What will the shorthanded Avalanche lineup look like? A position-by-position guide to training camp battles.

If the Colorado Avalanche ever has a full allotment of healthy forwards during the 2024-25 season, it could be the best group in the NHL.

For now, the word “if” is doing a lot of work in that sentence.

The Avs begin training camp Thursday, and the expectation is that captain Gabe Landeskog and jack-of-all-trades Artturi Lehkonen won’t be ready while they recover from injuries. Add in Valeri Nichushkin’s suspension, and Colorado could be without three of its top seven forwards when the Avs travel to Las Vegas for opening night.

There are also a bunch of new defensemen, with two regular lineup spots plus the depth positions up for grabs. At least we know who the two goalies are going to be … right? Maybe.

So let’s dig into the potential training camp battles. Here’s a position-by-position look at where things stand for the Avs on the eve of camp.

Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) and center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrate McKinnon’s goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third period at Ball Arena in Denver on Friday, March 22, 2024. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post)

First line

Locks: Nathan MacKinnon
Likely: Jonathan Drouin or Mikko Rantanen
Other options: Logan O’Connor, Miles Wood, Calum Ritchie, Ross Colton

If coach Jared Bednar wants to load up, the first line will be Drouin-MacKinnon-Rantanen. That could leave Casey Mittelstadt to carry the second line, so it shouldn’t be a surprise if Drouin or Rantanen spends a lot of time away from MacKinnon until the other guys are ready.

O’Connor should be the favorite if the Avs are going to bump a bottom-six guy up to play next to MacKinnon. Bednar would likely point to his speed, tenacity on the forecheck and dependability as the reasons why. The latter, combined with what looked like an uptick in his offensive acumen before the injury last year, could make him a decent short-term fit.

Colton might have the most offensive upside, but the No. 3 center spot is probably more important than being the third guy on the top line.

Second line

Locks: Casey Mittelstadt
Likely: Jonathan Drouin or Mikko Rantanen
Other options: Logan O’Connor, Miles Wood, Calum Ritchie, Joel Kiviranta, Ross Colton, Nikolai Kovalenko, Jere Innala, Parker Kelly, Oskar Olausson

If the Avs go with Drouin and Rantanen on the first line, they could just bump O’Connor and Wood to the second line and find two other guys to play next to Colton. If O’Connor goes to the top line, it could be an open competition between a whole bunch of players for the last spot in the top six.

This is the most likely place where Ritchie could slot in if he proves he’s ready for at least an NHL audition. If he has a home run camp, then maybe the Avs flirt with the idea of letting him be the 3C and move Colton to the wing in a top-six role. That may be the plan for a year or two from now, but it’s unlikely for Oct. 9.

Third line

Locks: None
Likely: Ross Colton
Other options: Miles Wood, Joel Kiviranta, Nikolai Kovalenko, Jere Innala, Parker Kelly, Oskar Olausson, Jean-Luc Foudy

This could go in a number of directions, particularly if O’Connor and Wood end up getting the temporary promotions. Ritchie could start here on Colton’s wing, but keeping him in a bottom-six role seems unlikely.

Kiviranta played on the third line some last year, and Kovalenko has the upside to be more than a fourth-line guy. Innala is a wild card. The Avs would love to see one of the younger guys beyond Ritchie have a big camp and force their way into the lineup.

Fourth line

Locks: None
Likely: Chris Wagner or Pierre-Edouard Bellemare
Other options: Parker Kelly, Nikolai Kovalenko, Joel Kiviranta, Ivan Ivan, Ondrej Pavel, Jere Innala, Oskar Olausson, Jean-Luc Foudy, waiver-wire addition

If the Avs were closer to full availability, the No. 4 center competition between Bellemare and Wagner would be one of the biggest competitions of camp. It’s plausible that they’ll end up on the fourth line together.

Olausson and Foudy don’t profile as “traditional” fourth-line guys, but the Avs might just try to get the 12 best forwards on the ice to start the year. Killing penalties or not could be the biggest factor when it comes down the last spot or two.

First/second pairings

Locks: Devon Toews and Cale Makar, Sam Girard and Josh Manson

If they’re healthy, the Avs’ top four is set for opening night.

Third pairing

Locks: None
Likely: None
Options: Calvin de Haan, Erik Brannstrom, Sam Malinski, Oliver Kylington, Jacob MacDonald, Calle Rosen

If de Haan is healthy, he might the best bet to land a spot on opening night. Both Brannstrom and Kylington are candidates to be the new Drouin — a guy with untapped potential who popped after landing in Denver. Malinski looked like a lock for the third pairing in late June but now has his work cut out for him after all the additions.

There’s no worries about salary cap implications until Nichushkin is ready to be reinstated, so maybe the most likely outcome is de Haan, Brannstrom, Malinski and Kylington all making the team and the Avs carrying eight defensemen. If they’re all healthy and have good camps, not risking the waiver process with any of them makes a lot of sense. Then the competition for playing time could continue into the season.

Goalies

Locks: Alexandar Georgiev
Likely: Justus Annunen
Other options: Waiver wire addition

Related Articles

Colorado Avalanche |


Avs glue guy Logan O’Connor is healthy, ready to keep building after injury-shortened breakout season

Colorado Avalanche |


Avalanche Journal: Oilers, Stars lead preseason NHL power rankings

Colorado Avalanche |


Ten biggest questions for Colorado Avalanche as training camp begins

Colorado Avalanche |


Top prospect Calum Ritchie could be intriguing option for Avalanche with key forwards missing

Colorado Avalanche |


Avalanche signs old friend Pierre-Edouard Bellemare to tryout contract

Annunen should be the No. 2 guy, but goalies can be inconsistent. He was the backup on the last day before opening-night rosters were due last year, but then the club picked up Ivan Prosvetov. Annunen is more proven now, but it’s still a smaller sample size.

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun also just reported that Colorado was one of the teams chasing elite prospect Yaroslav Askarov before Nashville traded him to San Jose. That’s not exactly apples to apples though: Askarov, or another prospect of that ilk, would be more of a long-term play than grabbing someone on waivers a few days before the season starts.

Georgiev is in the final year of his contract, so the team’s future in net beyond this season is still uncertain.

Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.

(Visited 1 times, 1 visits today)

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *