The disembodied voices on the trains at Denver International Airport have always had a connection to the Avalanche. For as long as I can remember, Kerry Burnham, better known by his stage name of “Alan Roach”, has boomed his basso profundo pipes at people who ride the trains to and from the terminals at DIA.

Longtime DIA travelers know some of Roach’s lines by heart: “YOU are the delaying the departure of this train.” “Hoooold on please.” While Roach still handles the outbound trains, the “Welcome to Denver” final message to incoming passengers has become a smorgasbord of various greeters. For years, Ch. 9’s Adele Arakawa’s taped message did the job, but now various Denver illuminates do it – and it’s become a highly-sought after gig. Because, think about it, it’s great advertising for the company of whoever’s doing it. You’ve got a daily captive audience of tens of thousands of visitors who now hear your message and with who you’re affiliated.

It’s the Colorado Avalanche’s turn to get that free DIA pub. Well, sort of.

Nathan MacKinnon just taped the new welcome-to-Denver greeting for the trains. He cites his affiliation with the Avs, of course, but the main objective of his greeting is to plug the fact that free outdoor skating is available to one and all, from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., through Jan. 7, at the Plaza at DEN – a rink that’s actually part of DIA now.

My favorite part of MacKinnon’s 19-second message: that Canadian accented “outdoor” (ooot) part.

See the message right here: