoon session, developing a big love for him.

– I mentioned shooting above with Ranta and Morrison but it was a theme of this development camp, even with some of the invitees. Matthew Stienburg showed off a wicked backhander and a pretty nice release on a couple of wristers. Alex Beaucage ripped off a few wristers of his own while on the move that were showstoppers. Brandon Saigeon seems to get better by the day and he was damn impressive today. He deserves to be in line for an ELC.

– Drew Helleson struggled with conditioning (this is very common at this camp, especially for the kids just drafted) and had some problems in certain defensive drills but when they started pseudo-scrimmaging, his skillset jumped off the ice in a noticeable way. He’s a stout defender who doesn’t hesitate to knock an oncoming forward off the puck if he has the opportunity. I badly want to see him in some offensive situations to see what kind of puck skill he’s bringing to the table.

– Last but not least, the man they drafted fourth overall, Bowen Byram. He also struggled with conditioning (again, very common) but he was downright dominant in defensive drills and then straight embarrassed some of his fellow d-men when he got hold of the puck. He’s extremely exciting. More on him below.

Videos

I took some short videos of a few of the defensive drills today. I’ll try to get more of the forward group tomorrow but for now, here we have a handful of videos.

Camp invitee and current DU Pioneer Michael Davies up first:

47th overall pick last weekend Drew Helleson gets a turn:

Timmins protects the puck:

Here’s Helleson defending again:

I also caught the end of Bowen Byram doing some puckhandling:

Audio

Bowen Byram up first:

And lastly, a lengthy chat with Cam Morrison about his college career and signing with the Avs: