Flesh and blood and vulcanized rubber — A Colorado Avalanche family legacy (Part Four of Four)

Family is deeply interwoven in the history of professional hockey. The Sutter Brothers (all six of them) and their myriad of hockey-playing offspring, the Howes, the Gretzkys (technically), the Hulls, the Espositos, the Richards, the Staals, the Tkachuks — the list of relatives to all play hockey professionally is long.

Dating back to the origins of the Québec Nordiques in the WHA (which, for the purposes of this article, will be included in this list), there are plenty of bloodlines that reach through the minor leagues, up to the NHL, and across the span of a half-century; Based on extensive research, there are 61 total families and 131 total individuals within them who have been at least peripherally connected to the Québec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche and the franchise's various affiliate teams. This quartet of articles, presented alphabetically by last name, attempts to serve as a hopefully-complete compendium of the families that have represented the Avs franchise since 1972. Each player is given a brief summary of their connection to the team; the focus of each player's bio is to identify their connection and to provide a baseline summary of their career, as a whole.

Four quick notes before beginning:

1. Finding familial data is not as straightforward as one might think. There may be people missing from this list, but, with the information available — and hundreds of hours of research amassed — it should be largely accurate and complete.

2. After introducing each player's full name, their first name will be used subsequently to refer to them as a way to avoid confusion with other, mentioned relatives throughout the article.

3. While some names on this list are players who did play for an Avalanche/Nordiques affiliate but were signed only to AHL deals, they will still be included because of their ties to the Avs. Additionally, there are instances where an affiliate team has multiple NHL parent teams, and a player may have been under contract with a different franchise. They, too, will still appear on this list because they did still dress for a team affiliated with the franchise.

4. For each stat table, every player's respective numbers illustrate values for both the Avs franchise and for their total NHL stats, presented in that specific order.

Example:

The "591" represents his games played with Québec and Colorado; the "708" represents his total stats as an NHLer.

Bryan and Jake Marchment

Relation:
Uncle (Bryan) and nephew (Jake)

Bryan Marchment

While he played almost 1,000 NHL games in his career, Bryan Marchment only played 14 of them with the Avs. His time in Colorado was mostly uneventful, but the rest of his career was wrought with penalties, fights, and a rough style of play. In his career, he amassed more than 2,300 PIMs and was also the recipient of 13 suspensions. While he was an occasionally-dirty player, he generally just played hard to keep himself in the NHL. It was a different era of hockey history, and he routinely left every part of himself out on the ice.

In parts of 17 NHL seasons, spent with nine different NHL teams, Marchment was never able to win a Stanley Cup. A year after his playing career ended, following the 2005-06 season, he was hired by the San Jose Sharks (a club with whom he spent 334 games — more than one third of his career and more than he spent with any other team) as a scout and later as a defensive development coach. He remained a scout for the Sharks up until his untimely and unexpected passing in the summer of 2022 at age 53.

Jake Marchment

Jake Marchment was unable to follow in the NHL-destined footsteps of either his uncle Bryan nor his cousin Mason (who currently plays for the Columbus Blue Jackets). However, he did play four years in the OHL (two with the Bellevile Bulls — just like his uncle — and two with the Eerie Otters — the last of which saw him don the "A" as one of the team's alternate captains) and four more years, mostly in the ECHL. In addition to his uncle and cousin, two of his sisters, Carly Marchment and Kennedy Marchment, are also hockey players; Kennedy is currently rostered with the Montréal Victoire of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL).

In Jake's four ECHL seasons, he played for five different clubs: the Allen Americans, the Indy Fuel, the Colorado Eagles, the Utah Grizzlies, and the Orlando Solar Bears. This is where his connection to the Avs franchise lies. Jake's time with the Eagles and then the Grizzlies (resultant of the Eagles switching from the Avs' ECHL affiliate to its AHL one) was one in which he took full advantage: he played the vast majority of his professional hockey while in the Avs' pipeline. He retired in his mid-20s once playing opportunities waned.

Other, notable family members in hockey: Carly Marchment (Bryan's niece; Jake's sister), Kennedy Marchment (Bryan's niece; Jake's sister), Mason Marchment (Bryan's son; Jake's cousin)

Brian and Ryder Rolston

Relation:
Father (Brian) and son (Ryder)

Brian Rolston

Brian Rolston has more in common with Bryan Marchment than just a homophonic first name: both players spent a fraction of their 17-year careers as members of the Avalanche and both played less than a full season with the club in the early-aughts. Brian was traded twice in the same season (1999-00), first from the New Jersey Devils to the Avs after 11 games, and then from the Avs to the Boston Bruins, after 50 games, in a package deal that brought both Dave Andreychuk and Ray Bourque to the Mile High City.

While Andreychuk returned to Buffalo (the team with whom he played the first 10+ seasons of his career) the ensuing offseason, Ray Bourque stuck around for his 22nd season in 2000-01, and he was rewarded with a much-deserved Stanley Cup victory — the first and only one of his career — at age 40.

In those 50 games in Denver, Brian had the worst numbers of his career, discounting only his age-38 season which, fittingly, also featured a mid-season trade to the Bruins. Overall, that 2000-01 season — one admittedly filled with turnaround and upheaval — was the worst one of any of his prime seasons. With the Avs, he recorded 18 points (eight goals and 10 assists). In Boston, it took 34 fewer games to record half of that total (five goals and four assists), indicating how ready he was to settle in one place for a while. The following year, he returned to form, registering 58 points in 77 games.

Ryder Rolston

The Avalanche had five picks in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, and they used one of their selections to draft Ryder Rolston 139th overall. He never dressed for the team or any of its affiliates, however. While in his first of three seasons with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Ryder was traded, alongside fellow prospect Josh Dickinson, in the deal that brought fan-favorite Carl Soderberg from the Chicago Blackhawks and back to Denver. This deal was done on trade deadline day (April 12) during the 2020-21 campaign.

Ryder played a season and a half with Chicago's AHL affiliate, the Rockford IceHogs. On November 27, 2024, he was dealt again — this time for future considerations — to the Nashville Predators. He currently plays for their affiliate, the Milwaukee Admirals; this season, in 22 games, he has registered three goals and four assists. He has played on the Admirals' third line for much of the year, but he has also been an occasional healthy scratch as the floundering Nashville Predators are utilizing their farm system to audition for some depth roles. Ryder has yet to dress in an NHL game.

Other, notable family members in hockey: Greg Rolston (Brian's brother; Ryder's uncle), Ron Rolston (Brian's brother; Ryder's uncle), Stone Rolston (Brian's son; Ryder's brother)

Joe Sakic and Mitchell Sakic

Relation:
Father (Joe) and son (Mitchell)

Joe Sakic

There's not much to say about Joe Sakic that hasn't already been said. He was the face of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise for two decades. He captained them to their first two Stanley Cups. He moved into an executive role soon thereafter and helped build the current generation of Avs hockey — and was both the general manager and the executive vice president of hockey operations when the team claimed its third championship. Essentially every record for goals, points, games, etc. is his — but they are all in jeopardy of getting overtaken by Nathan MacKinnon, provided he can stay healthy and remain as productive in five or six years as he is now.

After the Avs ascended Lord Stanley's peak in 2022, he appointed Chris MacFarland the team's next general manager, but Sakic is still involved heavily in the behind-the-scenes, day-to-day operations in the front office. He currently serves as the team's president of hockey ops. Since Joe was first drafted, 15th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, there have only been two seasons in which Joe wasn't directly involved in the trajectory of the franchise. He retired, to much fanfare, in 2009, and his executive career began in 2011 and continues to this day. It's a remarkable run for one of hockey's all-time greats.

Mitchell Sakic

It's hard not to see some blatant nepotism at play here, but, regardless of circumstances, Mitchell Sakic has been a video scout for the Avalanche since the 2020-21 season. His responsibilities include keeping tabs on potential draft picks for the Avs to pursue — ones who show promise and a propensity to fit into the systems in place in Colorado. He searches for potential chemistry that can be developed and molded to help form a future Avs star player. Mitchell is one of 17 scouts employed by the Avs, and he works alongside Neil Shea Sr., who is featured on the final, extra article in this series.

Mitchell was born in Denver in 1996, so Joe was still in the prime of his career as Mitchell and his brother Chase grew up surrounded by Avalanche hockey. Before his time in his father's employ, Mitchell played two years of high school hockey for Mullen High School, a private school in Denver, Colorado. In a combined 33 games, Mitchell — a forward — recorded 5 goals, 13 assists, and 18 points. He didn't play at a level higher than high school, and neither he nor his brother played past their teenage years.

Other, notable family members in hockey: Brian Sakic (Joe's brother; Mitch's uncle), Chase Sakic (Joe's son; Mitch's brother)

Jean-François Sauvé and Philippe Sauvé

Relation:
Uncle (Jean-François) and nephew (Philippe)

Jean-François Sauvé

JF Sauvé's professional career lasted just over a decade, and in that time, he played for eight different teams (the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs, Rochester Americans, Buffalo Sabres, Québec Nordiques, Fredericton Express, Adirondack Red Wings, Fribourg-Gotteron HC, Tours) in five different leagues (the QMJHL, AHL, NHL, Swiss-A, France), spread out across four countries (Canada, the United States, Switzerland, France) and two continents (North America and Europe).
Despite the rapid relocation and consistent inconsistencies that marked his playing career, the lengthiest career stop during JF's hockey-playing days was in Québec.

As a native of Sainte-Geneviève, Québec, it is perhaps fitting that the bulk (comparatively speaking) of JF's career took place in his home province, first in the QMJHL (where he helped Trois-Rivieres claim both the 1978 and 1979 President's Cup) and next with the NHL with the Nordiques from 1983-84 to 1986-87. During his third season as a Nord, JF put together a career-best statline of 56 points (16 goals and 40 assists) in 75 games. He won four championships in his career: two in the QMJHL, and two in the AHL (one with the American, and one with the Red Wings). In all four instances, JF put together at least a point-per-game average in the playoffs, with his best performance coming in 1978-79 when he recorded 19 goals and 19 assists in just 13 games.

Philippe Sauvé

The Avalanche have struggled, infamously, to develop goaltenders. Unfortunately for Philippe Sauvé, he would not be an exception to that trend. The Avs had high hopes for Philippe; they took a risk on him and drafted him 38th overall in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. He spent three full seasons with the Hershey Bears to kick off his pro career and played 17 games with the Avs during the 2003-04 season. He posted a7-7-3 record, a 3.04 GAA, and a 0.896 SV% in that time. He only played in 32 NHL games in his entire career, and after departing from Colorado, he spent most of his time in the minor leagues.

By drafting Philippe so early in the '98 draft, the Avs missed out on Mike Fisher (44th), Brad Richards (64th), Erik Cole (71st), Brian Gionta (82nd), Alexei Ponikarovsky (87th), Shawn Horcoff (99th), Jaroslav Spacek (117th), Andrei Markov (162nd), Pavel Datsyuk (171st), and Michael Ryder (216th). Additionally, they passed over notable NHL netminders Jason Labarbera (66th), Andrew Raycroft (135th), and Antero Niittymaki (168th). One component that made this missed pick more palatable is that the Avs had seven picks in the first two rounds of that draft, and a handful of these players panned out, even if not in Colorado: Alex Tanguay (12th), Martin Skoula (17th), Robyn Regehr (19th — who was sent to Calgary in a package that brought Theo Fleury and Chris Dingman to Denver), and Steve Moore (53rd).

Other, notable family members in hockey: Bob Sauvé (JF's brother; Philippe's father), Maxime Sauvé (JF's son; Philippe's cousin)

Anton Šťastný, Marián Šťastný, Paul Stastny, Peter Šťastný, and Yan Stastny

Relation:
Brothers (Anton, Marián, and Peter)
Brothers (Paul and Yan)
Father (Peter) and sons (Paul and Yan)
Uncles (Anton and Marián) and nephews (Paul and Yan)

Anton Šťastný

Anton and Peter were the first of the Šťastný brothers to defect from the Eastern Bloc and the encroaching Iron Curtain that had first taken control of Czechoslovakia in August of 1968. With the help of the Nordiques, the Canadian Embassy, and Austrian police, the two — along with Peter's pregnant wife — were smuggled out and flown to Canada. They immediately took the NHL by storm and turned the Nords from a basement-dwelling team to a contending one. While Peter was certainly the star, Anton — the youngest of the three — was no slouch, himself.

In his first year in North America, Anton recorded 39 goals and 46 assists for 85 points in 80 games. His torrent start carried on throughout each of his nine seasons in la belle province, and he finished his NHL career with just under a point-per-game average: 636 points in 650 games. While Marián and Peter both played for other teams in the NHL (Peter played for the New Jersey Devils and the St. Louis Blues; Marián played for the Toronto Maple Leafs), Anton spent his entire NHL career with the Nordiques. He sits third all-time in both points (636) and goals (252) and fourth all-time in both assists (384) and games played (650) for the franchise.

Marián Šťastný

When his two brother first left for North America, Marián Šťastný had to stay behind; as the oldest brother, he had more responsibility and had a wife and three children — he wasn't as easily able to uproot his life to defect. Accordingly and unfortunately, Marián had to bear the brunt of the Soviet ire directed at his brothers during his one year alone in Czechoslovakia. He was banned from playing hockey and was ostracized and unable to find work. His parents were also unable to move into an apartment for which they had been waitlisted, and his father was demoted at work — all acts of retribution from the Soviets. The following year, under the guise of travelling in search of home renovation ideas, Marián and his family fled to Austria, and they, from there, were escorted to freedom by members of the Nordiques' front office.

While Marián's NHL career was the shortest of the three brothers, he still managed to make quite a name for himself, amassing nearly a point-per-game pace (294 points in 322 games) in his five total seasons in the league. He was especially productive when playing alongside his two brothers. Together, the three formed one of the most formidable lines in all of 1980s hockey. The brothers had performed well on the world stage, but it wasn't clear if that would translate to NHL success. They illustrated that they were stars and could play anywhere. Anton (left wing), Peter (center), and Marián (right wing) were a menace for the opposition. While Marián was the last of the three to join the Nordiques, he was also the first to leave. He spent one, final season in the NHL after his departure from Québec, the 1985-86 season; he relocated about 450 miles to the southwest, dressing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which time he put up 53 points in 70 games.

Peter Šťastný

Peter Šťastný was the clear-cut best of the Šťastný brothers. While Peter and Anton argued that it was Marián who was the most gifted of the three, Peter put up unprecedented numbers on an NHL sheet of ice. In his first season with Québec, he became the first rookie to record at least 100 points (39 goals, 70 assists for 109 points), which earned him the 1981 Calder Memorial Trophy. This level of production wasn't a one-off: he recorded 100 or more points in seven of his first eight seasons as an NHLer. Apart from Wayne Gretzky, no one had a more offensively productive 1980s than Peter Šťastný. In that decade, Gretzky recorded a stupefying 1,842 points, and second on the list is Peter, who accumulated 1,059.

Peter spent almost the entirety of the '80s with Québec, and that era defined his career. He initially signed with the Nords on August 26, 1980, and he remained there until his mid-season trade to the New Jersey Devils on March 6, 1990. The trade brought "future considerations" and defenseman Craig Wolanin (featured later on this list) to Québec, and Wolanin became an integral part of the franchise. Peter still performed serviceably in his remaining five full seasons after the trade (three and some change in New Jersey and two seasons with the St. Louis Blues), although his playing time was severely limited as his career came to an end. He was 37 when he arrived in the Gateway to the West, and he retired at age 38 after nearly 1,000 games in the NHL.

Paul Stastny

Paul Stastny was one of the earliest stars the Avs had in the twilight of the team's glory days; he made his debut in the 2006-07 season, during which time he recorded 78 points in 82 games and finished just seven points behind the Pittsburgh Penguin's Evgeni Malkin in the Calder Memorial Trophy voting for rookie of the year. By that 2006-07 season, Patrick Roy was retired, Rob Blake was playing out his last few years in California, Peter Forsberg was semi-retired because of injuries, Chris Drury, Alex Tanguay, and Adam Foote had moved on to upstate New York, Calgary, and Columbus, respectively. The face of the Avs was still Joe Sakic at age 37, but he, too was on his way out, so it was Milan Hejduk — then 30-years-old — and Paul who helped the team establish its identity post-dynasty.

Paul spent eight seasons in the Centennial State before signing in St. Louis to kick off the 2014-15 campaign. He became the third member of his family to don a Blues' sweater (after Peter and Yan), and he was the most productive player of the three. In 267 games as a Blue, Paul accrued 175 points, equal to 0.66 points-per-game, on average. Yan totaled 10 points in 50 games (0.20) with the Blues. While Peter's average was the highest (0.78), he played only 8% of the total games in St. Louis as Paul did. In addition, Peter only played in four playoff games for the Blues, and he registered no points. Paul, meanwhile, played in 33 playoff games and provided six goals and 11 assists in that time; 20 of those games (and 13 of those points) came in the 2015-16 season when the Blues played the Sharks in the Western Conference Finals.

Yan Stastny

Yan Stastny never played in Colorado, was never drafted by the team, didn't appear in any training camps, etc. — but he did have a brief stint on Altitude TV, working intermissions, pre-games, and post-games with the likes of Kyle Keefe, John Mitchell, and John-Michael Liles. Accordingly, and because of his family's strong ties to the Avalanche franchise, he gets an honorary mention and is included on this list.

While he wasn't associated with the Avs in his playing days, he did follow in familial footsteps by making the NHL. Yan was drafted by the Boston Bruins with the 259th selection in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was then traded to the Edmonton Oilers in August 2005 and then traded back to Boston seven months later. Less than a year after that, he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues — with whom he spent the most time at the NHL level — ending his NHL career in the same place his father Peter did. Yan played an additional seven seasons in various leagues overseas before retiring after the 2017-18 season.

Other, notable family members in hockey: Mathew Stastny, Michal Šťastný, Robert Stastny, Tomas Stastny, Vladimir Šťastný

[Author's note: there's no name for the Šťastný brothers' line — nothing catchy like the "The French Connection" (comprised of Gilbert Perreault, Rick Martin, and René Robert) or "The Trio Grande" (comprised of Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies, and Bryan Trottier) — so I am officially submitting "The Czeching Line" and "The Czech Express" as two options.]

Matthew Stienburg and Trevor Stienburg

Relation:
Father (Trevor) and son (Matthew)

Matthew Stienburg

Matthew Stienburg is a highly-touted prospect in the Avs' pipeline, but he has yet to find his stride on an NHL sheet of ice. This is partly due to how stacked the lineup is on the big club, but he has also developed slowly, thus far, in the minor leagues. Matthew is a center, and, for the first time in since the Nazem Kadri days, the Avs have strong center depth; if Matthew is to crack the Avs' lineup this season — or in any season — he will need to focus in on a specific aspect of his game. Can he be a prolific scorer? His AHL stats indicate that's not going to be the case: in 68 career games with the Colorado Eagles, he has just seven goals and 12 assists for 19 points.

Accordingly, if he ever finds a home in the NHL, he will have to lean into being more like Jack Drury or Parker Kelly: able to dominate the intangible aspects of the ice. If he can win draws, battle hard along the boards, and be an "energy bug" type of depth forward, it may take the departure of either of the aforementioned centers for it to happen in Colorado, but the Avs' front office is almost certainly more inclined to keep those players — or find something comparable in free agency in a few years — if Matthew continues his average play in the minor leagues. His runway is nearing its end, too. At age 25, he is more likely to end up as a "Group 6 Free Agent" than he is to receive another one-year league-minimum (currently $775,000 and set to increase to $850,000 next season) deal from the top brass in Denver.

Trevor Stienburg

Trevor Stienburg was drafted 15th overall, by the Nordiques, in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Despite the obvious potential — and the obvious expectations from Québec's front office — Trevor spent the majority of his pro career in the AHL. After 71 combined games with the Nords — across parts of the 1985-86, 1986-87, 1987-88, and 1988-89 seasons — and 103 games with the team's AHL affiliate, the Fredericton Express, Trevor wasn't re-signed by the Nords. He then spent five seasons in the AHL (two with the Halifax Citadels, one with the New Haven Nighthawks, and two with the Springfield Indians) before hanging up his skates and getting into coaching.

After one season as the assistant coach for Dalhousie University's hockey team — and another, single season as the head coach with the MJAHL's Cole Harbour Colts — he became the head coach at St. Mary's University (in Halifax) for the 1997-98 season. He held that position for 23 consecutive seasons. Trevor now serves as an amateur scout for the Seattle Kraken — a team in desperate need of building its prospect pool — so his job is not an easy one. He has held that position since the franchise's inception. When his son Matthew was selected by the Avs, he was "all smiles" and excited for his son's shot to play for the same franchise he once did:

"[It's an] awesome surprise... It's Matt's story. I want... to keep [the focus] on him. But it is kind of neat [that we were drafted by the same franchise]. And like I said to a couple other people, I hope he gets more games in than I did."

Trevor Stienburg on his son's draft day

Other, notable family members in hockey: N/A

Blake Wesley and Josh Wesley

Relation:
Uncle (Blake) and nephew (Josh)

Blake Wesley

Lovingly referred to as "The General," Blake Wesley's career was short (in terms of games played), but lasted for seven seasons at the NHL level. He was drafted 22nd overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, selected by the Philadelphia Flyers, with whom he played just 52 games before getting shipped to Connecticut in a massive deal (that included a total of four players and six draft picks) with the Hartford Whalers. Blake spent two full seasons there, including the 1981-82 season, in which he logged a number of career-bests: 78 games played, nine goals, 18 assists, 27 points, and 123 PIMs. He also finished that season with a career-worst minus-34. The following season, his playing time decreased to just 22 games, and his offensive output diminished commensurately.

Blake was the first of three family members to play for the Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes franchise. More on that later. Fittingly, after his time with the Whalers, Blake was traded in a one-for-one with the Nordiques in exchange for future franchise figurehead and general manager (and member of the second installment of this series), Pierre Lacroix. While with the Nords, Blake found resurgent success and revitalized ice time, and he played more games while wearing the Québec powder blue than he did anywhere else. After some time in the AHL, a 27-game stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and some more time in the AHL, Blake retired following the 1987-88 season.

Josh Wesley

Josh Wesley, soon to be 30 years old, has had quite the minor-league career thus far. Despite never playing in the NHL (which will likely never happen at this point), Josh has toured much of North America and Europe as a hockey player. Since his pro career began 11 years ago, Josh has played in the AHL and the ECHL, as well as the Czech, Austrian, and Slovak leagues. In the AHL, he played for the Charlotte Checkers, Hartford Wolf Pack, San Antonio Rampage, Utica Comets, Springfield Thunderbirds, and Colorado Eagles. In the ECHL, he played for the Florida Everblades, Maine Mariners, Tulsa Oilers, and Utah Grizzlies. Overseas, he has dressed for Litvinov HC and Vitkovice HC (Czech), the Val Pusteria Wolves (Austria), and Zvolen HKm (Slovak). That's a lot of mileage rewards points.

Josh's family has strong ties to the Whalers/Hurricanes franchise. His uncle, Blake, played for the Whalers for the 1981-82 season and part of the1982-83 season. His father, Glen, played for the Whalers and remained on the team when it relocated and became the Carolina Hurricanes. His time with the franchise lasted — with the exception of seven games in Toronto after a trade-deadline move from which he was ultimately re-signed — from the 1994-95 season up until he retired after the 2007-08 season. Lastly, Josh, who was born in Hartford while Glen played for the Whalers, was drafted by the Hurricanes (96th overall in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft), and was in their farm system for five seasons. Josh's one stint with the Avs franchise came during the 2024-25 season, during which he played 57 games with the Utah Grizzlies (registering 18 goals and 22 assists for 40 points) and 9 games with the Eagles (zero goals, one assist, one point).

Other, notable family members in hockey: Glen Wesley (Blake's brother; Josh's father)

Chris Wolanin and Craig Wolanin

Relation:
Brothers

Chris Wolanin

Not to be confused with his nephew, Christian Wolanin, Chris Wolanin had a much shorter — and much less credentialed — pro hockey career. The Vancouver Canucks drafted Chris in the 11th round (a round that no longer exists) of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft after his first of four seasons with the University of Illinois-Chicago. He never played at the NHL level, and his career only lasted for three years (from 1991-92 to 1993-94) in the ECHL with the Greensboro Monarchs and one season (1995-96) in the now-defunct Sunshine Hockey League (SHL) with the Daytona Beach Breakers.

The Greensboro Monarchs, from 1989-1992 (and again from 1993-1995), were the ECHL affiliate of the Québec Nordiques, which serves as Chris' connection to the Avs franchise. In his three seasons with Greensboro, Chris, a left defenseman, played in 136 games, scored 15 goals, assisted on 38 more, and accumulated 361 PIMs. There's not much else to say about the Detroit, Michigan native, as his other family members, Craig and Christian, both have had much more expansive professional hockey careers.

Craig Wolanin

Craig Wolanin's first taste of NHL hockey came with the New Jersey Devils, the team who drafted him third overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft. There's no denying that Craig put together a strong NHL resume throughout his 13-year career, but there were dozens of franchise-altering players drafted after him, namely Joe Nieuwendyk (27th), Mike Richter (28th), Fredrik Olausson (81st), and Igor Larionov (214th), so there's an argument to be made that Craig should've gone much later in the draft. After four full seasons and a portion of a fifth with the Devils, Craig and "future considerations" (which wound up becoming Randy Velischek, months later) were shipped to the Great White North in exchange for Peter Šťastný. Craig spent parts of seven seasons with the Nordiques/Avs franchise, with the first six-and-some-change seasons coming north of the border.

When the Nords relocated to Colorado, Craig remained with the team; he dressed in 75 regular-season games in that 1995-96 season, but he served as the Avs' seventh defenseman in the playoffs, only appearing in seven contests. Allegedly, this was because the ever-opinionated Patrick Roy told head coach Marc Crawford to never play Craig in front of him ever again, although both players have denied it publicly. Following that Cup-clinching season, Craig was traded, just 49 days after the last game of the Stanley Cup Finals — and just two days after his "Day with the Cup, which also happened to be his birthday (July 27 — to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a second-round pick in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft. Just over half-a-year later, the Bolts received a third-round pick in that same draft (essentially dropping down a round in exchange for 186 days of Craig Wolanin) when they sent Craig to the Maple Leafs, with whom he ended his NHL career.

Other, notable family members in hockey: Christian Wolanin (Chris' nephew; Craig's son)

Ray Bourque, Mark Pandolofo, and Joe Whitney

Relation:
Complicated; through marriage

Ray Bourque

So much has been written about Ray Bourque and his time with the Avalanche. Accordingly, this blurb aims to connect him to the franchise in a different way: showing Ray's career highlights against the Nordiques and Avs. As a native of Montréal, QC, Ray Bourque — who spent 21 years in Boston — didn't do anything to mitigate the long-standing rivalry between the Bruins and the Canadiens. He routinely torched the Habs with his explosive skating and otherworldly hockey IQ. They weren't the only team to feel Ray bearing down on them, however; a fellow, French-Canadian franchise had its fair share of nightmares thanks to number 77. There are three instances in which Ray was the ultimate heartbreaker for the Nordiques.

First: March 8, 1983. In the Nordiques' own barn, he recorded the only hat trick in his entire NHL career, contributing to an 11-5 Bruins' win. Ray also added an assist to the scoresheet when he provided the primary pass to the late, great Peter McNab. Second: December 4, 1986. After losing the night prior to a goal scored with two seconds left in the third, the Nordiques, at the hands of Ray, were dealt another loss, this time with one second left. Or did they? The green light, signaling the end of a period, had come on, and the referees spent more than five minutes reviewing the call, something far more unusual in the '80s than today. After the goal was eventually allowed, Nords' netminder, Clint Malarchuk, had to be physically restrained by his fellow players, and both he and head coach Michel Bergeron were given game misconducts for their reaction to the call. Third: March 21, 1991. Ray peppered Ron Tugnutt, who was tending goal for the Nordiques, with an NHL-record 19 shots on goal. Agonizingly for Ray, only one of them went in, and his 19th was stopped dramatically and with eight seconds left in overtime. The game ended as a 3-3 draw. Tugnutt set a record of his own, stopping a whopping 70 shots in that game. Surely, the Avs franchise wants nothing to do with him, right?

Mark Pandolfo

After being passed on by NHL clubs in consecutive drafts, Mark Pandolfo followed up four seasons at UMass-Lowell with a trio of seasons as a minor-league pro. He split time between the Lowell Lock Monsters/Lowell Devils and the Trenton Titans/Devils (the New Jersey affiliates must have strict orders to keep the devilish nomenclature theming) from 2005-06 to 2007-08. During that 2005-06 season, the Avs shared affiliate rights of the Lowell Lock Monsters, thusly tying Mark's brief hockey career to the long lineage of the Nordiques and the Avalanche.
After his time in the States, Mark played one year overseas; he spent the 2008-09 season with the Frisk Asker Tigers, a team in Norway's top division, the EliteHockey Ligaen (EHL).

Because there's not much else to say about Mark, it's time for everyone's favorite segment: Norwegian Hockey Facts! Frisk Asker was founded in 1922, making it much older than most NHL clubs. The team is based in Askerhallen, less than a 30-minute drive from Norway's capitol, Oslo. Mats Zuccarello, a native of Oslo, is the most notable NHLer to have played for Asker; he spent his junior career with the team. Of all the Norwegian teams currently playing in the EHL, Asker is the second-oldest, behind Vålerenga Ishockey, which was founded in 1918. Avs franchise players/prospects/etc. who played for the Tigers include René Corbet (1993-94 – 1998-99), Félix Girard (AHL 2016-17 and 2017-18), Jonas Johansson (drafted by the Avs in 2002), and Anders Myrvold (1994-95 and 1995-96).

Joe Whitney

Joe Whitney, a 5'6" forward who had a decade-long professional hockey career, went undrafted despite scoring 142 points in 161 games (a 0.88 points-per-game average) in four seasons with the Boston College Eagles. The reason for this is almost certainly due to league biases surrounding the idea that "undersized players" can't compete at the NHL level, which is untrue. While there are absolutely some unique challenges for smaller-statured players, plenty of them have been successful in the NHL. One need not look any farther than the Avs' own history to see a litany of such players: Theoren Fleury and Rocco Grimaldi (both 5'6") and current Avs forward Gavin Brindley (5'8").

While he ultimately wasn't able to compete at the NHL level for more than five combined games in his career, there's an argument that a contributing factor for this was the lack of opportunities he was afforded because of the aforementioned misconceptions. Despite any mitigating factors, Joe still made a living in the ECHL and AHL — and finished out his playing days with a pair of seasons in both the Swedish Elite League (SweHL) and the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). His only connection to the Avs is a single season, the 2016-17 season, in which he not only joined the San Antonio Rampage but was also named the team's captain. That year, he scored 11 times and assisted on 17 goals (totaling 28 points) in 55 games.

Other, notable family members in hockey: Chris Bourque, Dylan Bourque, Dylan Bourque, Kingston Bourque, Phil Bourque, Richard Bourque, Ryan Bourque, Bobby Hanson, Matt Hanson, Trey Hanson, Jay Pandolfo, Mike Pandolfo, Sam Pandolfo, Steve Whitney, Tyler Whitney

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