Avalanche winners and losers from the Anaheim Rookie Faceoff

IRVINE, Calif. – The games are over out here in California. The Avalanche went 1-2 in their three games, losing the last two while only managing to score one goal in those two games.

It’s certainly a disappointing overall result after an impressive 5-2 win against Vegas in their first game but the results of these things have never really mattered a ton. There were a fair amount of winners and losers from the experience as a whole for the organization so let’s just get to it.

Winners

1st Rounders

Shane Bowers played in all three games and was varying degrees of good to great in all of them. The questions about his offensive upside remain after he was a big part of a power play unit that went 0/11 in the final two games. His IQ and all-around game should mean heavy usage in Loveland this year.

Martin Kaut is just solid at everything. His skill level isn’t overwhelming but he makes everyone around him better by being so willing to fit into the team concept. He’s a subtle playmaker who could use a little more aggression in his game but he looks poised to have a good year.

Bowen Byram was great in his first game and a little more pedestrian in his second game out but overall flashed the way he should have. He may not be quite ready for the NHL but he’s close enough the team still has a tough decision on its hands.

Conor Timmins 

Him simply being on the ice makes him a winner here. After not playing in a competitive game since May 2018, Timmins played in games one and three and showed off what made him such an intriguing prospect to begin with.

The time off certainly cost him a little bit of his timing and that will come once he gets back to playing games regularly. The hockey IQ, vision, and puck distributing skills are all what appealed to Colorado on draft day in 2017 and they were all on display out here.

It’s going to take a little bit of time but he’s still teeming with top-four potential.

Nick Henry

Henry flies under the prospect radar just a bit because he was a mid-round selection and his D+1 year was all about him returning from the shoulder injury suffered in his draft year.

Since getting healthy, he’s been a stud and that continued out here. He played next to Bowers in all three games and showed off his shot in game one, scoring one goal and nearly getting a second before having to settle for the assist.

His skating is still a work in progress but he works hard and lays the body hard on the forecheck. He’s probably not a high-end guy in the NHL but a good year with the Eagles and he could begin pushing hard for a bottom-six job as early as next year.

Logan O’Connor

I’ve never been the biggest fan of LOC’s game but there’s no denying the results he put up last year for the Eagles. He was the captain of the squad out here and he looks primed for another solid year in the AHL.

His speed was consistently a problem for opponents and his aggression and confidence in winning battles really serves him well. He’s the ultimate try-hard.

His puck skills are still lacking and that’s where I think he’ll meet the hard ceiling and probably what keeps him from being an NHL regular but I really like the rest of what I saw.

Great Park Ice

This facility is amazing. The Ducks really have something nice on their hands with this practice facility. Full concessions, VIP areas, four ice rinks, actual seats in the stands, bleachers with backs, robust parking. Everything about it has been pleasant and the Ducks put on a first-class event over the course of the last four days.

Losers

Colorado’s other defensemen

Byram and Timmins shined brightly as expected at times and were just okay at other times but were clearly the two most talented guys they had on the blueline.

Josh Anderson can’t seem to go through one of these prospect showcases without punching someone and he got kicked out of the third game because of it. His turnover also led to Arizona’s only real goal of the game with a little gift right in front of his own net. Brutal showing from him.

The rest of the defenders had moments in some of the games but overall were way too sloppy in their own zone. I liked individual moments from Kevin Davis, Wyatt McLeod, and Peter Tischke but each also made a fair share of mistakes along the way.

Tischke’s giveaway that led to the ENG in the AZ game was the stuff of nightmares as he miscommunicated with Sasha Mutala in leaving the puck for him while Mutala skated away. Speaking of Mutala…

Sasha Mutala

It was a mess of four days for Mutala. His only reprieve came when they practiced on Monday morning and there were no in-game mistakes to make. His play through the first two games was poor overall but he was off to a strong start in the third game before taking a very irresponsible high-sticking penalty.

The rest of the game was up and down for him but ultimately it finished on a down note when Tischke left the puck in front of an empty Colorado net and Mutala didn’t seem to know it was coming as he skated away from it without realizing it was sitting there. The freebie sealed the deal for AZ and left Mutala with one final mistake to lament on the trip back to Colorado.

He’s so much better than he showed out here that you know he’ll bounce back eventually. It’s just too bad it went this way for him.

Frontier Airlines/California traffic

Be better, both of you. Damn.

That does it for me from California this week. I’ll be back in Denver with our newest team member (stay tuned!) at Media Day on Thursday where the focus will surely be on the one player who isn’t expected to be there – Mikko Rantanen.