As the 2018-19 season draws near, the Colorado Avalanche are giving us a lot of reasons to be excited. Here’s reason #4.
The Colorado Avalanche season will be an exciting one. We have so many storylines to watch, including who will win the top goal tending spot, who will make the team, who will take a step forward in their development.
In fact, as the offseason slowly winds down, we’ve been talking about those areas of excitement the team is generating:
However, we all know anyone who talks about the Colorado Avalanche these days focuses on one player and one line — the team’s top line. It was said for most of last year that the Avs had one of the, if not the, best top lines in the NHL.
Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen and, our star, Nathan MacKinnon comprise that exciting top line. We’ll all be watching very closely this season to see if they repeat their success from last year.
Gabriel Landeskog’s Leadership
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You don’t hear it quite as much as you used to, but every now and again criticisms of of Gabriel Landeskog’s captaincy arise. At the time he was named captain of the Colorado Avalanche, he was the youngest player ever named to that position. Some even claimed it was a publicity stunt.
Like I said, though, you don’t hear those critiques so much anymore. While Landeskog has never led the team in scoring, and likely never will, he has shown himself to nonetheless to be a leader on the ice, off the ice, and definitely in the community.
What will Landeskog’s captaincy look like this season? I doubt it will be radically different. He’s already turning up at community events and hosting Captain’s Camps, just like always. We know we can probably expect another 60+ point season from him. We hope he doesn’t get suspended again.
At the end of last season, during the playoffs, I finally had to admit something — if Landeskog weren’t the Avalanche captain, I’d probably hate him. He plays with such passion and team-centric attitude. But isn’t that what makes him an exciting captain, even if he occasionally gets in trouble with the Department of Player “Safety” because of it?
Mikko Rantanen’s Development
It’s funny to say Mikko Rantanen had a career season last year since it was only his second year in the NHL. But his 84 points (29 goals, 55 assists) were definitely the best numbers he’s ever put up. They were good enough to cost Nathan MacKinnon the Hart since it was said Taylor Hall had lesser support than Nate did in Mikko.
The big question this year is if he can take the next step forward. In his rookie season, he had 38 points in 75 games. Those numbers may not seem impressive until you remember that was the dreadful Why Us 48-Point season. Those 38 points were good enough for #3 on the team. His 20 goals were team-leading. Yeah, dreadful season.
Is Mikko an 80+-points player? Can he crack that 30-goal mark in this third season? It’s going to be exciting to watch him play wing to MacKinnon again.
And now we get down to what we’re all really excited about.
Nathan MacKinnon’s Star Status
Nathan MacKinnon hatched last season. That seems like the best way to put it. After a stellar rookie season that saw him win the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year, he seemed to contract into a shell. We saw barest flashes of his brilliance.
And then last year, some superstar center appeared in burgundy and blue. He was electric. Every time he took the ice, fans and foes alike knew where he was. Defenders took a step back. He wheeled with the puck and sometimes made it look like he was playing EA NHL18 on easy mode.
Was that Nathan MacKinnon coming into his own? Or was that a fluke MacKinnon? Are we only going to see that Nate every three years, or is that superstar here to stay?
Needless to say, we all hope to see MacKinnon in god-mode all season long. Obviously, he needs his supporting linemates and secondary scoring to help take the team to the playoffs.
But when you’re talking about Colorado Avalanche hockey, most people are excited to see Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon and crew will report for medicals on Thursday, September 13 and Training Camp that Friday. We’ll see the first example of Avs hockey played with at least a few NHLers as early as September 18, which is a televised game.
Stop asking “Is it October yet?” Hockey is here.