Avalanche hockey is back baby! Well, sort of. Friday through Sunday, the Colorado Avalanche played host to Utah and Las Vegas for the 2025 Rookie Showcase. Some might view the weekend invitational as little more than glorified scrimmage matchups. But for the truly hockey-starved sickos out there, this was reason to celebrate.
After a long offseason, this marked the first meaningful hockey in months. For some young draftees and prospects, it was the initial chance to impress pro coaches. For others, like Avalanche 2nd round pick from 2021, defenseman Sean Behrens, it was a return from serious injury. For the DU Pioneer and 2023-24 NCAA National Champion that constitutes a major test.
MHS contributor Ryan O'Hara has already written about the opening game vs the Utah Mammoth. Colorado's young guns pulled out the victory 5-3 after some final frame heroics from Behrens, Christian Humpreys, and Nikita Prischepov. Thus, I do not have to recount every moment in an exhaustive breakdown.
I do want to highlight Sean Behrens again though, as he helped tie the game at 3. Producing an important goal like that in his first action after missing all of last season with a knee injury was huge. Knee issues can be especially delicate as every Colorado fan and captain Gabriel Landeskog are painfully aware.
Add to that reality the aggressive offensive style this club loves to see in their defensemen and Behrens' bounce-back guts are all the more important. Obviously, Colorado cannot expect to produce copies of Cale Makar, but when he is the standard-bearer in the organization, it does have a broader cultural effect.
The Avalanche matched up with the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday afternoon to finish off the mini-tournament. Unfortunately, the prospects from the burgundy and blue were not victorious in that contest, falling 3-2.
But thankfully, I still came away from the game with positive vibes. In the preseason when final scores matter less than positive teaching moments this is perfectly fine.
Avalanche prospects showed professional mindset
Colorado may have only gone 1-1 over the weekend, but their competitiveness was consistent and adaptable. I love seeing that edge early. It's extra encouraging because this was also Mark Letestu's first major assignment, too.
Keep in mind that Letestu was hired as the new Head Coach of the Colorado Eagles in early July. It makes perfect sense that he was handed primary coaching duties behind the bench for the Rookie Showcase. After all, the prospects who were present are realistically looking at attempting to make the American Hockey League roster in a few weeks.
For plenty of these young hopefuls a spot with the ECHL Avalanche affiliate, the soon-to-be relocated Utah Grizzles, is an even more likely destination. That might sound as though I'm speaking diminutively of their skill, but it's merely what the long road to the big club actually looks like for most draftees.
If fact, the relatively solid showing by Colorado's group over the last few days was fantastic news in my opinion. It's a widely-held belief that Colorado has the league's worst prospect pool. When you look at the organization's lack of high-end draft picks, and perpetual win-now attitude - which often sees them unload future assets, this is an inevitable consequence.
But look closer at the Utah Mammoth Rookie Showcase roster, which is loaded with high-end picks, or Vegas, who was heavy on AHL experience and compare. The Avalanche prospects and coach Letestu showed up and played very hard.
If you are a Mammoth fan toda,y and you just watched a roster with six first-round draft picks and more besides lose twice, 5-3 and 8-1, what do you even say? Vegas went 2-0, and rightfully earned their bragging rights. By that same token though, if their prospects with so many more games played hadn't won, you can bet there would be internal concerns.
The Colorado Avalanche prospects never quit on Sunday. When down 2-0, and later 3-1 they kept engaged with the game. Even when opting to rest Gavin Brindley yesterday, who might be the most talented weapon the Avalanche brought to the event, they were close.
Christian Humphreys scored in both games for the Avalanche. His tally against Utah was technically a game winner, and he used determination as much as speed to get his team on the board against the Golden Knights. Hank Kempf, a D-man acquired late last season, scored the other Avalanche goal on a nifty slapper.
In net, Isak Posch did pretty well for himself. Notably, he helped his squad survive a dreaded 5-on-3 in the first period that could have seen the contest fly off the rails.
Beyond the scoreboard, there was also the question of fighting spirit. Yes, Max Curran dropped the gloves and fought a guy. There was also a massive scrum at the buzzer where both sides wanted to get in some parting shots. In some cases I wouldn't necessarily want that from a bunch of rookies. However, in a closely contested finale it felt more indicative of everyone letting off accumulated steam.
I have only covered two of these Rookie Showcase events, but this year's was vastly superior to the 2024 edition. Last September, Colorado's rookies went 0-3. None of those games were fun to watch. I would also add that the lack of color commentary this year was surprisingly refreshing.
Last season, when the tournament the Avalanche attended was hosted by the Los Angeles Kings, the San Jose Sharks brought their radio broadcasters in for the event. Having only the sounds of the rink and the game, I felt oddly locked-in as a viewer, even with limited vantage points and a single camera.
The relative quiet not only gave a deeper admiration for real pro scouts, but it also meant I could hear the PA music at intermission. One final note for fans as invested as I am with arena music; in each of the first period breaks the DJ put a different track from the smash-hit K-Pop Demon Hunters. Against Utah they blasted "Golden" and against Vegas they smartly switched it up with "Soda Pop".
I'm biased because my nephews and niece are obsessed with that film. But there is no denying that the soundtrack is brimming with bops. If either of these tracks get in the regular rotation for Avalanche games they will likely be big hits with fans in the stands.
With the Rookie Showcase in the books, we are just days away from preseason puck drop. An even fuller Avalanche roster will meet the Mammoth again this coming Sunday, Sept, 21st, in a pair of split-squad matchups.