The Colorado Avalanche have their preseason set, which gives us a chance to guess at the schedule for the preceding weeks based on previous years.
The Colorado Avalanche have announced their 2019-20 preseason schedule before the champagne is even dry in the Stanley Cup.
Here are the dates:
September 17: Vegas at Colorado
September 19: Dallas at Colorado
September 21: Colorado at Minnesota
September 22: Minnesota at Colorado
September 25: Colorado at Vegas
September 28: Colorado at Dallas
I’ll do a quick reaction to each game.
Vegas at Colorado: This game will probably be mostly prospects. This game will be their first real chance to shine in an at least semi-NHL setting.
Dallas at Colorado: More of the same. By this point we’ll know which prospects to really be watching. They’ll be the ones who distinguished themselves both at the rookie tournament and at camp. We’ll see some bubble players, too, starting to fight for spots.
We might see the first round of cuts around this time.
Colorado at Minnesota, Minnesota at Colorado: Back to back games already! No, the two games will probably feature mostly different rosters. I’d expect some of the core players to be in the game at Pepsi Centers for fan to enjoy their presence.
Second round of cuts should be around this time.
Colorado at Vegas: Since well before Vegas had a team, Colorado has played in a Frozen Fury game in Vegas. This is the remnant of that tradition. We’ll probably see a mostly-NHL roster at this time.
Colorado at Dallas: Final game of the preseason. We might see mostly NHLers. However, if there
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are any possibilities of injury, the core players won’t play, especially since it’s not in front of the home crowd. Rather the coaches will be trying to solidify some bottom-six and bottom pairing positions.
After this, the team will have to submit their final, 23-man opening night roster.
If the Colorado Avalanche have a burgundy and white game, which they did not this year, it will be on Sunday, September 15. Training camp is likely to be the three days before that, September 12-14.
Rookie camp will be the two or so days before that. Conversely, they might have another rookie camp like this year which is extended but includes scrimmages against other teams’ prospects.
Last year the rookie camp took place between September 7 to 11 with training camp proper taking place September 14 to 17. So, if we follow a schedule like that for this year, it might look like this:
September 6-10: Rookie Camp and Tournament
September 12-15: Training Camp
The NHL has the shortest off season, and I’m here for it. After the first week of July, when we see a rash of free agency signing, Avs fans really only have about six or seven weeks of radio silence until players start showing up for captain’s camp. Last year players were practicing here in Colorado at the end of August.
So, Colorado Avalanche fans, what do you think of our upcoming preseason?