Avs Determined on Day 1 of Camp

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--The new NHL season is here, and the Colorado Avalanche opened its training camp on Thursday with a clear goal for the 2021-22 campaign. However, as they say, Rome wasn't built in a day.
The team will need to walk before it can run and the foundation that the Avs will build on during the year to reach their ultimate ambition will be built over the course of a few weeks in the team's camp and preseason before opening night on Oct. 13.
"It doesn't matter if you lose in the first round, second round, third round or in the Stanley Cup Finals, if you don't win that last game of the season you're going to be pissed off and you're going to be motivated to come back better," said Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog. "Obviously, the way we lost against Vegas in the second round obviously stinks and there's a lot for us to still learn and get better at. Bottom line, we're not going into camp thinking about what we're going to do in Round 2 coming up in the spring. We're thinking about building and building and getting better and working every day."

Colorado claimed the franchise's third Presidents' Trophy in 2020-21 but the campaign ended sooner than anyone wanted when the Avs fell to the Vegas Golden Knights in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Some say teams need to learn how to lose before they can learn how to win, and the Avalanche has learned lessons from each of its previous second-round losses while the defeats add to the drive of the team.
"I still feel like we've come a long way since the first time we lost in the second round against San Jose… I just feel like we're growing and growing and we're learning how to play playoff hockey," said Nathan MacKinnon. "Some guys are lucky to win in their first couple years, but it's going to be a process and we're learning a lot which is great, we're excited about that. When we face these new challenges, we are going to be ready for them for sure."
Thursday's practice was the first official on-ice session of the year and with the regular season set to run through April 29, the squad has a lot of time to create new chemistry as a group and continue to learn lessons that they can implement in the spring.
"One of my friends said, 'that's just the hockey gods seeing how bad you want it' and I believe that. Nothing comes easy… Just because you are a good team or you are favored or had a good regular season, it doesn't get you anything," said head coach Jared Bednar. "I think we played some really good hockey last year… You've got to put it all together--special teams, the whole package--it has to be perfect in order to win especially against a team like Vegas. No one is going to put more pressure on me than I do. I see how committed our guys are, how badly they want it, and I'm just trying to lead them there as best I can."

SKATE TEST RETURNS

The Avalanche coaching staff split the roster into two groups that each comprised of five forward lines, four defensive pairings and three goaltenders on Day 1 of camp at Family Sports Center.
Each unit spent about an hour running through systematic exercises before switching to a fresh sheet of ice for the final few training drills.
Following the practice, head coach Jared Bednar got his whistle and stopwatch out for his annual skating test. Each group (including goalies) lined up and went back and forth from each goal line while trying to beat a certain time. The players did the skate three times, getting a short rest between each attempt.

INJURY UPDATES

All but four of the 56 players on Colorado's training camp roster were on the ice on Thursday. Among those absent from the ice were defensemen Devon Toews and Roland McKeown, forward Stefan Matteau and amateur tryout Tarun Fizer.
Toews is recovering from shoulder surgery this past offseason and skated on his own between Groups 1 and 2. Head coach Jared Bednar said on Wednesday that he expects the blueliner to miss the beginning of the season while continuing his recovery.
Matteau and McKeown both were out in COVID-19 protocol-related absences after positive tests. According to Bednar, Matteau has cleared quarantine but was held off the ice while he gets his conditioning back up and McKeown's timeline is a couple days behind that of Matteau.
In addition, defenseman Cale Makar was in a red, non-contact jersey for practice with a slight upper-body ailment, but he is not expected to miss any time.
"He had a minor tweak there last week and he had some issues in the summer and he had a small procedure done basically and so now he was feeling good. I don't think there's any rush to get him in full contact, more of a walk through going through our systems," said Bednar. "He's been skating and feeling good so now we're just going to ease him into that. We're not going to rush him into any of the early exhibition games either, but he will be good to go. He will play exhibition and he'll play in our regular season."

O'CONNOR'S NEW DEAL

Forward Logan O'Connor signed a three-year extension on Wednesday evening that will begin with the 2022-23 season and run through the 2024-25 campaign.
The 25-year-old spent the entire 2020-21 season with the Avalanche, recording five points (three goals, two assists) and a plus-6 rating in 22 games. He also appeared in two games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, skating in Games 5 and 6 of Colorado's second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Signed by Colorado as a free agent after attending the team's 2018 development camp as a camp invite, O'Connor has skated in 43 career regular-season NHL games (five goals, two assists) and has produced 67 points (31 goals, 36 assists) in 104 career American Hockey League outings.
"Bigger and stronger and faster every year and we missed him last year with his injury. We missed him at the end of the season, and in playoffs he comes back he gives our team a little bit of a boost," Bednar said of O'Connor. "Real good identity guy, high-character guy, he has done everything in his power to get to this point. Now I think the extension is so well deserved. He is still developing as a young player at this level, but I think that's just a bet on his work ethic, his skating ability, his character--there's nothing that tells me that this guy is going to slow down or not continue to get better
"He already fills a real important role for us whether that's fourth line right wing or third line right wing, plus a top penalty killer, has some jam to his game, things that we value as an organization. To me, it gives him security, lets him settle in. If he pops, we get a real good deal, if he stays what he is I think it's still a good deal. I just think it makes sense for us, we get a guy in that role and lock him in, especially if he's earned it the way he has."

GROUP 1

92 Gabriel Landeskog - 29 Nathan MacKinnon - 96 Mikko Rantanen
17 Tyson Jost - 18 Alex Newhook - 37 J.T. Compher
75 Sampo Ranta - 40 Artem Anisimov - 61 Martin Kaut
63 Andreas Wingerli - 15 Shane Bowers - 93 Jean-Luc Foudy
64 Benjamin Tardif - 41 Gabriel Fontaine - 54 Matej Kaslik
49 Samuel Girard - 8 Cale Makar
28 Ryan Murray - 3 Jack Johnson
56 Kurtis MacDermid - 72 Justin Barron
65 Robert Hamilton - 84 Nate Clurman
35 Darcy Kuemper
60 Justus Annunen
50 Trent Miner

GROUP 2

13 Valeri Nichushkin - 91 Nazem Kadri - 95 Andre Burakovsky
43 Darren Helm - 11 Mikhail Maltsev - 25 Logan O'Connor
27 Oskar Olausson - 9 Dylan Sikura - 44 Kiefer Sherwood
70 Nick Henry - 12 Jayson Megna - 74 Alex Beaucage
73 Dalton Smith - 68 Callahan Burke - 53 Jack O'Brien
4 Bowen Byram - 6 Erik Johnson
48 Dennis Gilbert - 26 Jacob MacDonald
67 Keaton Middleton - 88 Andreas Englund
46 Miles Gendron - 79 Jordan Gross
39 Pavel Francouz
31 Jonas Johansson
32 Hunter Miska

ONE TIMERS

Captain Gabriel Landeskog on playing on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen: "Obviously we know each other very well now and we continue to build off of each other on the ice and even our chemistry off the ice. I mean listen, we are all kind of similar in age and I think we complement each other. I think every good line says that about one another but for us we are three guys that play a little bit different all three of us but it comes down to hard work and that's where it starts for us."
Forward Nathan MacKinnon on Erik Johnson: "He's great. He's played a long time, got drafted in 2006 so, it's great to have veterans around. We're a young team still, we have a lot of young guys, so we need that veteran presence. It's actually really important I think to have him around, he'll keep things light but you know, when things aren't going well he'll speak up and speak his mind and hold guys accountable. He's also a great guy to have around and a really good hockey player, great penalty killer, good guy so, I'm excited for him to be back."
Goaltender Darcy Kuemper on his demeanor: "I just try to be positive all the time in all aspects of life and just try to keep a smile on my face. When it is time to work, work and when it's time to have fun with the guys, it's time to have fun with the guys."

Forward Logan O'Connor on skating with Darren Helm and Mikahil Maltsev on Day 1: "Helm in the skate test, the guy is like Benjamin Button out there it's crazy, he is just flying. Obviously, that's what his game is known for, his skating ability, and it was great to build a little chemistry today. Who knows what the lines will shake out going forward in preseason and throughout that and Maltsy he has got some good skill you can tell he has touch around the net, uses his patience well, he uses his body to protect pucks and shield plays so those are two guys that it was nice to get familiar with them and we will see how things shake out going forward."
Head coach Jared Bednar on Darcy Kuemper: "I like his attitude. I mean, we know what he is in goal. He is a big guy, he has done real well on a team that gave up a significant amount of scoring chances and he is able to hold up in games. He's played really well against us in the past, he had a little bit of injury trouble last year, but nothing serious. And I think if he is a guy that can start for us and give us that 50-plus quality starts I think that we are going to get some good goaltending because I think (Pavel Francouz) is ready to go and get back in as well. I love his attitude, work-ethic, I think he is as competitive as any player that we have, and that is coming from his old goalie coach, old GM, coaches, and that's the type of guy that guys will play hard in front of, so we're excited to have him."