AVALANCHE ALERT: EARLY SEASON SUCCESS

By, Josh Hellem

At the end of 2017, the Colorado Avalanche currently sit at 19-16-3. This record is by no means outstanding, however it is a very big improvement from last year’s Avalanche team who only won 22 games all season. In a Central division that is stacked with superstar talent, Colorado has been able to hold their ground and has the potential to be fighting for a wildcard spot down the stretch.

This season the Av’s have already shipped Matt Duchene off to Ottawa. Duchene was the 2nd overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft and was supposed to bring superstar fire power back to The Mile-High City. After tallying only one 30 goal season in 8 years, Duchene’s production was not where it was expected to be. After a lack of leadership and point production, Av’s GM Joe Sakic was looking to find a new home for Duchene. Sakic knew that he could get young talent for the 26-year-old center. After failing to reach a trade agreement in the 2017 off season, it looked like Duchene would be stuck in Denver for another year. Then, just under a month into the 2017-2018 season Sakic had finally gotten the deal he was looking for. The three-way trade sent Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators and Kyle Turris to Nashville. In exchange the Av’s received the young blue-liner Samuel Girard, forward prospect Vladislav Kamenev, forward prospect Shane Bowers, goalie Andrew Hammond, 2018 first round pick from Ottawa, 2018 second round pick from Nashville, and 2019 third round pick from Ottawa. This trade made a clear statement that the Avalanche were no longer going to build their young team around Duchene.

So far, the key to the Av’s early success has come from the production of their leaders. Colorado’s alternate captain, Nathan MacKinnon currently leads the team and the entire Western Conference in points with 46. Behind him is a young star in the making, Mikko Rantanen. Then comes the Swedish captain Gabriel Landeskog with 31 points. Landeskog has been leading by example since he took over captaincy of the team, however he is finally putting up the numbers he should be. MacKinnon has nearly been flawless. The Cole Harbor native has started to become one of the superstars of this game and is an offensive threat night in and night out. If the Avalanche want to continue their success, there is no doubt MacKinnon will need to keep notching points night in and night out.

Another leader of the team has been the veteran defenseman Erik Johnson. Johnson has been able to improve his play year after year, and has helped strengthen the defense of a team that has struggled on the back-end for years. Having veteran skill on defense allows young players like Samuel Girard to build confidence and develop. Having players like Johnson and Girard on the ice together allows for potential offensive production from the blue line while still having the necessary components to limit opponents shots on goal and allow Varlamov to keep the Av’s in any game that they play. Having Tyson Barrie out with a broken hand hurts the Avalanche but look for Girard to get even more ice time and become a more crucial player in the lineup every single night.

If the Colorado Avalanche can continue to get good production from their top line and play well enough defensively to limit the shots Varlamov faces, then don’t count the young team out to make a run for the wild card this postseason.  

Picture Credits: lastowordonhockey.com, twincities.com