Avalanche roster begins taking shape as training camp continues

The Colorado Avalanche have begun whittling down the roster as training camp continues to move along.

The club announced on Saturday a series of roster moves.

First, five players have been officially re-assigned to the Colorado Eagles.

• Hank Kempf, D

• Jayson Megna, C

• Nikita Novosyolov, G

• Yanick Turcotte, LW

• Jake Wise, C

Meanwhile, six other players have been returned to their junior hockey clubs.

• Shawn Carrier

• Linus Funck

• Teddy Lechner

• Alexandre Raymond

• Ondrej Ruml

• Tobias Tvrznik

The moves should not really surprise anyone at this juncture. The Avalanche will be playing on back-to-back days with games against division rivals the Utah Mammoth and Winnipeg Jets. As such, the roster will begin to reflect more of an Opening Night version.

It’s worth pointing out that the players sent down will continue their traning camp, but with the respective teams.

Avalanche rested several players amid stretch of exhibition games

Several players missed action on Saturday, leading to speculation about their status moving forward. But as Avalanche beat reporter Evan Rawal reported, the decision to sit out these following players was just precautionary with the back-to-back set coming up:

• Alex Gagne, D

• Ilya Nabokov, G

• Taylor Makar, F

• Nikita Prishchepov, F

The names seem interesting as they look like players who could get a realistic chance at making the team.

In Gagne’s case, he was among the considerations for a call-up last season. He never got the chance, but was on standby in case Colorado needed reinforcements on the blueline. The 24-year-old appeared in 58 games for the Eagles last season, scoring one goal and 13 points.

As for Makar and Prishchepov, they got looks at various points last season. While neither of them really stuck with the club, they could get an extended look this season. In Makar’s case, there could be a chance for him to stick around on the fourth line.

The most interesting situation here has to be Nabokov. There’s no real path for him to the NHL this season, unless one of Scott Wedgewood or MacKenzie Blackwood hits the shelf. But he’ll likely get plenty of reps over the next couple of games. The Avalanche will be eager to see what they’ve got in the Russian netminder.

Roster should continue to churn

All told, the next couple of days will be crucial in determining where the roster will go. Avalanche fans will likely see a batch of regulars on Sunday and another on Monday. The outcome of the two games will determine which players will likely head back down and which ones will enter the final week or so of training camp.

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