Colorado Avalanche: Martin Kaut to Make His NHL Debut

Colorado Avalanche prospect Martin Kaut will make his NHL debut in light of all the recent injuries on the team.

The Colorado Avalanche have faced a spate of injuries recently. In the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado lost star winger Mikko Rantanen for “weeks” with an apparent shoulder injury.

So, with Rantanen out, along with other forwards Matt Calvert and Nazem Kadri, the Avalanche recalled a player from the Colorado Eagles. They recalled their first rounder (16th overall) from 2018, Martin Kaut.

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 fact, Kaut is set to make his NHL debut tomorrow night against the New York Islanders. He may even start on the third line with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Matt Nieto.

Kaut has spent his entire professional North American career with the Colorado Eagles. The Avs chose him in the first round after he had good seasons in the Czech Republic. They signed him right away so he could get used to the North American game.

Kaut hasn’t exactly been dominant with the Eagles. His rookie year, he recorded 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 63 games. This season, he’s had some injury woes. However, he’s got 16 points (5 goals, 11 assists) in 31 games this season, all of them in the last 21 games.

In fact, Kaut talks about how the season started for him and what he’s hoping to do with the NHL organization:

He remarks that he didn’t have any points in the first 10 games of the season, which was frustrating. His play has improved, though, due to his focus on the small details. He hopes to bring his speed and forechecking to the NHL game.

The recall of Kaut is a little puzzling. The Avalanche are missing two gritty forwards in Kadri and Calvert as well as a star winger. Kaut doesn’t seem to match up with any of those losses.

Some have proposed they’ve put him on the NHL stage in preparation for a trade. Scouts can have checked him out thoroughly in his AHL life. However, maybe the Avalanche want to showcase what he can bring to the NHL level, especially since his AHL numbers haven’t been spectacular.

The Colorado Avalanche held an optional practice today. Needless to say, Kaut was in attendance.

Kaut is a big young man, 6-foot-2 and north of 176 by now. He’s got a powerful style to his play. Watch his movements:

Martin Kaut can be an interesting addition to the Colorado Avalanche. Or he could impress enough to provide trade bait.

NHL GMs got a little confused and thought yesterday was the trade deadline, or the rash of trades suggested as much. The real trade deadline is Monday, February 24, at 1:00 pm MT. Until then, the Colorado Avalanche players will simply be working on solidifying their position in the standings.