Where Are They Now? Checking In On Former Avalanche Players

Do you ever sit around and wonder what happened to some of the players you watched play for the Colorado Avalanche?

No? Okay, well that’s probably normal.

I, on the other hand, will often have a name pop into my head and wonder…”Whatever happened to that guy?”

That’s how this article came to be. With the KHL and European leagues starting up, some names have come across my feed that I hadn’t heard in a while, and yes, some of them used to play for the Avalanche.

So I started digging into some of the rosters from recent years to see who’s still kicking overseas, and it’s a surprisingly large amount of players. I’m not going to include the two KHL players we talked about the other day, but they’re obviously still going strong.

Beyond those two, who else is still playing overseas?

Sven Andrighetto

Who could forget Sven10? The man responsible for a the game winning goal in game 5 against Nashville way back in 2018, which prompted a memorable goal call from Marc Moser.

Andrighetto isn’t exactly old at 30, so of course he’s still playing. The last three years he’s been playing with the ZSC Lions in the Swiss League, and will do so again this coming season. That means he’ll be reunited with Denis Malgin, who left ZSC last summer, only to return for next season after the Avalanche didn’t qualify him. Andrighetto’s numbers have dipped every year in Switzerland, so maybe he’ll bounce back with a superstar like Malgin back.

Dennis Everberg

An old favorite of mine who popped up a few months ago when he scored some goals in the World Championships.

Somehow he’s older than Andrighetto at 31, but he’s been a regular on Rogle BK in the SHL for 4 years now. He’s actually worn the “A” the last few years with the squad. He’s headed back for another year, and is big time over in Sweden.

Borna Rendulic

Who were Mikko Rantanen’s first linemates in the NHL?

Well, 1/2 of the answer is the Croatian winger. I still remember his first (and only) NHL goal, way back on New Years Eve in 2014 against the Philadelphia Flyers.

His time in North America was short. After leaving the Avalanche, he gave it a shot with Vancouver for one year, but only played one more NHL game. He has since played in the KHL, SHL, and DEL, but is returning to the KHL this season with HC Sochi. It feels like forever ago that some of these names played for the Avalanche, but like Everberg, he’s only 31.

Mark Barberio

One of my favorite interviews of all-time. I still remember having a great conversation with him after Game 82 against St. Louis. He was just so relieved the team got into the playoffs, and was very candid. If you remember, he missed a large chunk of that season, and only returned with two games left. The staff trusted him enough to have him on the ice for the memorable Landeskog empty netter, and that meant a lot to him.

Now 33, he’s spent the last few seasons in the KHL, and will play for Severstal Cherepovets this year.

Adam Werner

Who could forget his first NHL game? It wasn’t technically a shutout because he didn’t start, but he put on a show in Winnipeg. The next night in Edmonton wasn’t as fun, though.

Believe it or not, he never got another start in the NHL after that. He played one year in Calgary’s farm system, and has since returned to Sweden, where he’ll play for Malmo again this coming year. The Avalanche have a scout that works for Malmo, so they could still keep tabs on him if they wanted to.

Brandon Yip

Yip has become a bit of a legend in the KHL. He’s still a very good player in that league at the age of 38, and for the last four years has been the Captain of Kunlun Red Star. He was never able to recreate his rookie year with the Avalanche on Arizona or Nashville, but has carved out one heck of a career for himself overseas. He will once again Captain Kunlun this season.

Nail Yakupov

The man, the myth, the legend.

He’s somehow still just 29 years old, and after leaving the Avalanche in 2018, has been a regular in the KHL. The thing is, he’s not even very good there. His numbers the last few years for Avangard have been pretty unremarkable, and he’s moving on to play for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk this season.

Andrei Mironov

How could you forget the man who made it a point to mention how old the massage therapist was for the Avalanche after he left? Talk about a guy who just did not work out in the NHL, but he is considered one of the best defenseman in the KHL every year. That’s not exactly a league known for developing defensemen, which is part of the reason why I think Mikhail Gulyayev needs to head overseas as soon as he can. Mironov’s played for Dynamo the last five years, and was even their Captain last year.

I hope they have a good team masseuse.

Eric Gelinas

The only real memorable thing he did in an Avalanche uniform was shatter the glass in Anaheim with his shot, causing a 45 minute delay for a game. Beyond that, he was not good.

He gave North America another shot in 2021, but it didn’t last long, and he returned to the SHL, where he had a few solid years. This year, he’ll be playing in Switzerland, but judging by his numbers, he’s not even a great player in that league.

Chris Bigras

One of the better skaters to come through the Avalanche organization, he hit a wall after a promising start. A concussion didn’t help things, as it seemed to slow him down considerably.

After playing in the AHL for a few Eastern Conference teams, he’s since moved overseas. Last year, he split the season between the KHL and the DEL. I can’t even find information on where he might be playing this coming year, which is a little sad, because he’s the youngest player on this list at just 28.

It may not have worked out in Colorado, but they were able to turn him into Ryan Graves, which was a big win for the organization.