During the 2016 Colorado Avalanche Alumni Game, forward Valeri Kamensky scored the first goal for the team.
The Colorado Avalanche are getting ready to celebrate their 25th anniversary of their time in Denver. In those 25 years, a lot of great players have worn the burgundy and blue. One player who doesn’t always make the top lists, though, has had some important moments for the team. That player is Valeri Kamensky.
Forward Valeri Kamensky was one of the players who came over with the team from Quebec. He spent four full seasons with Colorado before moving on.
During his time with the Colorado Avalanche, Kamensky was known as a skill player. As an Avalanche, he scored 106 goals. One of the most memorable, of course, was the first-ever in Avalanche history.
Kamensky may not always make top lists for Avalanche players. However, the team knew his importance enough that they invited him back for the 2016 Alumni Game during the Stadium Series festivities.
The Alumni Game included the usual suspects for the top lists, including of course Joe Sakic and Peter Forsberg. However, fittingly enough, Kamensky repeated his feat of scoring the first goal in Avalanche history by scoring the first goal in the alumni game.
Colorado hosted the once-rival Detroit Red Wings at Coors Field for the outdoor game. Though the hosts, the Avs wore white in the home team style of the time when the team first came to Denver.
Kamensky was on the ice early in the first period on a line with Claude Lemieux and Peter Forsberg. Lemieux drove to the net, but a Wings defender cut his angle for the shot. So, he skated around the back of the net.
Kamensky, meanwhile, made his way toward the net. Lemieux passed to Forsberg, who looked like he was going to skate around the back of the net. No one had picked up Kamensky. So, when Forsberg passed to the Russian forward, he had a clear shot at the net — and the goalie’s back:
What a beauty of a one-timer.
Like I said, it’s fitting that Valeri Kamensky scored the first goal of the Alumni Game since he’d scored the first regular-season Avalanche goal. He also showed that he still had the hands.
In the end, the Colorado Avalanche skated to victory, winning 5-2. The Alumni Game for me, anyway, was the highlight of the weekend.