Avalanche Practice Observations: Cal Ritchie on the Wing; Sam Malinski Fighting for a Spot

CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The line juggling continued on Wednesday, where the Avalanche again held two separate group practices at Family Sports Center.

1. Among the changes was the makeup of the second line — the one centered by Casey Mittelstadt. As the Avs coaching staff continues to navigate starting the season without Valeri Nichushkin, Gabriel Landeskog, or potentially Artturi Lehkonen, Mittelstadt has seen a handful of linemates since training camp began.

This time it was Joel Kiviranta and Calum Ritchie on his wings. Ritchie, a natural center, got his first chance on the wing with NHL regulars. Ritchie would likely need to play on the wing if he were to make the opening night roster, and head coach Jared Bednar said Monday following the preseason opener that he’s going to give the 19-year-old a shot to earn one of those open spots.

2. The competition for the second-line winger roles so far includes Nikolai Kovalenko, Jere Innala, Logan O’Connor, Kiviranta, and Ritchie. But does Bednar expect to let this drag on throughout the preseason?

“I think [Casey Mittelstadt] is gonna get a handful of [preseason] games, two or three,” Bednar said. “And I’d like to sort of be clear on who may or may not play with him before we do that.”

3. Bednar also continued to keep Cale Makar and Devon Toews apart to engrain the new blueliners into the Avs’ system. Makar again skated with Erik Brannstrom and Toews with Oliver Kylington.

In the second group, Samuel Girard and Josh Manson continued to skate together. Calvin de Haan and Sam Malinski made up the final top pair. There’s plenty of competition among each of the top eight defensemen this season, specifically for ice time on the third pair. Malinski, the only returnee from the bottom four options, is not focusing much on the competition as much as he is on his own game.

“I’m not necessarily looking at the competition too much,” Malinski said. “I’m just more focused on myself and having a growth mindset of getting better every day.”

Malinski admitted that he changed up his training program this past offseason. And Bednar complimented him for putting on quite a bit of size, which has translated to strength on the ice.

3. Bednar kept T.J. Tynan, Matthew Phillips and 20-year-old Nikita Prischepov on a line together. The trio has skated together for the majority of camp and showed well in Colorado’s preseason loss to Dallas.

Prischepov, 20, was selected in the seventh round near the bottom of the 2024 draft in June. And Bednar emphasized again the importance of pairing younger players with veterans like Tynan, who is on his second stint with the Avs organization as a top AHL player.

“You want to have kids that are knocking at the door, prospects that you have that you’ve drafted, that are developing down there,” Bednar said. “And you want them developing at a high rate.

“Well, my opinion is, they’re not going to develop at a high rate playing with each other. So playing with guys like T.J. Tynan and having high-end American League skill, pro skill that knows what it takes, not only to get here but how he can help those young guys continue to play their game.”