Over the past few days, the Colorado Avalanche, and specifically some young prospects, competed in the 2024 Rookie Faceoff Tournament. The Avs were one of seven teams invited to participate in this year's games which were hosted by the Los Angeles Kings. Colorado's young guns went winless in three contests, but in extra ice-time that precedes even the preseason, the experience is what counts.
Each one of the players who made the tournament roster had something to gain by being there. Because the games were free to watch through the team’s official websites, I had to catch them. While I know the win/loss record is mostly immaterial, I thought it would be worth it to see some of the more highly touted prospects in real-game situations. I'm pleased to report that a handful of future Avalanche players stood out.
I am glad that these games were accessible, but admit there was difficulty in getting the best look at the action. Because they were a kind of training camp scrimmage there were serious coverage limitations. There was one, mostly stationary, camera at ice-level. The nets were also an obstruction to line of sight.
The whole experience is something that gave me even more respect for scouts who attend games and sit in the stands. Ordinarily I would love to assess skating specifics of younger talents, but this vantage point made that very hard. Even tracking the puck was honestly tough at times.
Nestor Quixtan, here at MHS, nailed his assessment of a trio who could get real opportunities when training camp gets underway next week. In fact, in the first matchup with the new-look Ducks, Colorado's first goal was delivered by just those guys. Jason Polin scored and was assisted by both Sean Behrens and Calum Ritchie.
Avalanche fans might remember Jason Polin from a few games last season with the big club. He scored his first NHL goal on a pretty shot against Ottawa. Although his NHL duty was short-lived in 2023-24, I think it is reasonable to believe he will be one of the first Eagles to get the call-up this year when the Avalanche have injuries at forward.
Polin got the honor of wearing the captain's C for Colorado's rookie squad in the opening game. That might seem like a small gesture, but it is significant. Any indicator from the coaching staff that they have trust in a player's leadership skills is huge.
The Avalanche fell 3-4 in the first game of the tournament, yet the team was not without bright spots. In addition to Polin's goal, the Avalanche added two more. The second tally was put home by Oskar Olausson, who was assisted by Calum Ritchie after a faceoff win. The third and final Avs goal was scored by Max Curran.
Oskar Olausson is at a major prove-it point in his young career. Olausson was a 1st round selection of Colorado in 2021. He has unfortunately dealt with injuries that have limited his playing time somewhat, but there is plenty of opportunity to turn it around.
Calum Ritchie is also a first rounder, but from 2023. He is, at this time, Colorado's most promising offensive prospect. Assisting on two goals here was hopefully just a taste of Ritchie's future success. The scouting reports on Ritchie laud his separation ability and his positional awareness. Those are qualities that could lead to a lot of helpers.
Finally, Max Curran who added the last goal, was a 5th round selection this year. His path to the NHL is longer than any of the names I've brought up thus far. But he is 18, so he's got plenty of time to develop into the best player he can be.
Sean Behrens, who is the best defensive prospect in Colorado's pipeline, also showed some promise. He is a 2nd round pick from 2021, and has a winner's pedigree. Behrens won an NCAA title last season with the University of Denver, so plenty of Avalanche fans already know his name. Behrens understands what Colorado loves in their offensive-minded defensemen, and looks like he's poised to deliver more of it.
What I saw from him, especially in the first game, was a willingness to jump into offensive play. He was aggressive moving the puck and although he only got one assist, he was noticeable as an initiator on a few chances.
Colorado's second game of the weekend was a downer by comparison to the bookends on their schedule. The team lost 5-1 against Seattle. The one goal was Jason Polin chipping it in off an assist from Bryan Yoon after a faceoff win by Ivan Ivan.
Most of Colorado's higher-profile prospects got the Saturday game off: including Ritchie, Behrens and Olausson. Polin ceded the captaincy to Matt Stienburg for games two and three of the tournament. This was a choice that raised my eyebrow initially, but seeing as the lineup shuffled so much, and Polin got rest in game three, it made more sense.
Matt Stienburg was one of the older players present for Colorado at 23, and for now he looks more like an AHL regular, but that's not saying anything too negative about his game. In the third and final contest of the tournament against San Jose, Steinburg scored my favorite Avalanche goal of the event.
Sean Behrens and Calum Ritchie, with a beauty of a pass, set up Steinburg for a nice one-timer. The Avalanche would go up 2-0 after Ben Brunelle scored off an assist from Chad Hillebrand. Hillebrand later laid one of the biggest hits of the tournament on San Jose's #14. It turned out to be a momentum swing in the wrong direction however.
The agitated Shark skater went on to take multiple penalties in the game, but San Jose scored one of their early goals shorthanded. Colorado's goalie went out near mid-ice to play the puck and got caught way out of position. Both sides were aggressive and upset by the time the score was level in the second.
The wheels came off for Colorado as penalties piled up in the second and into the third period. The Avs faced a pair of dreaded 5-3 disadvantages and early in the final frame found themselves down 5-2 on the scoreboard. The latter of the two was one of the more improbable things you'll see in hockey. A penalty taken with 1 second left, leading to a faceoff, which somehow ended in another penalty.
I do recognize my own bias, but I thought there needed to be more time left on the clock to even justify another trip to the faceoff circle. This too, though disappointing, is a teachable moment for a bunch of young guys. Toughness is essential in hockey, no doubt, but keeping composure is also a key to getting minutes.
Speaking of toughness, I have to give a lot of credit to defenseman Josh Fluker who blocked a hard shot in the later stages of one of those 5-3 penalty kills. Although the team was unsuccessful collectively, he showed that willingness to sacrifice his body that I'm sure the coaches noted.
Avalanche winger Keaton Mastrodonato scored the team's final goal of the game yesterday. It wasn't enough as Colorado lost 6-3 to complete the tournament winless. Still, lessons were hopefully learned.
I feel comfortable saying that the Avalanche saw good things from key parts of the rookie roster. It isn't inaccurate to say that a better team like Colorado would naturally see their typical advantage in skill flip-flop in matchups like these. Anaheim, Seattle, and San Jose should be heavy on prospect pool talent with a recent history of multiple high picks.
San Jose, for instance went 3-0 in their matchups, and that was without 2024 number one overall pick Macklin Celebrini, and 2023 4th overall pick Will Smith playing yesterday.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention the goaltending, mainly since Colorado's recent top selection Ilya Nabokov could not be present. Nabokov's KHL regular season is now underway in Russia. Surely I'm not alone in wishing we could have seen him work these games.
Instead, what we got was a rotating carousel in net for each contest. This was my first time viewing the tournament, but I get the distinct sense it is primarily to assess skater skills and coachability as opposed to goalies.
With the 2024 Rookie Faceoff in the rearview, full training camp and the preseason are in sight. It will be very interesting to see how many of the rookie roster players see meaningful minutes in the next step toward the regular season.