Avalanche Go Undefeated In Rookie Tournament

The Colorado Avalanche are going to win the Stanley Cup!

Okay, maybe that’s a slight overreaction, but it’s been an impressive weekend for the prospects on the Avalanche. Despite not having a ton of NHL draft picks on their squad, the kids for Colorado battled hard all weekend, finishing the tournament strong with a 4-3 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights.

I missed a good chunk of the second period due to an interview (that will be up on YouTube later this week), but caught the rest of the game. Rather than doing a full plus/minus column, I’ll just give my observations on what I saw.

• What else can you say about Ivan Ivan? He’s just always around the puck, and his speed was creating opportunities all weekend long. He assisted on the game winning goal in overtime after a nice rush up the ice, dishing it on his backhand over to Saige Weinstein. Hard to have a better tournament, as he picked up points in every game.
• Sam Malinski got the night off, as the third game is usually reserved for tryouts. One guy who didn’t get a night off was Oskar Olausson. After two sub-par games, he found himself back in the lineup, and did look significantly better. The word I would use is “engaged.” Right from the drop of the puck, he looked more into it, holding onto the puck a lot more and wiring it at the net anytime he had the opportunity. The penalties won’t sit well with the staff, but a much better game from him.
• Jeremy Hanzel had a really good night, assisting on three goals, including the game-winner, as he started the breakout in his own end with a nice bounce pass. I still see no need for him to go back to the WHL, but heavy minutes there might be better for him, as opposed to inconsistent ice-time at the pro level, given the players the Avalanche have under contract.
• Ryan Sandelin took a beating all tournament long, but kept coming back out for more. I think he went to the bench beat up once a game, and looked to be favoring his upper body each time. Something to watch heading into main camp.
• Ondrej Pavel did not dress for any of the games, and it sounds like he’s dealing with something from what I’m hearing, but not sure what. Hopefully everything is okay. I’d hate to see a guy who worked his butt of in Denver all summer have an injury derail things this early in the year.

And with that, the rookie tournament is a wrap. Media day is Wednesday afternoon, and then the Avalanche hit the ice for training camp on Thursday morning.