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| Photo Credit: |
If you put much stock into the actual website for the Avalanche (www.coloradoavalanche.com) it lists 12 forwards 8 Defenscemen and 2 goalies on their NHL roster.
I am not sure if those players listed will be who actually ends up making the final roster for opening day on October 15th 2016 but lets use
them as a starting point to try and piece together
what some potential line combinations could be.
| # | NAME | POS | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | DATE OF BIRTH | AGE | BIRTH PLACE |
| C | 6' 5" | 221 | JAN 30, 1990 | 26 | CALGARY, AB, CAN | ||
| 14 | L | 6' 1" | 202 | FEB 18, 1986 | 30 | MEADOW LAKE, SK, CAN | |
| 9 | C | 5' 11" | 200 | JAN 16, 1991 | 25 | HALIBURTON, ON, CAN | |
| 25 | C | 6' 3" | 209 | MAY 16, 1994 | 22 | KHABAROVSK, RUS | |
| C | 5' 6" | 180 | FEB 8, 1993 | 23 | ANAHEIM, CA, USA | ||
| 12 | R | 6' 1" | 210 | JUL 1, 1977 | 39 | EDMONTON, AB, CAN | |
| 92 | L | 6' 1" | 210 | NOV 23, 1992 | 23 | STOCKHOLM, SWE | |
| 29 | C | 6' 0" | 195 | SEP 1, 1995 | 20 | HALIFAX, NS, CAN | |
| 27 | L | 6' 3" | 220 | JUN 13, 1990 | 26 | BÆRUM, NOR | |
| 55 | L | 6' 2" | 210 | JUN 26, 1984 | 32 | BINSCARTH, MB, CAN | |
| 7 | C | 6' 1" | 204 | JAN 22, 1985 | 31 | OAKVILLE, ON, CAN | |
| 34 | C | 6' 3" | 216 | OCT 12, 1985 | 30 | MALMÖ, SWE |
here is the forward chart copied directly from:
http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/roster.htm?location=/roster
Note - Joe Sakic said that Mikko Rantanen would be a full time NHL player this coming season as well as Calvin Pikard, Nikita Zadorov, Chris Bigra.
Note - There are also some reports that the avalanche could be buying out John Mithchel, or he could be on the trade block.
If I were going to be piecing together some line combinations to try for this coming year with these players they would probably look something like this...
Lets take a look first at what some line combinations might look like with just who is listed on the website. After that I will make some predictions about who will make the team for opening night.
LW. Gabriel Landeskog C. Matt Duchene RW. Rocco Grimaldi
LW. Joe Colborne C. Nathan Mackinnon RW. Mikhail Grigorenko
LW. Blake Comue C. Carl Soderberg RW. Jerome Iginla
LW. Andreas Martinsen C. John Mitchell RW. Cody Mcloed
Not sure about you guys, but those forward lines look pretty dang legitimate to me. I will predict that Joe will stick to his word though and Mikko will be starting up with the Avalanche to start the year.
While not many people I speak with have much faith in Grimaldi I personally feel like he has elite level skill and ability. He obviously is smaller but we are seeing more and more of the small players find success at the NHL level.
I remember another small guy by the name of Martin st Louis who went un-drafted because of his size. No scout would deny his skill level, but no scout would risk their job by drafting him either.
He ended up having quiet the career when it was all said and done. The 6 time all star went on to win the Art Ross Trophy twice. (given to the leagues highest scorer) The Lady Byng Memorial Trophy 3 times, (given to the most gentlemanly player) and finally was a Stanley Cup Champion in the 2004. Even playing through the clutch and grab era of the NHL he was able to accomplish all of that and more.
These days smaller players are being able to really show their skill. A player for the Calgary Flames has been putting on a show sense he was drafted by the name of Johnny Gaudreau. With the self given nick name of "Johnny Hockey" Gaudreau has shown that his game is much larger then his 5' 9" frame might suggest. Gaudreau is all ready a 2 time NHL all star despite only playing in the league for 2 years so far.
There are many more examples out there of smaller players who are finding success at the NHL level, but i am digressing from my point so lets get back to Avalanche hockey...
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| Photo Credit: Getty Images |
One Scout I spoke with recently had this to say about Game.
" in that era, I was seeing live Seguin, Hall, Landeskog, Gaudreau, Grimaldi, Yakupov, Galchenyuk, etc on a weekly basis. From a pure skill standpoint, Grimaldi was by far the best. Look into him, he's the kind of guy you'd want your daughter to marry... He was considerably better than Gaudreau. They played on the same team together, so I saw them live a lot against the same competition... His stickhandling is great, passing, shooting, defense, and he's a great penalty killer. Even with that short stick... I had Landeskog #1 and Grimaldi #2 their draft year. Nugent-Hopkins was #4."
Personally I hope that the Avalanche saw what he did as well, and are willing to give him a legitimate shot at showing what he can do at the NHL level.
Next lets take a look at the defensemen that are listed on the website...
Defensemen
| # | NAME | HEIGHT | WEIGHT | DATE OF BIRTH | AGE | BIRTH PLACE |
| 4 | 5' 10" | 190 | JUL 26, 1991 | 24 | VICTORIA, BC, CAN | |
| 32 | 6' 1" | 208 | JUN 4, 1980 | 36 | SOREL, QC, CAN | |
| 3 | 6' 1" | 190 | FEB 22, 1995 | 21 | ORILLIA, ON, CAN | |
| 44 | 6' 4" | 215 | MAY 8, 1991 | 25 | VANIER, ON, CAN | |
| 6 | 6' 4" | 232 | MAR 21, 1988 | 28 | BLOOMINGTON, MN, USA | |
| 6' 2" | 221 | JUL 19, 1983 | 32 | IZHEVSK, RUS | ||
| 6' 5" | 202 | SEP 12, 1990 | 25 | BURNABY, BC, CAN | ||
| 16 | 6' 5" | 220 | APR 16, 1995 | 21 | MOSCOW, RUS |
here is one pairing that we could potentially see this coming year. With the core of players they have on the back end I think that a lot of it is going to come down to who shows chemistry and the most growth in their game in camp and pre-season.
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Tyson Barrie Patrick Wiercioch
Chris Bigra Nikita Zadorov
rotational players
Fedor Tyutin
Eric Gelinas
Joe Sakic has also recently mentioned that when they traded former player Nick Holden it was to open up more ice time for Nikita Zadorov, Chris Bigra and Duncan Siemens. I think that shows that we may see the Avalanche giving him a really close look as well this season.
I could also see Tyutin beating Bigra or Wiercioch out for a spot on a regular basis also depending on how things shake down in camp.
The nice thing about having such depth on the blue line for the first time in many years is that the Avalanche will be able to play certain match ups based on who they are facing that night as well.
In goal the Avalanche have Semyon Varlamov who is currently slated as the starter on their depth charts with youngster Calvin Pikard right on his heels. It should be fun to watch the tandem this year as both have shown flashes over the past couple seasons that they could have what it takes to take over a game at any given moment.
Of course a lot can change over the course of training camp and the pre-season, but these are some of the combinations I would like to see this year. They look to have a solid position battle at virtually every position this year so camp will be vital for anyone who is hoping to make the team.
Who are you hoping to see make the team out of camp this year? Is there a specific rookie or AHL player that you think is ready to make the jump? Leave your comments and thoughts here I would love to hear your thoughts and ideas!
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