Calle Rosen's push for a job on Colorado's defense has begun

Getting traded is a weird experience.

Players always describe it as a whirlwind, one that includes upheaval of your daily life and where you call home.

For Calle Rosen, the shock came in the middle of the night, a three AM phone call that woke him from slumber and kept him awake the rest of the night.

Colorado? The Avalanche?

“It was a lot of Googling the first day,” Rosen said. “‘Where is Denver in the US?’ I didn’t know a lot but I heard a lot of things from agents and people around it’s a nice place and a good group of guys. So far, everything is true.”

One thing Rosen knew for sure when he arrived in Denver was he had his work cut out for him. Between familiar faces (Mark Barberio and Ryan Graves), highly-drafted faces (Bowen Byram), and fellow trade acquisition Kevin Connauton, the competition for Rosen to make the Avalanche roster was going to be intense.

Not a problem.

“I’ve been in the same situation the last two years in Toronto,” Rosen said. “It’s fun with competition. It’s hard and it really forces you to be focused and do your best every day.”

Those days gave way to today, the first game in which Rosen was set to play for the Avalanche. It was obvious how much more comfortable he has gotten just in the last week of being in Denver.

“I feel good,” Rosen said smiling. “For sure I know a whole lot more know now how everything works around here so I’m real excited.”

“Excited” is the word Rosen used the most in training camp, before the game today, and after his Avalanche debut. For him, it’s all about the opportunity.

“I’m just excited to get the chance,” Rosen said. “Just keep working every day, do the same thing that I’ve been doing the last two years. That’s fight It’s for my spot in the lineup and play my game. That’s all I can do. Whatever the lineup is doesn’t matter. It’s up to me.

Rosen had spent his training camp next to Bowen Byram, raising the possibility the two play together in the NHL at some point. Seeing Byram up close has given Rosen an appreciation for how talented the teenager is and finds his love of the game infectious.

“It’s a lot of fun to see all the small things he does,” Rosen said. “For being that young…I played with a lot of young guys last year in Toronto, just to see those guy’s commitment to everything and how they want to be better and the fun they have every time they come to the rink. It’s a lot of fun to see Byram here.”

Rosen got into his first game tonight in Colorado’s 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. He logged 17:03 of ice time, including 2:53 on the penalty kill, and overall looked like he belonged.

Head coach Jared Bednar was a bigger fan of Rosen’s game than even Rosen, saying “I thought tonight he was pretty good and he fit in nicely with our group.”

Rosen was a bit tougher on his own game.

“Okay,” he said of his own performance. “Some up and downs, usually like the first game is. I think I skated a lot and had some good defensive details in the game today but I wish I could have handled the puck a little bit better.”

After playing with Byram in camp, Rosen found himself next to Barberio tonight. It was a chance to show directly what he can bring the Avalanche versus the veteran Barberio, who was shaky again for the second straight game.

Rosen wasn’t getting too moved either direction about his play, recognizing it was just the first time he had seen the ice.

“It’s always hard to find timing the first few games,” he said. I’ll just keep working and it was the first game for everyone here. Just give us a few more practices and games and we’ll be fine.”

What will help push Rosen forward in this battle for playing time?

“You have to use everything,” he said. “All the defensive details need to be better and can’t have any shifts off and that’s something we all need to think about especially as the regular season is starting to close in.”

There might be two weeks until opening night but there are only four games remaining on Colorado’s preseason schedule. If Rosen is going to win a job, his play is going to need to take a permanent step forward in the limited appearances he has remaining.

TAKEAWAYS

• Bednar mentioned postgame that he liked Byram’s game and felt him getting better. I disagree there and feel he’s just too raw. There are little flashes of brilliance but I’m settling on the idea that he would be best served to return to the WHL for one last season. It’s still early enough, I suppose, but he needs to flash in these final preseason games.
• Barberio was a roller coaster tonight. I liked his aggression offensively as he had eight shot attempts, five on goal. That was great. His defensive game was a bit messier and more reminiscent of the uneven player who struggled to find a regular NHL role before coming to Colorado.
• The instant chemistry between Matt Calvert and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is what you dream of when you sign a UFA. They have clicked right away and both looked great at even strength and together on the penalty kill.
• You could make the same case for Joonas Donskoi and Nazem Kadri, who should have recorded multiple points tonight. Donskoi, especially, jumped off the ice with his skill.
• The play of the Girard-Makar pairing tonight is what Avs fans should expect for this upcoming season. There were some great highlights such as Girard dusting Tye Felhaber in the corner and Makar’s shorthanded breakaway. There were also some moments where they looked overwhelmed in their own zone as they lost board battles for puck possession and watched them get it cycled on them a bit.
• Bednar said postgame it was Martin Kaut’s best game as an Av and it’s easy to agree. He was significantly better than two nights ago and the version of Kaut tonight could play in the NHL right now. If he finds that level consistently, Colorado won’t be able to keep him in the AHL all season, despite all the economic reasons to do so.
• Andre Burakovsky should be chomping at the bit to get another shot. His first look on Colorado’s top line was pretty underwhelming overall. He certainly has more to give as a player but isn’t that what Washington said all those years, too?
• Preseason results are way less important than their process and Colorado outshooting Dallas 47-23 is the kind of lopsided process you were expecting given Colorado’s veteran-laden roster against a weak Dallas lineup. The score was frustrating but that’s sports for you.
• Colorado finished 0/4 on the PP. Going back to the second game of the Anaheim Rookie Faceoff, the Avs are now 0/28 in their last four games. It’s still preseason but that’s something that requires further monitoring.