Avalanche Looking at Line Combinations In Camp

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--Opening night for the 2021-22 season is just under three weeks away, but the Colorado Avalanche is looking at line combinations and defensive pairings through the early part of training camp.
The forward trios and blueline duos that the Avs used at Friday's practice were the same that they first put together for the first day of training camp on Thursday.
Some threesomes are familiar to head coach Jared Bednar and Avs fans alike while other lines are brand new with players that are entering their first years with the organization.
For the forwards, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen have skated together since the 2017-18 season while this training camp marks the first time Logan O'Connor has been combined with Darren Helm and Mikhail Maltsev. Similarly on the backend, Samuel Girard and Cale Makar are familiar with each other and have been together though it is the first time Kurtis MacDermid and Justin Barron have been a duo.

"They are in the pairs and colors that they are right now for a reason and our staff thinks it's a good reason," said head coach Jared Bednar. "I think you have to be open to experiment a little bit and give some guys some opportunity. Some of the young guys will get more opportunity than some of the veteran guys that we've already seen because we have a better idea of what they can do so, you want to see them for a few days in a row and then we'll probably flip and mix things around."

While the skaters can build chemistry when skating together at practices, some will also get a chance to see how they fare against competition in preseason outings.
Colorado has a six-game preseason slate this year, but with many of the team's veterans only scheduled to play in two or three exhibition matchups, each contest will likely feature even more combinations of players throughout the lineup.
"With the six games and only playing a handful of vets, it's really hard to get all of your lines together through exhibition games," said Bednar. "There will be an exhibition game that we'll play MacK, Mikko and Landy together and they may only play two out of the six games so there will be some juggling… There is a fine line there, but I like to be patient and look at a few things and we have some notes scribbled down on what are some of the pairs and line combinations that we want to get a look at throughout the course of training camp and exhibition, and we'll be open to flexibility as well."

DAY 2 ON THE ICE

The Avalanche's roster was split into the same two units on Friday as they were on Thursday, though Group 2 had the earlier shift and was the first to take the ice.
The clusters of players ran the exact same practice so every player has the same opportunities to learn Colorado's system, though the second session ran through the drills faster than the first. That group included the Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen trio as well as returners on the backend in Samuel Girard and Cale Makar.
"That was the exact same practice, the exact same number of reps for both groups and [Group 1] finished 18 minutes faster than the group before. It's about the pace, not just the pace they were skating with, but their execution," said head coach Jared Bednar. "They didn't have to do things again; they were doing it right the first time… Part of that is a lot of our leaders are out there and when you see MacK, Mikko and Landy go out there and do everything at top-end speed, executed perfectly, then you have to be on your game otherwise you're going to stick out like a sore thumb in the wrong way."

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

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

ONE TIMERS

Defenseman Erik Johnson on being paired with Bowen Byram through the first few days of camp:"Bo is great, the sky is the limit for him. He kind of went through his own injury trouble last year. He skates just like Neidermayer did, when I played against Scott a few years ago before he retired--the similarities are very similar--and he is only going to get better and better. If I can help expedite that process by playing with him, I'll be glad to do so. I think the most important thing is he has a good attitude and wants to get better. I think he has improved since last year and if you have the willingness to learn and you have the talent like that you are only going to improve so I think that sky is the limit for him. What once was kind of a weak spot for our organization on the back end is now probably one of our strengths so it's nice to see all the depth we have back there and he's a big part of it."

Goaltender Pavel Francouz on his approach to the season:"It's kind of a fresh start for me. I'm really pumped and excited to be back and play hockey because I love it and I missed it so much. My goal is to do my job and enjoy every second I can do it."

Forward Darren Helm on his early impressions of the team: "First impressions, it's a good group of guys. Kind of seems like everyone gets along pretty well and they want to work and compete, and it's been exciting to you know share that experience."

Defenseman Ryan Murray on what he thinks his role with the team is this year: "I don't know we will see, we'll see once the season gets going and everybody kind of finds their spots. You know, I think you just come into camp with the mindset that you want to do the best you can. You want to try to impress everybody, you want to impress coaches, management, everybody else and bring your best foot forward. Wherever you kind of get slotted in you get slotted in. I think the expectations here are really high, it's a fun thing to be a part of, so on that note you do whatever you can to help the team wherever you are slotted in."

Head coach Jared Bednar on prospect Justin Barron:"I thought he was outstanding today, outstanding. He's not going to wow you with anything he does, but every pass is on the tape, it's hard, it's crisp. Super sturdy down low. So, he's sorting out the coverage very quickly, you can see him paying attention in the meetings. This is a first time through our systems and then we will be reviewing and lots of five-on-five play, but when he gets guys on the wall he's ending plays, he's strong, physical, very mature for his age and experience."