Colorado Avalanche Training Camp Preview

The offseason is finally over for the Colorado Avalanche as training camp is set to open tomorrow after a unique offseason dominated by the uncertainty of Val Nichushkin and Gabe Landeskog and the $13M price tag attached to them if they hit the lineup together at any point.

Heading into this training camp, the status of both Nichushkin (suspension) and Landeskog (knee surgery), as well as Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder surgery), means there is an unusual amount of uncertainty at the top of the Avalanche forward corps.

When the proceedings get underway this weekend from Family Sports Center, there are only four healthy forwards we know will be in Colorado’s top six (Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Jonathan Drouin, Casey Mittelstadt) and four we have confidence will be in the bottom six (Miles Wood, Ross Colton, Logan O’Connor, Parker Kelly).

Some quick math here leaves me with eight healthy forwards for 12 spots. That’s a lot of competition for a training camp and preseason to settle.

On the other side of that, however, is a defense that, to our knowledge, is healthy all the way down the lineup and both goaltenders appear ready to go.

That leaves a lot of fun storylines to delve into. Let’s get into them.

Cal Ritchie, the next Avalanche star center?

The hype around the 19-year-old Ritchie has been building ever since he got back onto the ice for the Oshawa Generals of the OHL last year. A shoulder injury that he played through during his draft year was the primary reason he slipped as late as he did in the first round and then kept him out of on-ice preseason work last year.

Upon returning, he starred for the Generals and notched 80 points in 50 games played. He is coming off registering four points in two games at the Rookie Faceoff in Los Angeles over the weekend.

Heading into his first pro camp, the expectations for Ritchie have skyrocketed after he put on 17 pounds and spent a large portion of his summer in Denver after the club expressed interest in him doing so.

The Avalanche obviously believe Ritchie has a legitimate shot at the opening-night roster. Because of his age and OHL link, he is ineligible for the AHL this season. The Avs can give him a nine-game look before deciding to send him back or keep him for the season.

Where Ritchie might play is an increasingly interesting conversation, however. Before the Avs signed Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to a PTO, the best options the Avs had for their opening at fourth-line center were Ritchie and veteran Chris Wagner.

Now, with Bellemare looking to secure that job (and a contract), the conversation about where Ritchie fits will be more interesting. If Bellemare does lock up that job, the Avs have their four center spots secured, at least at first blush. MacKinnon, Mittelstadt, Colton, and Bellemare is a solid group to start with if the Avs so choose.

That would push Ritchie, a center by trade, to the wing. He could move anywhere in the lineup, from the first line alongside MacKinnon to the fourth line. As a right-shot, Ritchie could reasonably go anywhere.

The dark horse pick here is that Ritchie finds a home as Colorado’s 3C, moving Colton to the wing in the top six while they await the returns of Lehkonen, Nichushkin, and Landeskog. Colton spent most of his time in Tampa Bay as a wing, including plenty of time in their top six.

It is not unreasonable to think the Avs could lean on that experience while getting Ritchie’s feet wet at his natural position but in a slightly more sheltered role in the bottom six.

Ritchie working his way into full-time duty at center on an ELC could be a major value-add for the Avalanche for the next three seasons, so that has to at least be a temptation. If he eventually blows up, he could be in line to take Mittelstadt’s job someday (not this year, but someday).

For me, this is the top story of this preseason.

Lots of forward spots open to competition

As mentioned above, there are eight players that I have confidence will be among the 12 forwards when opening night hits. That goes to nine if the Avs give Bellemare a contract, but he still has to prove he can skate at an NHL level. The other players who have some kind of shot to make the initial roster is…large. By my count, I have:

• Joel Kiviranta
• Cal Ritchie
• Chris Wagner
• Nikolai Kovalenko
• Jason Polin
• Oskar Olausson
• Jean-Luc Foudy
• Jere Innala
• Matthew Phillips
• T.J. Tynan
• Ondrej Pavel
• Ivan Ivan

Certainly, there are some stretches on the list above and some I have more confidence in than others. Kovalenko, Kiviranta, and Ritchie all feel like smart bets.

There are openings in the top six, bottom six, at wing, and center. There are openings on the second PP unit and both PK units. Uncertainty is the only certainty right now. That might make for an uneasy approach to the season, but it makes for an interesting training camp battle.

A defense light on its feet, heavy on puck movers

The Avalanche said goodbye to Jack Johnson and replaced him with Calvin de Haan. If you’re a longtime reader of my work or listener to the podcast, you know that my reaction is, “Finally!”

I have been pounding the table for de Haan in Colorado because he is an excellent fit to replicate what Johnson did well while mitigating the growing number of pitfalls in Johnson’s game. The major question mark with de Haan is a lengthy injury history.

That might help inform why the Avalanche are 10-deep on the blueline right now.

Adding to the returning top-four defenders of Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Sam Girard, and Josh Manson are de Haan, Oliver Kylington, Erik Brannstrom, Sam Malinski, and new-old faces in Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen.

With 1-4 probably set to start the year and Malinski, MacDonald, and Rosen battling for 8-10, that leaves the trio of de Haan, Kylington, and Brannstrom to fight for the two spots on Colorado’s third pairing.

It’s fair to expect de Haan to have one of those spots. He’s a defensive ace who brings physicality, shot-blocking acumen, and a strong penalty-killing history.

That brings us to two of the most interesting signings of the entire offseason in Brannstrom and Kylington.

Both players are among the elite-skating defensemen in the NHL with strong puck-moving ability. Both are undersized and underperformed high expectations in previous stops.

Both also have strong underlying numbers that suggest a potential major breakout in Colorado’s system that rewards their type of defenseman. Both represent the kind of low-risk, high-reward reclamation project that has flourished so frequently in Colorado during the Jared Bednar era.

Neither player brings much in the way of physicality, though Kylington shows more willingness to battle in front of his net and Brannstrom is the better player along the wall. They are battling primarily with each other because as long as Girard is ensconced in the lineup, putting all three of them out there would make them very small and questionable defensively.

With the Avalanche up against the salary cap, I am curious if they try to sneak Malinski onto the roster as well. He is no longer waiver-exempt, meaning the Avs face a choice if they want to try to send him to the AHL. Carrying eight defensemen might mean the Avalanche can only carry 12 forwards.

Sorting out the uncertainty of that lineup will be not just be for training camp, but a season-long battle. This might be the swiftest-skating defensive Avalanche lineup ever constructed, but it is fair to wonder whether it is too soft and can hold up physically.

What’s the story with those goalies?

I’m glad you asked!

Right now, the goalies are set as Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen in the NHL with newcomer Kevin Mandolese joining Trent Miner in the AHL.

If that doesn’t give you a ton of confidence, you are not alone.

I am curious if this is really the group that the Avalanche enters training camp with. They love a good PTO surprise at the last minute and Martin Jones and Kevin Lankinen are both still out there in the free-agent market looking for work.

I know Avs fans are clamoring for the club to finally give Annunen a real shot at a job in the NHL, but I am currently unconvinced that is the plan. On the surface, Annunen getting rewarded with a two-year deal represented a show of faith from the team.

If you look a little deeper, however, you will see that the second year could serve as a poison pill of sorts. Teams are loathe to take on multiple years when taking players on waivers, so I am curious if that second year is the deterrent the Avs needed to get Annunen through waivers if they find an experienced backup they like more.

That could, of course, come in the form of a waiver claim. We saw that exact scenario play out last year with Ivan Prosvetov, except he wasn’t experienced (a la Jones or Lankinen).

I don’t have any inside information here, but until Annunen actually gets to opening night as Colorado’s 2G, I am on edge about what the Avs might have up their sleeve at this position. That depth chart suddenly looks much better if it goes

Georgiev
(Insert Veteran Guy)
Annunen
Mandolese
Miner

Without the veteran guy, it’s a very unproven group on paper. Color me skeptical, especially after seeing the impact of so much wear and tear on Georgiev throughout the year.