Hockey in Colorado is Back

-Derek Belohrad

Last year it was tough to be a member of the Colorado Avalanche and it wasn’t any easier to be a fan.  As many of you know the Avs finished 15^th in the West and to make things worse they were ten points behind the closest team (That is like being 5 games back if you are still in Baseball mode).  The off season didn’t, in my opinion, offer much hope for this year. While they did acquire some talent in Matt Duchene, they lost a great leader who possessed a lot of talent with the retirement of Joe Sakic.  Their goaltending last year was generally horrible and the acquisition of a largely untested goalie was too much of an unknown to offer much relief for next season’s doubts.

Currently the Avs are 4-1-1 and have provided some great entertainment.  Perhaps my preseason doubts were unfounded?

How quickly things can change.

After watching the first few games I have a renewed sense of optimism for the coming year. The team looks good overall and as long they can keep up the hard work I think we will be in for a great season (They can roll over and play dead on January 31^st however).  Specifically, I wanted to point out a couple of the good things I have seen over the past few games. First, Matt Duchene is really good. He still makes some mistakes that drive me crazy as a coach, but as long as the more experienced players stay committed to offering this young player some pointers he will provide some great offense.  Anyone who knows me knows how much I dislike Cody McLeod. Well, I have to give him some credit. I was shocked to see how hard he was working on the ice. I never thought he was an unskilled player; rather I was of the opinion he did not understand the game and wasn’t very interested in working hard. He proved me wrong on all fronts.  He has been skating hard, well positioned and most importantly he has not lost his cool and thus managed to avoid stupid penalties. So Cody, keep up the good work. The Avs can really benefit from it.  Last, I have renewed hope in the goaltending. Chris Anderson is no doubt a scary goalie for a fan. He looks unfocused and out of control. I call this the Dominik Hašek school of “flop around in the crease like a dying fish out of water” goaltending.  You are going to have occasions when this style fails and he is so out of position a goal is inevitable. However, as a former defense man and defensive coach you can adapt to this style of play. As long as the defensemen are aware this is how their goalie will play they can mitigate some of the negative consequences with a modification in their style of play. I think a look at the number of shots he has faced the season vs. the goals he has allowed shows the team is making it work.

Any Avs fan should be excited. They are off to a great start and there are plenty of reasons to keep watching the balance of the season.