Colorado Avalanche: 5 Players Who Could Make Opening Night Roster

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The Colorado Avalanche opening night roster will feature some prospects as the team maintains its dedication to the youth movement.

The Colorado Avalanche are going to be a young team this year. They don’t have a choice — only Carl Soderberg (31) and Blake Comeau (31) are over the age of 30. And obviously none of the prospects are going to be anywhere near 30 years old.

Well, on Friday the Avalanche held their only home ice rookie camp day. There were 13 players who already have contracts with Colorado. There were also several tryout players, but none of them really stood out to me.

In any case, the Avs have some roster spots up for grabs, especially in the defensive corps. There they have only three legit NHLers signed to contracts — Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Mark Barberio. Whether they’ll get Nikita Zadorov signed is up in the air, but that still leaves at least three positions open.

The forward corps is a little tighter. I’d say there are 9 forwards (if Matt Duchene shows) who are a lock for opening night:

Blake Comeau and Joe Colborne could be healthy scratches. That means at best the Avs have three spots open, but maybe only one.

Well, the prospects are definitely going to be raring to fill those spots. Let’s look at five players who legitimately might fill out the Colorado Avalanche roster on opening night.

Tyson Jost

Center Tyson Jost is one player I couldn’t decide where to put. He finished off with the team last season, but that doesn’t guarantee him a roster spot.

That said, Jost did play well in his six NHL games, even earning his first NHL goal. He was said to have stayed in Colorado for two months after the season for training. And he certainly trained at home.

He’s still young, though — just 19. He brings a lot to the Avs with his speed and stick skills. And he’s a bulldog on the forecheck. But he’s still just 19, and there’s no reason to rush him.

That’s no reason to discount him either. He was a leader at prospect development camp, and he looked very sure of himself during rookie camp. I think, if there’s only one forward position open, Jost might have the best chance of securing it.

There’s a certain player he’ll have to battle for that spot, though…

J.T. Compher

Center J.T. Compher played 21 games with the Colorado Avalanche starting at the beginning of March. He scored three goals and earned two assists.

Compher looks like a veteran rookie among the other youngsters. The 22-year-old is poised on the ice. He clearly has an understanding of Avs’ hockey.

Recently Compher spoke with Marc Moser of Altitude Sports. He remarked that his comfort level was a lot higher this year than it was last year going into his first camp. He now understands well how the testing and camp goes.

He added:

“Now I have a little bit better idea of what I need to do and how I need to play. I think I’m a little bit more excited going into camp.”

If it came down to Compher vs. Jost, I don’t know which would win the spot. How things go with the Prospect Showcase will show us a little more.

It might be a little easier to make the team as a defensive prospect this season.

Chris Bigras

Defenseman Chris Bigras was a surprise that he didn’t make the roster last year. His conditioning apparently wasn’t what the Colorado Avalanche wanted to see last summer. He then suffered a concussion that limited his games last season — which also diminished his chance at getting a call up.

This season, Chris Bigras looks raring to go. I don’t know how he did with his conditioning testing, which took place before camp started. However, he was fighting on the ice during camp:

That said, as he told Avs insider Rick Sadowski, he’s not taking anything for granted. After his injury last season, he worked hard over the summer. He especially focused on bulking up:

“As far as development wise, I have put on some good muscle mass coming from the first couple years that I’ve been here to now, so hopefully the summer that I had pays off on the ice.”

He’s also another player who feels at ease with the Colorado Avalanche system — he played 31 games with the Avs during the 2015-16 season, including the storied Stadium Series game.

Bigras is one of three defensemen GM Joe Sakic said will be given “long looks” over the course of camp and the preseason. Here’s another one.

Anton Lindholm

More from Mile High Sticking

Defenseman Anton Lindholm was the Colorado Avalanche’s fifth-round pick from 2014. After continuing to develop in the Swedish Hockey League, he joined the Avs organization last season.

He was impressive at camp last year, and he eventually made it to the team. He played 12 games starting in the middle of March. He didn’t record any points, but he definitely impressed with his skating.

Excellent skating is a Lindholm specialty. He doesn’t put up a lot of offensive numbers, but he’s a good puck-moving defenseman. And he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes, which is good.

I’d say whether Lindholm makes the team depends on the Avalanche’s needs. Right now, they need a partner for both their top d-men and/or a bottom pairing guy.

I wouldn’t partner Lindholm with either Barrie or Johnson, but he could be a bottom pairing guy. I could see the Avs needing a puck mover for that pairing.

And the third player on Sakic’s eyeball list?

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Andrei Mironov

I’d put defenseman Andrei Mironov in over Lindholm and maybe even over Bigras. Indeed, he’s like a less offense-minded, more offensive version of Zadorov.

It’s not just that the 23-year-old Russian is also big and also, you know, Russian. He’s a hulking presence on the ice that’s surprisingly light on his skates. In fact, I can’t stop raving about his skating:

Mironov is a stay-at-home defenseman with a nasty streak. I wouldn’t mind seeing that as a partner to Tyson Barrie. However, the 6-foot-3 Mironov skates well enough that he could keep up with Erik Johnson’s two-way prowess.

Andrei Mironov gave up a lucrative KHL career to come play in the NHL — and he’s been pretty clear that he intends his play to be in the NHL. He certainly came into camp with that mindset, and I really could see him winning a roster spot already on opening night.

Next: All About JT Compher

The Prospect Showcase and training camp should be even more interesting than usual for the Colorado Avalanche. The coaching staff and front offices have some big decisions to make about who they want starting the season with the team. Some of the players on this list are almost certain to be on the opening night roster.

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