"Excellent" Shane Bowers is stealing the preseason show

On most days, Avs head coach Jared Bednar is very calm, and at least to the public, won’t praise a player too much.

On Sunday night, Bednar didn’t hold back. Shane Bowers has made quite the impression on him.

“I thought he was excellent both nights. Excellent.”

And that was just the beginning.

“Bigger, stronger, faster than he was last year,” Bednar continued. “You can see his personality. You saw it right away in the rookie tournament. Involved every shift. He’s a good player, he’s a really good player. I really like what we’ve seen from him so far. He handles himself really well in a bunch of different situations, and I like him a lot.”

Much like the Jelly of the Month club, the Matt Duchene trade has proven to be the gift that keeps on giving. The move that brought the Avs Samuel Girard, playoff legend Andrew Hammond, and Vladislav Kamenev is now seeing some of the other players acquired in the deal make waves in Bowers and fourth overall selection Bowen Byram.

Bowers, who was the 28th overall selection by the Ottawa Senators in the 2017 draft, is in just his first NHL training camp after leaving Boston University at the end of March. One of the standouts in the rookie tournament, he’s noticed the pace is always picking up.

“You get to main camp, it’s a whole other level,” Bowers told BSN Denver. “They’ve been pushing the pace and it’s been fun so far.”

By signing at the end of March, Bowers was able to get a small taste of what professional hockey is like. He played eight games for the Colorado Eagles before heading home for the summer to train. That small taste gave him an idea of what the pro level is like.

“You just know where you stand,” Bowers said after the Avs 3-2 preseason win over the Wild. “I got that taste of pro and know what I had to work on. I knew what areas I needed to improve on. I think that was a big advantage for me, getting that little sniff, that little taste there, at the end of the year so when I came to camp now, there would be no surprises.”

The coaching staff has not held back when it comes to opportunity with Bowers. In his two preseason games, he’s been used in all situations, playing over six minutes on the power play on Saturday night, and getting shifts on the penalty kill in both of his games. On Sunday night, he was out there in overtime and came very close to ending it with an Alex Stalock poke check preventing him from scoring.

That sort of trust can only make you feel better.

“Yeah, for sure,” Bowers said when asked if that trust is giving him confidence. “I’m definitely getting the opportunity and I’m just trying to make the most of it, and show I can be in all those situations.”

After Sunday’s game, the Avalanche made a few more cuts to get down to 37 players. Bowers was not one of them.

If he keeps it up, he may not have to worry about being cut at all.