IRVINE, Calif. – When the Avalanche were given the distinction of having the second-best farm system in the NHL according to Corey Pronman of The Athletic, it was largely due to the presence of high-end talent.

Because they haven’t graduated any top prospects in a few years, there’s now a nice collection of top young players converging at the top of Colorado’s farm system. While Cale Makar gets all the accolades, Bowen Byram gets the ‘shiny new object’ bump and Conor Timmins has the tale of redemption that always captures the imagination.

Frequently lost in the shuffle is Shane Bowers, a first-round selection of the Ottawa Senators in 2018. After two relatively quiet seasons at Boston University, Bowers turned pro in the spring and is likely slated for action with the Colorado Eagles this fall.

While there’s much to be excited about in the future, Bowers still finds himself appreciating that he is now playing hockey for a living.

“You dream as a kid to be a pro hockey player,” Bowers said. “Whether it’s the NHL or AHL, wherever you’re playing, you’re playing the sport you grew up loving as a job. Every day you come to work, it’s your job but when you have fun doing something every day it makes it pretty easy.”

Money has a way of changing people and this is never more obvious than pro athletes, who eventually work their way from playing for free in college to making more money in a year than most people and sliding into the highest tax bracket. Even with the influx of cash, Bowers says he isn’t looking to change who he is.

“It’s funny,” he began. “You never see that type of money before and then you get your signing bonus. It’s exciting. You want to buy stuff but that money definitely doesn’t last forever. It’s just a small side of things.”

Instead of splashing the cash around town, Bowers has taken a more practical approach with his new financial situation, at least for now.

“I haven’t really spent anything,” he said. “I wanted to but I never really pulled the trigger. Nothing really sticks out to me. Just wait, maybe buy a car when the time comes.”

His grounded approach has brought him out to California, where the Avalanche finished up their second game of the Rookie Faceoff with a 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings.

After playing in the first two games, Bowers has a goal and an assist to go along with six shots on goal. The second game was a significantly stiffer challenge as Colorado faced a loaded Kings lineup while also removing some of their own top players following Saturday’s 5-2 win over Vegas.

“The pace is increasing each game,” Bowers said. “They outworked us for about half of that game today and the score kind of showed. I think we had a good push in the start of the second and later on but just couldn’t find the back of the net.”

As the game against the Kings wore on and the score disparity increased, Bowers saw even more ice time and continued to compete.

“I’m just going to take the ice I get when I get the opportunity and try to make the most of it and make the plays when the plays are there and do what needs to be done each shift,” he said. “Just taking it shift by shift and whenever I get an opportunity, try to make the most of it.”

That attitude certainly caught the eye of Eagles head coach Greg Cronin, who is also out here coaching this team while Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar watches from the stands.

“I like the way he played when we were losing the game by several goals,” Cronin said. “He keeps competing and you can tell he’s got a lot of pride and is self-motivated.”

While there were some iffy moments from Bowers along the way, it’s obvious to everyone that at least one part of his game is NHL-caliber right now.

“His skating sticks out, right?” Cronin asked. “So he’s real visible. Anybody could walk into an arena and watch him skate and he stands out. That’s what your eyes get glued to – the speed.

The skating is where Bowers sees himself fitting in with the identity Colorado has actively built in the last several years as they moved away from a bigger, tougher kind of team to one that wants to skate opposing teams into the ground.

“You look at [Colorado’s] lineup and everyone can skate, everyone plays with speed and makes quicks plays and they’re trending as a younger team,” Bowers said. “I think with my speed, my skill set, hopefully, one day I can impact the lineup and make a difference for the Avalanche.”

Where Bowers ultimately fits in is still up in the air as he hasn’t proven anything yet and faces a loaded depth chart at the NHL level as he tries to find a role in the organization.

“I think he’s going to be a work in progress in terms of what he translates to in the organization,” Cronin said. “But certainly when you have a guy that can skate like that, in a league that’s now celebrating speed, he’s going to have an impact.”

While his speed on the ice is not in question, just how fast he ascends to the status as an NHL regular is. A continued strong showing out here and in training camp next week could go a long way towards accelerating that timeline.

GAME OBSERVATIONS

• Bowers was good two-way but his offensive ceiling has always been the biggest question mark regarding his ceiling as an NHL player. With Colorado going 0/7 on the power play today and Bowers being one of the players with the most puck touches, he certainly didn’t take the opportunity to smash those doubts.
• I really liked the work Bowers did on the penalty kill. He’s aggressive in challenging shooters and attacking passing lanes and when he gets the puck he looks to make a play before resigning himself to firing the puck down the ice. I love that kind of hockey sense.
• Nick Henry is rock solid. He’s not an NHL player yet but I think he could be a perfect Matt Nieto replacement in a year.
• Igor Shvyrev was a standout again for me today. There were some mistakes, especially when he was trying to make a few passes he shouldn’t have been, but he’s shown way more physical toughness than I expected to see from him. His slick passing and good vision have always been staples of his game but he’s taken several hits to make plays with the puck and has not been shy about getting involved physically on defense.
• Bowen Byram wasn’t the same kind of force to be reckoned with today but he almost looked like a fish out of water. I think he’s one of those kids who elevates his game the more talented the players on the ice (of both teams).
• Luka Burzan had one goal on five shots in the first game and followed it up with another six shots on goal today. 11 shots in two games is certainly one way to stand out to your organization. That’s a lot of rubber he’s slinging.
• Colorado’s defense was a straight disaster collectively today. Way too many mistakes.
• Trent Miner played the entire game and got hung out to dry on some of the six goals against but would probably like to have a couple of them back.
• Adam Werner was nursing a minor injury but he is expected to play Tuesday in Colorado’s final game.