Home » NHL TEAMS » Avalanche » Avalanche open training camp with list of injuries

Avalanche open training camp with list of injuries

  
Avalanche open training camp with list of injuries
The Colorado Avalanche began the 2023–24 season with training camp on Thursday morning. (Photo courtesy of Brennan Vogt)

Day one of training camp has completed for today and let’s just say, the third line for the Colorado Avalanche will be a problem for other teams. The line will consist of all new members of the team this year. The third line will consist of Ross Colton, Tomas Tatar and Miles Wood and will provide a strong forecheck, yet still have some offensive power. They were easily able to display that right away today, as well as their immediate chemistry. 

Nathan MacKinnon, who skated on the first line with Jonathan Drouin and Mikko Rantanen, had to leave due to personal reasons. MacKinnon is having the honor of his jersey number being retired by the Halifax Mooseheads, his junior team, tomorrow night. MacKinnon and Drouin, who played juniors with MacKinnon, have been together since both have arrived in Denver this summer and have been inseparable since. 

One of the prospects who signed during the offseason with the Colorado Eagles, forward Ivan Ivan, showed some promise in just day one. He was quick and aggressive on the puck, beating a couple of defensemen to the puck and kept pushing the play. The youngster has speed and some hands to go with it. Eagles fans will enjoy watching him throughout the year as he looks to improve his skills even more. 

There were a couple of things to note in the second group. One of which could be the formation of the possible second line. The Avalanche may see the line of Ryan Johansen, Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin. This line would offer a strong forecheck and very strong offensive power from all three forwards in the group. Oskar Olausson was one member of the group who stood out individually. He showed some grit and defensive prowess in a few drills early on. Olausson was able to steal the puck even after he was out of position to start the drill. 

There is a lot to look forward to this year despite the fact that the Avalanche have a big list of injuries already to fight against. Most injuries are day-to-day, but the list includes the likes of Alex Beaucage and Cale Makar. The faces of both the Avalanche and the Eagles are quite different, but in a good way. They both will have a gritty style of play but hopefully will still be able to produce offensively. 

Leave a Reply