Rookie Faceoff Game 2: Avs vs. Kraken - Studs and Duds

EL SEGUNDO, CA – The second day of the rookie faceoff concluded for the Avalanche in a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Seattle. Here are the games studs and duds.

STUDS

JASON POLIN

For the second game in a row Polin was the standout. Not only from the leadership angle but just his general presence on the ice. He was noticeable. Polin looked like a pro and played like a pro. His skating looks incredible and his ability to find open ice and put himself in positions to receive the puck led to the lone Avalanche goal and almost a second that was kept out by the cross bar. I said it yesterday and I’ll reiterate again today, Polin will be an NHLer soon.

IVAN IVAN

This is a super high floor player that continues to show he is not slowing down when climbing the steps. He knows who he is and he knows the player that he can be, and even more importantly he knows what it takes to get there. Ivan is a player that fully controls his destiny. If he can continue to steadily climb, the distance will be determined solely by his engine. In regards to tonight specifically it was his ability to win puck battles across all three periods, while the rest of the group struggled in that area. In a word…Ivan was tenacious

ONDREJ PAVEL

As the fourth line center, sometimes, even in these situations, ice time isn’t necessarily plentiful. But this evening Pavel was the most physical player on the ice for either team. He knows exactly what he needs to do in order to become a Jared Bender style player, and with some availability on the roster in the early season, he certainly has put himself in the conversation. In addition, as someone who has been here before he’s also flexing a leadership element that the staff has taken notice too. Finally, at the dot, Pavel was easily winning draws at around 65% which is an area that he is particularly proud of and has worked on.

DUDS

THE GAME IN GENERAL

For clarity, these are difficult situations for players. It’s their first competition back after some time off in the summer and the roster is in constant evolution and the systems are somewhat foreign. The goal of this is to represent the crest well and to check off whatever personal goals you needed to in order to put yourself in the best position to contend for a roster spot. The reality of this game is that Seattle iced their full compliment of star prospects like Jagger Firkus, Lukas Dragicevic, and Eduard Sale while tonight the Avalanche were without Cal Ritchie, Oskar Olausson, and Sean Behrens. On to the next which is Monday when the Avs face the Sharks.