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Colorado Avalanche 2017-2018 Rookie Camp All Set

By Nadia Archuleta

ENGLEWOOD, CO - JUNE 29: Colorado Avalanche goalies Petr Kvaca, #61, left, and Pavel Francouz, #39, right, stretch before practice at the Av's Development Camp at the Family Sports Center June 29, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
ENGLEWOOD, CO - JUNE 29: Colorado Avalanche goalies Petr Kvaca, #61, left, and Pavel Francouz, #39, right, stretch before practice at the Av's Development Camp at the Family Sports Center June 29, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /
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The Colorado Avalanche Rookie Camp starts early to accommodate the Rookie Showcase in Vegas. Here’s a breakdown of who’s attending this year.

The Colorado Avalanche have announced their 2017-18 Rookie Camp roster.

Naturally, it’s somewhat similar to their Prospect Development Camp roster with some changes.

Here it is:

The most obvious changes are that none of the NCAA players are on the list. NCAA rules prohibit their players from attending pro camps. So, notable absences include Cale Makar and Shane Bowers, who are away at college.

From there, it’s more about the additions. The least surprising is probably Conor Timmins, whom the Avalanche signed at the end of last season. He might even make the team out of camp — he came close last season.

Sticking with the defensemen, I’m really glad to see Sergei Boikov on that list. He suffered a dislocated shoulder in the preseason last year and pretty much fell off the face of the earth. There was never any update to his condition. He never made it off the injured reserve list, so he never made it down to the AHL. So, I’m glad he’s still, you know, alive.

Some of the defenseman invitees are unsigned prospects who also attended the prospect development camp:

  • Alex Breton
  • Kevin Davis
  • Turner Ottenbreit
  • Sean Strange

Nolan De Jong and Matthew Pufahl were not at Prospect Development  Camp.

De Jong is a Minnesota Wild seventh-round draft pick (Don’t blame the kid for that) from 2013. He spent four years at the University of Michigan. He spent the majority of last season with the ECHL Colorado Eagles and will now travel to Utah to play for the ECHL Grizzlies.

Matthew Pufahl is an undrafted player who completed Acadia University in Canada. He’s signed to play for the Colorado Eagles at the AHL level next season.

Looking at the list of forwards, we see a lot of familiar names, such as Travis Barron, J.C. Beaudin and Josh Dickinson. This isn’t their first rodeo.

For others, they have a contract, but it is their first Avs rodeo:

  • Martin Kaut
  • Logan O’Connor
  • Igor Shvyrev
  • Vladislav Kamenev

As with the defensemen, some of the invitees are unsigned prospects who also attended the prospect development camp:

  • Matthew Boucher
  • Nick Henry
  • Robbie Holmes
  • Brandon Saigeon

Henry and Saigeon are Avs draft picks.

Four players are new to us:

  • Michael Joly
  • Tim McGauley
  • R.T. Rice
  • Cole Ully

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Michael Joly is an undrafted player who’s been bouncing around between the AHL and ECHL. He played mostly in the ECHL for the Eagles last season. But he’s signed to play in the AHL for the Eagles this year.

Tim McGauley is an undrafted player who signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Washington Capitols in 2015. He played one more year in major juniors then spent the majority of the last two years playing in the ECHL. He did make it to the Capitols’ AHL team last season. He’s signed to play for the Eagles this year.

R.T. Rice is an undrafted player who spent two years at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada. He does not have an AHL or ECHL contract yet, so he may be trying out for the Grizzlies.

Cole Ully is a Dallas Stars fifth-rounder from 2013. He’s been bouncing around between the AHL and ECHL since 2015. He’s signed to play for the Eagles this year.

For the goalies, Justus Annunen and Petr Kvaca are both Colorado Avalanche draft picks. Neither one has a contract yet.

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The actual rookie training camp is starting soon — September 7. The above players will report to camp in Colorado then and have a practice. They will then travel to Vegas for the Rookie Showcase. They’ll have another day of camp in Vegas on September 10.

Training camp proper starts on Friday, September 14. Many of the above players will be invited, but there may be some who are sent to report to their AHL or ECHL team.

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