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Colorado Avalanche: 5 Memorable August-Born Players

By Nadia Archuleta

10 Jun 1996: Colorado Avalanche leftwinger Valeri Kamensky and defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh pose with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Florida Panthers in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals at Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. The Avalanche won the game,
10 Jun 1996: Colorado Avalanche leftwinger Valeri Kamensky and defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh pose with the Stanley Cup after defeating the Florida Panthers in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals at Miami Arena in Miami, Florida. The Avalanche won the game, /
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The Colorado Avalanche have had several note-worthy players who just happened to be born in August. Here are five.

The Colorado Avalanche, along with the rest of the NHL, are gearing up to start their preseason. Players are already arriving at South Suburban Parks and Recreation for informal practices. Rookie camp is under two weeks away.

It’s still August, though, the only true offseason month in the NHL. No draft, no opening of free agency, and no official practices.

August also happens to be my birthday month, so I love it even though it’s completely hockey-less. So, as we wind down the true offseason and get ready for hockey to return, let’s look at some players in Avs history who have shared my birthday month.

This post was inspired by fellow NHL FanSider Tony Gianares’ similar post.

Andrew Brunette: August 24, 1973

Left wing Andrew Brunette is the only non-Leo on this list, having missed the cutoff date by two days. Nonetheless, he’s an August child.

Brunette played three seasons for the Colorado Avalanche spanning from 2005 to 2008. He played every single game possible, including the playoffs. In that time, he recorded 70 goals and 135 assists for 205 points total in the regular season. He also recorded 8 goals and 9 assists in 19 playoff games for Colorado.

He even scored the series-clinching goal against the Dallas Stars in Game 5 of the first round in 2006:

Pretty cool.

Jonathan Bernier: August 7, 1988

Goalie Jonathan Bernier is a true Leo. He even has a lion tattoo in honor of his sign and includes a lion in each of his mask designs.

Bernier only spent one season with the Avalanche as their backup goalie. However, he had a good stretch of nine games in the 2017-18 season that helped the team clinch the playoffs.

I’ll always like J. Bern, except for now because he’s with the Red Wings.

David Jones: August 10, 1984

The Colorado Avalanche selected right wing David Jones 288th-overall in the 2003 draft. Despite being such a late draft pick, Jones had a successful NHL career, primarily with the Avs.

Jones played 5 1/2 seasons with Colorado from 2007 to 2013. Unfortunately, injuries plagued the forward, including a torn ACL that slightly limited his play.

Nonetheless, Jones recorded 272 games for Colorado. Not too shabby at all for a player who went #288.

Chris Drury, August 20, 1976

Center Chris Drury did not go so low in the draft. The Quebec Nordiques selected him in the second round in 1994. He never played for them, though, starting his professional career in 1998 for the Colorado Avalanche.

Drury was a highly-touted prospect who made good for the team. He spent four seasons with Colorado from 1998 to 2002. In that time, he played 314 regular season and 80 postseason games, winning the Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001.

Despite his strong performances for the Avs, the team shockingly traded him just before the 2002-03 season for… insufficient return. Many longtime Avs fans are still bitter about that trade.

Sandis Ozolinsh: August 3, 1972

My favorite player on this list is defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh, who happens to be one of my favorite Avs ever. Ozo, as we affectionately called him, played for Colorado for five seasons. He did, in fact, represent the first-ever trade the Avs made, getting traded here from San Jose at the beginning of the 1995-96 season.

In all, Ozo played 333 games for the Colorado Avalanche in the regular season and 82 postseason games. As the team’s original offensive defenseman, he recorded 72 goals and 181 assists in the regular season and 18 goals and 47 assists in the playoffs.

In Colorado’s inaugural season, Sandis Ozolinsh won the Stanley Cup.

He also scored an own-goal goal on Patrick Roy’s empty net once, a mistake for which Patrick never “forgave” him. Throughout his coaching days, whenever Roy was talking about our other defensively irresponsible defenseman, Tyson Jost, he’d claim that, just like Ozo, Barrie created scoring chances at both ends of the ice.

Next. Top 5 Reasons to Sign Rantanen. dark

Honorable mention goes out to Vladislav Kamenev, Kyle Quincey and Anders Myrvold. Interestingly, all three were born on my actual birthday, August 12, though in different years. Who would have known that date would be so popular for Colorado Avalanche players to be born?

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