Colorado Avalanche Sophomores Talk about the Rigors of Camp

The Colorado Avalanche won’t have as many rookies as last season — but they’ll have a similar number of sophomores. Here are updates on three of them.

The Colorado Avalanche had four main rookies last season. Nothing major has changed except it’s a new season, so now the Colorado Avalanche have four main sophomores this season.

We’ve already talked about one of the main sophomores, Tyson Jost. The expectation was for him to lean out a little and get faster in preparation for taking on second-line center duties. Check one for leaning out and check two for getting faster. I suspect we’ll get to see about the third point as early as Tuesday’s preseason game.

Another of the main sophomores, JT Compher, is actually attending his third professional camp. He signed his entry-level contract with the Avs in April 2016. So, he attended the 2016 and 2017 camps before this one.

Compher says in his post-practice presser of the experience:

"“[There’s] a lot of excitement. A lot has been talked about the group we have in this locker room. I think going into day one there [was] a lot of excitement, a lot of energy, and we’re looking forward to the rest of camp and the season.”"

For Alexander Kerfoot, another of the primary sophomores, this is his second-ever training camp. He graduated from Harvard last summer, and as a four-year NCAA player, he was able to be an unrestricted free agent. He came into came as a relative unknown. The “unknowing” was on his end, too:

"“I came in last year, and it was a little unexpected of how hard it would be. I was a little bit more prepared for it this year.”"

He talks in his post-practice presser about how the camp is “grueling,” but he feels “a little more comfortable — I feel pretty good on the ice.”

And then we get to our youngest sophomore by virtue of two months, Samuel Girard. Our Sammy had a very eventful summer, complete with crashing cars, getting tattoos and bulking up. Don’t look for Girard to become a greaser anytime soon, though — he’s all hockey, all the time at camp.

Despite his beefed-up physique, Girard appreciates the grueling tests the team is putting its players through:

"“I think those tests will help us in the season to be more in shape and make sure we’re ready for the beginning of the season.”"

Both he and Kerfoot remark on how important it is for them to be going through the systems at this point before the season.

For Kerfoot, he’s coming into a far more sure situation than last season, when it seemed unlikely he’d make the team. He adds of this camp compared to last year:

"“It’s a comfort level. I had a whole summer to train last year, so that part is no different, but the comfort level with the coaching staff, the comfort level with what to expect coming into camp is a lot better.”"

Girard is in a different situation. While I don’t want to say the Colorado Avalanche have a logjam at defense, there is some competition among most of the defensemen for roster spots, or at least positions within the roster. Here’s what Sam says in his post-practice presser:

"“I think it’s a good thing for us. Push ourselves to the maximum and make sure we get our spot. When the season is beginning we want to be ready for the first game.”"

Right now Girard is skating with the Colorado Avalanche’s top defenseman, Erik Johnson. Coach Jared Bednar has stated that he’s hoping Girard learns from the cornerstone defenseman.

EJ has apparently grown fond of his young charge (3:17 mark):

Girard doesn’t even react. Our Sammy, no longer so tiny, still so unemotional.

Today is the final day of the Colorado Avalanche’s 2018 training camp. Tomorrow we’ll get to see some tryouts for teams and lineups when the team plays their first preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights.