Colorado Avalanche 2017-18 Season Preview

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DALLAS, TX – SEPTEMBER 25: Colorado Avalanche players take the ice during the NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Dallas Stars on September 25, 2017 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. (Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Colorado Avalanche begin their 2017-18 season against the New York Rangers tomorrow. Here’s a preview of what the new season brings.

While the NHL season begins today, the Colorado Avalanche enter the fray tomorrow in New York. They’re facing the Rangers in Madison Square Garden.

Last year was a tough season for the Avalanche. They finished with just 48 points, partially because two core players (Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov) missed large portions of the season because of injury. The team limped demoralized through essentially all of the 2017 portion of the season.

Despite having the worst NHL record by 21 points, they then lost the Draft Lottery and dropped all the way to #4. Their Hobey Baker winning draftee, Will Butcher, also decided to spurn the team and head over to New Jersey.

Fun times. But we’re facing a fresh slate this year.

Indeed, there’s plenty that’s new with this team for the 2017-18 season. There are some returning players and coaches as well. Truthfully, this year feels more like Avs New Age than any of the previous seasons.

Let’s look at what’s coming up for the Colorado Avalanche in 2017-18.

LAS VEGAS, NV – SEPTEMBER 28: Head coach Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche looks on from the bench during his team’s preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on September 28, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Colorado won 4-2. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /

Coaching

The Colorado Avalanche retained head coach Jared Bednar. However, they let go assistant coaches Tim Army and Dave Farrish. They replaced him with just one man, Ray Bennet, who has extensive NHL experience with the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings.

Goalie coach Francois Allaire finished out his contract with the team then announced his retirement. Colorado hired Jussi Parkkila to replace him. Parkkila doesn’t have the pedigree that Allaire has, but he does have a history with starting goalie Semyon Varlamov.

It’s no secret I don’t like Bednar. I’m not going to be a hypocrite now and start singing his praises. However, I think having someone with Bennet’s experience help call the shots will be a benefit to the team.

Bednar apologists claimed last year he didn’t have the opportunity to fully implement his system. Well, he had the entire offseason this year, and a roster presumably more of his choosing. Therefore, we’ll see how this new system works in the NHL.

Roster

Speaking of rosters, the Colorado Avalanche will dress only eight of the same players from last year’s opening night:

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Carl Soderberg is expected to be a healthy scratch, and Joe Colborne was placed on waivers today.

In other words, the Colorado Avalanche have a lot of new faces this year. Some of them have spent time with the team already, including last year’s acquisitions of Matthew Nieto, Sven Andrighetto and Mark Barberio.

Some of them are NHLers who are brand new to the team, including Colin Wilson, Nail Yakupov, Jonathan Bernier and yesterday’s surprise waiver pick up Patrik Nemeth.

The roster also includes some very green talent (and I don’t mean they recycle) in prospects J.T. Compher, Tyson Jost, Chris Bigras and A.J. Greer, all of whom have little NHL experience. There’s also Alex Kerfoot and Andrei Mironov, who have no NHL experience, though the latter does have professional KHL experience.

Most of the players on the Colorado Avalanche roster are known for being speedy, and quite a few of them are renowned for their puck skills. That’s definitely going to be part of the profile of the team moving forward.

Past to Future

The Colorado Avalanche went from dead last in the Western Conference to winning the Central Division four years ago. Despite the fact that they’ve reprised their motto from the 2013-14 season, I don’t see such a turnaround happening again.

However, I fully expect the Avalanche to improve on their record from last season. Each of their core players had a down year, sometimes matching the worst in his career. That will surely improve.

To a man, the players who are returning from last year seem bound and determined to put the past behind them. What’s more, many of them have expressed the desire to prove naysayers wrong. I think it’s safe to say that the majority of the returning players have a chip on their shoulders about the upcoming season.

This season also represents a stride into the youth movement that GM Joe Sakic has promised. The roster is comprised mostly of Millennials (born in the 1990s). There are only two players in their 30s and only three others near the 30-year-old mark. Many of the players in the mix are prospects whom the Avalanche developed themselves.

DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 24: Nathan MacKinnon /

Challenges and Attributes

With such a young and new roster, there are both challenges and attributes. Challenge-wise, the Colorado Avalanche have taken a step back in NHL experience. Many players are going to be confronted with NHL situations for the first time on a nightly basis.

For example, the NHL is known as being the fastest league in the world. All the newbies have good footspeed, but they’re still going to face situations in which a veteran player makes them look foolish with his wiley ways.

Concerning the new faces on the roster, that definitely presents a challenge. Most of the line combinations and defensive pairing have changed, so players have to get used to each other. Hopefully there will be some consistency throughout the season, and the players will be able to develop a familiarity.

However, a good thing about the newness of the roster is that many of the players weren’t around last season, so they won’t have that bad memory giving them mental stress.

What’s more, the youngsters have a lot to prove — essentially, that they can make it in the NHL. Nail Yakupov has the same incentive. Matt Duchene will want to prove he’s not an 18-goal, 41-point player. Nathan MacKinnon should want to prove he actually is the best player on the team.

The biggest attribute of the Colorado Avalanche, though, is that the team has talent. What’s more, this team has been built to complement its individual components.

Next: Goals for Core Players in the 2017-18 Season

I already wrote a post with my predictions for the upcoming season, but I will say that I fully expect the team to have a better record than last year.

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