Mile High Sticking
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Colorado Avalanche potential replacements for nonqualified positions

By Mary Callie Agnew

DENVER, CO - MARCH 18: Vladislav Kamenev #91 of the Colorado Avalanche skates during warm ups prior to the game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Pepsi Center on March 18, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - MARCH 18: Vladislav Kamenev #91 of the Colorado Avalanche skates during warm ups prior to the game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Pepsi Center on March 18, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche failed to extend qualifying offers or contracts to several players. Who will take their place on the roster?

With the Colorado Avalanche not signing players like Nail Yakupov, Blake Comeau, and Duncan Siemens it makes you wonder what the potential replacements are. We have seen a few rookies step up throughout the season but the question of transitioning still remains. The 2017-2018 season saw players like Tyson Jost, and J.T. Compher come up in the system. Who is next?

It is my personal opinion, and a common one, that I am happy we did not sign Yakupov. The guy has a great personality don’t get me wrong, but he has always seemed to unde perform. He is inconsistent with his game and is not the best on defense.

Insert a player like Vladislav Kamenev. We saw a glimpse of him before he broke his arm. However it would be nice to see more of him then just one game. Prior to his injury, he had 16 points (3 goals, 5 assists) in 20 AHL games. The season before, he had 51 points (21 goals, 30 assists) in 70 AHL games.

I think we’d all like to see if Kamenev can translate that into the NHL. He is still growing into his body and needs to put some weight on. I thing his potential will be tested next season.

Blake Comeau had a much better season last year, even wearing the “A” in a few games. With that being said, he is getting older on this young and getting younger team. I think we might see A.J. Greer given a longer chance in the show. He played 17 games total last season with the Avalanche so is still considered a rookie.

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Most fans were drawn to Greer for his hard-nosed old-school style of play. He still takes dumb penalties and needs to learn how to draw the penalty without getting one himself. That will come with time and experience. He has the potential to be a solid 3rd or 4th line guy.

Duncan Siemens has been in the Avalanche system for quite some time. He has never been able to make the transition to the NHL and has been a career AHL player. Maybe a change of scenery will snap Duncan out of his funk. He wasn’t extended a qualifying offer.

For replacement, the Colorado Avalanche had a few young players this season on defense. Anton Lindholm was called up and played in 48 games this season before getting injured. He had a +4 rating and looks to be a solid third-pairing defenseman.

Mason Geertsen might push Lindholm for the bottom position for defensive prospects. Geertsen plays physical defense and is known for his fighting. Mason tends to carry a lot of penalty minutes due to his physical play and fighting. The 6-foot,  212-pounder plays even bigger than his size — 117 penalty minutes in 72 games.

Next: Evaluating the Qualifying Offers

The Colorado Avalanche offensive defenseman pool is a lot larger then that of stay at home defenseman. It will be an interesting battle to see which defensemen make the team and which are sent to the Eagles, our new AHL affiliate,  for another season of development.

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