Rookie Vladislav Kamenev to join Avalanche Wednesday

When the Colorado Avalanche traded Matt Duchene last week (doesn’t that seem like a long time ago already?), the pieces acquired in return all had “don’t count on them right away, this is all about the future” stamped on them by many pundits. Well, the future is now for two of those pieces already.

Defenseman Samuel Girard has already played two games for the Avs, and on Wednesday, Vladislav Kamenev will officially be a member of the team. Kamenev, a Russian center who was a second-round pick of the Nashville Predators in 2014 and acquired in the Duchene three-way deal, has been called up to Colorado from the San Antonio Rampage, BSN Denver can reveal.

While the Avs have yet to make the call-up official, Kamenev will effectively take one of the forward roster spots vacated Tuesday by A.J. Greer and Rocco Grimaldi, who were both sent to San Antonio. The Avs, off since Saturday’s loss to Ottawa in Sweden, will resume practice Wednesday at Family Sport Center, at 11 a.m.

Whether Kamenev plays his natural center or not remains to be seen, but it’s possible he could be used as a left wing. Kamenev played three games for the Rampage after being traded by Nashville, with four assists and a plus-2. He was the 42nd overall player selected in the 2014 draft, and he played two games for the Predators last season. In 70 games for the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL last season, Kamenev scored 21 goals with 30 assists.

He is 21 years old and a native of Orsk, Russia, listed at 6-foot-2, 194 pounds. Here is an analysis of Kamenev’s skill set, from BSN draft guru A.J. Haefele. Here is a video of some of Kamenev’s on-ice performance: