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Breaking down Colorado Avalanche opening day roster

By Graham Tiedtke

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 06: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche (C) celebrates his first period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers and is joined by Nathan MacKinnon #29 (L) and Mikko Rantanen #96 (R) at the Wells Fargo Center on December 06, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA - DECEMBER 06: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of the Colorado Avalanche (C) celebrates his first period goal against the Philadelphia Flyers and is joined by Nathan MacKinnon #29 (L) and Mikko Rantanen #96 (R) at the Wells Fargo Center on December 06, 2021 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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As the Colorado Avalanche prepare for their season opener against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, October 11, they have finalized their initial gameday roster.

Forwards: Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Valeri Nichushkin, Ryan Johansen, Jonathan Drouin, Ross Colton, Andrew Cogliano, Arturri Lehkonen, Kurtis MacDermid, Logan O’Connor, Tomas Tatar, Fredrik Olofsson, Miles Wood, Riley Tufte

Defense: Cale Makar, Bowen Byram, Samuel Girard, Jack Johnson, Josh Manson,  Devon Toews

Goaltenders: Alexandar Georgiev, Justus Annunen, Ivan Prosvetov

Injured and/or Non-Roster: Alex Beaucage, Jean-Luc Foudy, Pavel Francouz, Gabriel Landeskog, Chris Wagner.

For the most part, the players on the roster were a given. There was at least one surprise, however.

The Colorado Avalanche claimed goaltender Ivan Prosvetov off waivers from the Arizona Coyotes just prior to the final roster needed to be sent in. The Avalanche put Pavel Francouz on long-term injured reserve and he will miss at least 10 games. Prosvetov isn’t with the team as of this writing and the team recalled Justus Annunen.

Having not played any preseason games with the club, I could see Prosvetov possibly struggling when he’s put in as the starter in place of Francouz and giving Georgiev a break. Ideally, having time to get some preseason action in is the way to go especially with a goaltender.

Although Cale Makar hardly played in the preseason, being the superstar that he is, I don’t think that he will struggle much to begin the season. Unless there are still lingering issues with his injury, I think that he’ll be as good as gold to begin the season. It is not common for him to struggle or to go on a cold streak.

We all know what the Colorado Avalanche have in Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar. There are no questions about them. I’m really looking forward to seeing how fast it takes their newcomers to get going on their respective lines. Jonathan Drouin is expected to fit in nicely with Nathan MacKinnon as they have a history on the ice together in Halifax. Will they play well together right away or will that take a bit more time, given that it’s been so long?

Riley Tufte and Justus Annunen were recalled to the Avalanche on Tuesday. Once Prosvetov arrives, the team will be at 23 players, pending any moves on Wednesday. The team cannot send anybody down to the Eagles today.

The Avalanche are in Los Angeles to face the Kings on Wednesday at 8 PM MT

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