Colorado Avalanche: 5 Prospects for the Fourth Line

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The Colorado Avalanche have their top two lines pretty well set:

Gabriel Landeskog–Carl Soderberg–Nathan MacKinnon

Jarome Iginla–Matt Duchene–Alex Tanguay

There’s no guarantee that the lines will look exactly like that on opening night against the Minnesota Wild, but it’s a pretty good bet those six players will comprise the top two lines.

The third line looks pretty clear, too:

Mikhail Grigorenko–John Mitchell–Blake Comeau

Again, there’s no guarantees, but the above nine players are almost certain to make the team on opening night.

That leaves the fourth line. The Colorado Avalanche’s fourth line is well up in the air. There are so many possible configurations. So, even though an offensive line is only made up of three players, let’s look at five prospects for those positions.

Cody McLeod, Left Wing

Mar 23, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Colorado Avalanche left wing Cody McLeod (55) skates during the warmup period against the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

Shoots: Left

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 210 pounds

Last Team: Colorado Avalanche

2014-15 Stats:

GP	G	A	P	PIM	+/-
82	7	5	12	191	-2

Cody McLeod is almost certain to skate on the fourth line — he’s the Avalanche’s alternate captain, and it would be weird to make a healthy scratch out of your alternate captain.

McLeod is also the perfect energy player. He has a little offensive upside, but he’s mostly about being offensive. He’s not huge, but he’s a scrapper who makes opponents pay. He’s a hard worker and clearly displays leadership.

Last season McLeod spent the majority of his time on the fourth line, though he did move up and down the lineup. There were times he lined up next to Matt Duchene on the top line. It’s unlikely that’ll happen again, but it’s a safe bet that McLeod is skating against the hated Wild on opening night.

Jesse Winchester, Center

Colorado Avalanche centre Jesse Winchester was meant for a two-way role on the bottom six. Mandatory Credit: Candice Ward-USA TODAY Sports

Shoots: Left

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 205 pounds

Last Team: Colorado Avalanche

2013-14 Stats (with Florida Panthers):

GP	G	A	P	PIM	+/-
52	9	9	18	38	-2

Patrick Bordeleau, Left Wing

Apr 6, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Colorado Avalanche left wing Patrick Bordeleau (58) reacts after scoring a goal to tie the game during the third period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Pepsi Center. The Penguins won 3-2 in a shoot out. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

Shoots: Left

Height: 6’6″

Weight: 225 pounds

Last Team: Colorado Avalanche

2013-14 Stats:

GP	G	A	P	PIM	+/-
82	6	5	11	115	-1

Speaking of players on injured reserve, left wing Patrick Bordeleau missed half the 2014-15 season recovering from back surgery, came back for one game, and spent the rest of the season recovering from a broken knee cap.

Bordeleau is not exactly an old-time goon, but he’s an enforcer of the new age. He’s one big, mean player. He can skate and shoot the puck, but he’s known as the guy who’s ready to drop the gloves — and drop opponents.

Bordeleau used to be a regular on the fourth line. It seems like he’d have that position again if he’s healthy. He’s big and aggressive, which is the way the Avalanche have chosen to go. Even if they smooth out their rough edges as the season progresses, it actually would be nice to see Patrick Bordeleau suit up against those Minnesota Wild on opening night at least.

Borna Rendulic, Right Wing

Colorado Avalanche right wing Borna Rendulic is out for eight weeks with a broken leg. Mandatory Credit: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

Shoots: Left

Height: 6’2″

Weight: 200 pounds

Last Team: Colorado Avalanche

2014-15 Stats:

GP	G	A	P	PIM	+/-
11	1	1	2	6	1

2014-15 Stats with Lake Erie Monsters:

GP	G	A	P	PIM	+/-
26	4	4	8	12	-9

Borna Rendulic is something of a long shot, except that he’s the only natural right wing available for opening night. (Dennis Everberg is slated to miss the entire training camp and preseason while recovering from shoulder surgery. It’s unlikely he’ll make the lineup right off from that.)

Rendulic is also in the image of head coach Patrick Roy‘s vision for the Avs New Age — big and skilled anyway. He’s got the scorer’s finesse typical of European players. He’s not a gritty player, but he’s been working on strength training over the summer.

I don’t know if Rendulic would skate against the Wild on opening night. I’d like to see him join the fourth line as that finesse player at some point in the season, though.

Freddie Hamilton, Center

Mar 25, 2015; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Colorado Avalanche forward Freddie Hamilton (13) skates against the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Shoots: Left

Height: 6’1″

Weight: 195 pounds

Last Team: Colorado Avalanche

2014-15 Stats:

GP	G	A	P	PIM	+/-
17	1	0	1	0	-1

2014-15 Stats in AHL:

GP	G	A	P	PIM	+/-
57	11	23	34	12	-14

If Rendulic is a long shot, then Freddie Hamilton is a major outlier. Indeed, at the time of writing, he’s an unsigned restricted free agent.

The main rationale for including Hamilton on this list is that he’s young and working hard. He displayed a lot of offensive upside at the AHL-level. If he can display that in training camp and the preseason, he might well make the team for opening night.

It’s debatable if he’s an upgrade on last season’s fourth line center, Marc-Andre Cliche. However, the kid’s got some offensive upside — it’s all about impressing in training camp.

What do you think, Avs Nation? Which three forwards are likely to comprise the fourth line on opening night?

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