Avalanche News
Avalanche Recall Forward, Defenseman Ahead of Game vs Tampa Bay
Jack Ahcan returns to the main club, along with the recently signed Tristen Nielsen
The Avalanche are adding depth to their roster ahead of a game Tuesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The team recalled defenseman Jack Ahcan and forward Tristen Nielsen from the Colorado Eagles on Monday.
Ahcan has been called up before and has dressed in two games this season. Having him available to head coach Jared Bednar allows for an opportunity to rotate him in for Ilya Solovyov. Colorado has juggled between the two and even previously called up Wyatt Aamodt, but didn’t use him.
The spot they’re playing is the one that Samuel Girard will likely take back when he’s healthy, which could be as early as this weekend.
As for Nielsen, it’s far more likely that he’s a sure bet to make his NHL debut on Tuesday. The undrafted Canadian left-shot forward was signed to an NHL contract last Monday following a strong start to his AHL campaign with the Colorado Eagles.
Nielsen, who attended Avs camp on an AHL contract, has five goals and nine points in 11 games in the AHL. Last season he played with the eventual Calder Cup champion Abbotsford Canucks and posted just 28 points in 67 games.
It’s likely that he’ll slot in on the fourth line with center Zakhar Bardakov and winger Parker Kelly.
Colorado recently called up Taylor Makar and he made his NHL debut on Saturday in San Jose. Like Makar, Nielsen is stepping in for an injured Gavin Brindley, who suffered a concussion in Vegas after taking a hit from forward Ivan Barbashev.
READ MORE: O’Connor, Brindley, and More — The Latest Avalanche Injury Updates
Nielsen was first star on Saturday in CV. While he was waiting in tunnel to be called out, I said “great game Tristen, your call up is coming soon.” He acknowledged me with a quote I will not repeat, but he did so with a big smile! I hope he can impress in the NHL as much as is in the AHL right now. Smaller guy, but like Brindley, he has a non stop motor and will go to dirty areas to make plays. He will face the same obstacle as all other young call ups, lack of ice time… Read more »
Let me add. Miner was great in net but the 1 against was a bad one from below the goal line. I do hope the Eagles let Posch have a good share of the net with Miner back down. Behrens looked very good in this game, he uses his small body very well in keeping much bigger guys away from the net. Guschkin is a flat out sniper, this guy could easily replace Olofsson as a pure shooting lefty if the Avs need it. He also has gteat stick handling and work his way out of traffic. Obviously what is… Read more »
Ken, appreciate the AHL update! Reassuring to know we have a little more talent down there than advertised.
Bummer Brindley has a concussion. Hope he make a full recovery.
Barbashev is a thug who has a history of picking on smaller players; ie he took Girard out of the 2022 series vs the Blues with a blind cheap shot into the boards so I wasn’t surprised when he lit up Brindley.