Finally, something Colorado Avalanche fans have been waiting for has arrived. The NHL just released the video for the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup Champion playoff series. The video that captured so much of the ups and downs of the playoffs is here. Let’s take a look at some of the takeaways from it!
The locker room access
The locker room access is not something that is fully highlighted to the degree shown in the Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cup video. We got to see behind the scenes commentary from coach Jared Bednar and players.
We get to witness the chemistry building inside that locker room. The Avalanche had some real good people in that room last year, and it was led by Bednar. In the video, it was very obvious that coach knew how to get to his players. He knew how to bring out the best in them during this playoff run.
Jared Bednar has a very good ability to keep his team focused during the good times and the tough times. Sure, times got tough but he never lost that locker room. His main focus appeared to be “onto the next game.” That’s actually what caught my eye the most during those locker room moments. It was hardly ever consistent celebrating after a win. It was always “onto the next game.”
Adversity at its finest
When the Colorado Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, Bednar and Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy met on the ice with Bednar congratulating the goaltender on a tremendous season. It was followed up by Vasilevskiy admitting “That team was too good for me.”
That’s an incredible thing to say from a goaltender who was known as the best in the game last year and for the past several years. It really showed that their work on the ice did not go unnoticed.
Bednar and Lightning coach Jon Cooper met on the ice to shake hands and we got to hear their conversation in the video. The Avalanche coach began by letting Cooper know he’s an inspiration. cooper led his Lightning team to victories in the previous two Stanley Cup finals, but it also didn’t come easy for them.
Cooper told Bednar, “sometimes you have to lose the tough ones to enjoy this. .” Isn’t that the truth. I’m sure that winning consecutive championships is such a tremendous feeling, but getting that first one, there’s nothing like it.
My guess is that the Avalanche took note of those two Lightning teams over time and fed off that sort of mentality the Lightning had during those runs.
For today’s team, they should take a look at this video and see if they can feed off that sort of brotherhood the locker room had. With guys such as Nazem Kadri and Darcy Kuemper no longer there, things are different. They should try and learn from last year’s team and stick together.
The Stanley Cup Parade
This was when so many more fans got to see the Colorado Avalanche up close. While it was not during the actual win, I’m sure it felt like a win to be there. People who got to attend the event got to see these players (humans) celebrate their tremendous accomplishments and that’s something everyone should be proud of.
Watching at home was still a very cool moment for me because it still captured so much of the joy and excitement on the faces of players, coaches and general manager Joe Sakic. There’s really nothing better when it comes to the world of sports. The Colorado Avalanche are reigning Stanley Cup Champions and will forever be.
Personally, I wish there was a little bit more from the Stanley Cup parade added to the video, but overall, it was such a great experience to relive the playoffs.
You can watch the entire 1 hour 21 minute video on ESPN+ or if you’re in Canada, it is available on the NHL YouTube channel.