Colorado Avalanche fans don’t have too terribly long to wait for hockey again. Here are some activities to keep you entertained.
Colorado Avalanche fans — all hockey fans — are the luckiest lot. Not only do we love the best sport, but our true offseason is so short. Right now there might be a trickle of free agency signings left — after all, we only have three goalies between two teams at the moment — but for the most part, the offseason has truly begun.
And it’s the first week of July. Players will probably start showing up to the practice rink the last week of August, so we really only have about seven weeks between that and Free Agency Frenzy of no hockey whatsoever.
Still, that’s seven weeks, and we’ve got to occupy ourselves. Yes, yes, family, other sports, work… there’s real life to live. And, I must admit, I feel a little less busy now that there’s no upcoming hockey.
But let’s look at five activities we can partake in while we wait for actual hockey to start back up.
Visit Pepsi Center
I know not all Avs fans are in Colorado. However, if you are in the neighborhood at any point during the offseason, you can take a tour of Pepsi Center. During the tour, you’ll get to see the behind-the-scenes areas. You’ll also learn about the ice-making process and how they transform an ice arena to a basketball court.
Tours are available Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 10 am, 12 pm and 2 pm. They cost $10. Visit here for more information.
If you don’t want to take a tour, you can still visit the Altitude Authentics store to stock up on Avalanche gear. You can usually find merchandise that’s not available online. A lot of times, the store holds sales, too.
Learn How to Ice Skate
Has anyone heard how Jalen Ramsey is doing on his ice skating lessons?
No, really, one of my favorite aspects of hockey is the skating. I’ve tried skating only a couple times in my life, and I was a complete failure. It’s tough to maintain your balance when you’re skating on your ankles.
However, ice rinks operate all summer long. You could get a newfound appreciation for the sport by learning how to ice skate.
Plan out Personal Avs’ Schedules
As you know, the Colorado Avalanche’s schedule is already out for the 2019-20 season. Many of you are probably season ticket holders, so you only have to make note of when you’ll be traveling to Pepsi Center.
If you’re not a season ticket holder but still in the Denver area, it might interest you to start planning out which dates you want to attend. Obviously opening night, October 3 against the Flames, is a big one. So is the final game of the regular season (because we know the Avs will be heading into the playoffs), April 4 against the Blues. The New Year’s Eve game, this year against the Winnipeg Jets, is always popular.
And if you’re not already in the Denver area, consider coming out for one of the Avalanche’s home stands. There’s a nice one of three games between December to 13 and a five-game home stand before the All Star Break, January 10 to 20.
Regardless of where you’re living, you’ll want to come out for the February 15 game against the LA Kings. That’s the one that’s being held at Falcon Field at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. Luckily, that game is in the middle of a juicy five-game home stand that runs between February 11 to 19.
What, you had a better way to spend Valentines’ Day? I think not.
Become Acquainted with the New Players
The Colorado Avalanche have acquired six new players in the offseason:
- Nazem Kadri (trade)
- Joonas Donskoi (free agency)
- Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (free agency)
- Andre Burakovsky (trade)
- Kevin Connauton (trade)
- Calle Rosen (trade)
We’ll be writing fun facts posts and player profiles about all these players, including the three players the organization signed for the Eagles — Jayson Megna, TJ Tynan, and Daniel Renouf.
Catch up on Some Hockey Reading
More from Mile High Sticking
- Could Colorado Avalanche move on from Pavel Francouz next offseason?
- 4 goalies to replace Pavel Francouz if he has to miss time
- Colorado Avalanche make sneaky signing with Tatar
- Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog could return in 2023-24 playoffs
- Colorado Avalanche rookie face-off tournament roster
In that vein, it might also be time to get caught up on some hockey reading.
Right now I’m going to make a plug for Adrian Dater’s new site, Colorado Hockey Now. I know the Millennial thing to do is to follow fellow Millennial AJ Haefele on BSN Avalanche. If you can swing both, do it. If you have to choose, I recommend CHN — there’s a reason I don’t bother identifying Dater by his current media outlet. He once broke the story of the new Colorado hockey team’s name, and he hasn’t slowed down since.
Not to throw shade at the other pay site, The Athletic. In fact, they are an excellent source if you want more in-depth articles. Ryan S. Clark isn’t as well-versed in Avs lore as Dater or even Haefele, but he takes angles that other sites don’t attempt.
You can also keep up on what we’re writing. 😊
In fact, as an Avs blogger, I love this time of year. Of course, during the season and postseason, draft, free agency, there’s so much to write about. However, I always get these creative ideas for posts. Sometimes, when there’s real hockey news going on, I don’t have time to get to the creative posts.
During the true offseason, I have that time.
In any case, we really don’t have much of an offseason. Stop asking “Is it October yet?” If you really want Colorado Avalanche hockey, there’s only a few weeks until we have some practices and scrimmages.
Until then, happy summer, Avs Nation.