Colorado Eagles at Henderson Silver Knights, game 1

The Eagles kicked off their season in a high-scoring matchup against Henderson. This was one of those games where nobody could hold onto a lead for long. As soon as one team pulled ahead, the other would score and even things up. In fact, the AHL feed was down for the first five minutes of the game, and by the time it was fixed, the score was already 1–1.

In the end, match came down to goaltending.

The Eagles outshot the Knights all evening, but Henderson’s Logan Thompson, one of the hottest goalie prospects in the league, was tough to beat. Unfortunately, the same did not prove true of Colorado’s Justus Annunen, who allowed two goals on the first three shots he faced, and looked completely out of his depth through the first two periods. Still, goals by Callahan Burke, Kiefer Sherwood, Mikhail Maltsev, and Jacob MacDonald kept the Eagles in the game. And Maltsev’s amazing through-the-legs goal ended up being the story of the night.

Game 1 of the AHL season and Mikhail Maltsev is already setting the bar pretty high for the @ColoradoEagles with this power-play goal. @SportsCenter pic.twitter.com/boCljISexm

— Kevin McGlue (@kmcglue) October 16, 2021

In overtime, Annunen made up for his earlier shortcomings by making some spectacular saves. The game went to a shootout, where the Eagles nonetheless suffered their first loss of the season.

Colorado Eagles at Henderson Silver Knights, game 2

Two days later, the Eagles once again faced the Knights, this time with Hunter Miska in the Colorado net. Unfortunately, that change was not enough. Although Miska had been fantastic for the Eagles many times in the past, this was not his best game.

Not all the blame lies with Miska though. The Eagles took four penalties in the second period alone and gave up goals on three of the subsequent Henderson power plays. At the end of the second period, the Eagles were on the wrong side of a 5-1 margin, with Burke scoring the lone Eagles goal.

The Eagles swapped goalies at second intermission, and Coach Greg Cronin must have given the team an epic scolding, because they came out hot in the third. They outshot the Knights 20­–2 through the final period and narrowed the deficit to 5-3 with goals from Sherwood and Alex Newhook. Cronin pulled his goalie with nearly five minutes left on the clock, but the gamble did not work this time. The Knights scored an empty-net goal—only their third shot on goal of the period—at just over four minutes left to play.

San Jose Barracuda at Colorado Eagles, game 1

After 18 months of an empty, silent Budweiser Events Center, the Colorado Eagles finally got to play in front of their fans again, and it was clear the team was determined to provide a win against the Barracuda. Alex Beaucage put the Eagles up 1­–0 early in the first period—a lead they would hold until early in the second, when San Jose scored back-to-back goals only 17 seconds apart. Dylan Sikura followed up a few minutes later with a short-handed goal. Dalton Smith and Justin Barron gave the Eagles a 4–3 lead by at second intermission. Unfortunately, the Eagles couldn’t hold that lead. San Jose tied the game less than two minutes into the final frame, and then scored again to take the lead with less than five minutes left in the game.

San Jose Barracuda at Colorado Eagles, game 2

As is often the case in the AHL, the same two teams faced each other again the very next evening. The Eagles went to intermission up 2­–1, thanks to goals from Sherwood and Burke, but that was the end of the scoring for Colorado, who ended up losing 4-2.

All hugs for Sherwood's third of the season .#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/fdcGfGDFVI

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) October 24, 2021

So what exactly is happening here?

I think there are several key takeaways from these four games.

First, the Eagles are consistently outshooting their opponents.

They have dominated several periods of play. So why are they losing? Since joining the AHL, “shooting but not scoring” seems to have become a pattern for the Eagles. Sherwood and Burke are doing their part. Getting Jayson Megna back, after a recent call up with the Avalanche, will help. Part of the problem is simply that the Eagles have faced some very good goalies.

Obviously, given the small number of games, these stats do not mean a lot. Zachary Sawchenko is a rookie. Alexei Melnichuk played 17 games last year, and finished with a GAA of 3.47 and a .868 save percentage. Logan Thompson is arguably the best goalie in the league. He finished last season as the top goalie in the AHL with a GAA of 1.96 and a .943 save percentage.

And on the Eagles’ end of the ice?

I would be lying if I said I was not concerned about Justus Annunen’s goaltending. He makes some spectacular saves, but he also lets in too many soft goals. He is good in one-on-one situations like breakaways and shootout goals, but he flounders when things get messy in front of the crease. A lot of this can be chalked up to adjustment time. He has only played four games in America. He is used to the bigger, European ice, and hopefully his play will improve as he adjusts to the rink size, and to the style and pace of play in the AHL.

Regardless, blame cannot be placed solely on goalies. The Eagles absolutely must fix their penalty kill. They are currently ranked third in the league on the power play, but dead last in the league on the kill, having given up 6 power play goals in 16 attempts. That number needs to improve drastically if the Eagles hope to be contenders this season.

Finally, what we have learned from these four games is that this team works hard. Not even one of these games can be chalked up to laziness, or failure to show up, or even being outworked. This team battles until the end. Unfortunately, it has not been enough. But watching them, it is hard not to be optimistic. Kiefer Sherwood and Callahan Burke currently lead the team in scoring.

The team has some great players. They just need to learn how to put the pieces together. They need better netminding, and they need to stop giving up power play goals.

Up next

The Eagles go on a three-game road trip in California, where they will face the Bakersfield Condors, San Jose Barracuda (again), and the Stockton Heat, before coming home to face the Texas Stars in back-to-back games on November 2 and 3.

The post Tough start for Colorado Eagles appeared first on The Rink.

DO IT!

As any fan knows, there is nothing like live hockey. But, Eagles games have their own amazing energy. I often hear it compared to the feel of college games. Despite what some Denver fans seem to think, this is not a group of Avalanche fans who did not feel like driving to Denver for “real” hockey. This is Eagles Country. We were selling out our barn long before there was any affiliation with the Avalanche. In fact, the Eagles hold the minor pro sports record for most consecutive sellout games at 367. We are a diehard group of fans who love our team, and we would love to have you join us. But, where to begin? 

Let me help you.

The basics

The Budweiser Events Center seats 5,280 fans. That’s it. Have you heard the saying “there is not a bad seat in the house”? When it comes to the BEC, it is not a cliché. Any seat you are in will feel more intimate than an Avalanche game. But, different sections can also have their own feel. The mid-ice seats on the west side of the building are club seats and are the only padded seats in the building. I tend to think of this as “the nice section,” but that does not mean it is not fun. Directly across the ice on the east side of the building, you will find some of the loudest, rowdiest die-hard fans in Northern Colorado, including subsections proudly known as Club Rowdy and Cell Block E. On the south end, behind the attack-twice goal, is where I sit. I am biased, but I think our section is the place to be. We may not be quite as loud. You will not see us dancing on the Jumbotron (not that there is anything wrong with that). But, you will find a group of hardcore, knowledgeable season ticket holders who are more interested in goals than fights.

The Budweiser Events Center is an excellent place to watch a hockey game. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

Sold on going to a game yet? Good. Buy tickets here.

The BEC now uses the same clear bag policy as most major sporting venues. There are no paper tickets and no cash transactions (thanks a lot, COVID-19). So, have your tickets downloaded to your phone ahead of time, and bring your credit or debit card.

All parking at the Budweiser Events Center is free.

Also, be prepared for it to be loud as hell. I am not kidding. This is a very small, enclosed building with thousands of fans ringing cowbells. I have had so many friends get to the game and marvel that it is louder than any sporting event they have ever attended. I am going to say it again: Eagles Country is LOUD.

If it is too much, they have free earplugs available at the guest services desk. Do not be afraid to ask for a pair.

Which game to attend?

Like most teams, the Eagles have certain promotional nights, and these can be some of the most coveted tickets of the season. Cowbell night—this year, on Nov. 19—is immensely popular, but I recommend bringing earplugs. On Nov. 26, all kids receive a free Eagles jersey. Nov. 27 is bobblehead night. Pucks and Paws night—on Dec. 4 this year—raises money for local animal charities and features the Ruff Flyball Dogs at intermission (always a hit). Fireworks night in January is a blast (pun fully intended). Jan. 15 is ‘80s Night, where you can laugh at how people under 40 think we dressed back then. (This ‘80s girl does not remember anybody wearing neon tutus, but nobody tell the college students that). Pot of Gold, which happens in March, raises money for a local family in need—very often for a child with a terminal illness. It is a worthy and important cause and features all kinds of auctions and giveaways.

Check out the full list of promotional nights below or here. If you are buying for a family, look for the Pepsi four-pack option, which includes four tickets and $40 of concession vouchers for only $98.

Promotion schedule courtesy of the Colorado Eagles

If you only plan on attending one Eagles game this year, do yourself a favor and come on Dec. 11 for the annual Teddy Bear Toss! Bring as many stuffed animals as you can carry and throw them onto the ice after the first Eagles goal. This tradition collects thousands of stuffed animals for local hospitals, and watching the Eagles players collect all those toys and load them into trucks is half the fun. But, buy your tickets early, because this will be one of the first games to sell out.

Hunter Miska helps pick up stuffed animals on Teddy Bear Night in 2019. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

Eagles Country will fill as many as 12 trucks on Teddy Bear night. All toys are donated to local hospitals. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

Do not hesitate to bring giant stuffed animals on Teddy Bear night! (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

In the stadium

Not counting the suites, the Budweiser Events Center only has one level and therefore only one concourse. When you enter the stadium, you will come up the stairs and into a mass of humanity who seem to be going absolutely nowhere at the slowest possible pace. There may also be cheerleaders handing you random stuff, like magnetic schedules or coupons. To your left will be guest services, should you need help (or the aforementioned earplugs). Directly in front of you will be beer, but you will find shorter lines elsewhere.

The Eagles no longer print programs or rosters. If you stop by the guest services desk, you can scan a QR code which will (in theory) direct you to the latest digital edition. But, my advice is bring your own copy of the roster.

You will also be greeted by a bunch of young kids or teens trying to sell you little foam pucks for $1 each. With each puck, you will also receive a raffle ticket. This is Chuck a Puck. More about this later.

The rest of the stadium

The section behind the north goal is the Bud Light Balcony. As the name implies, it is a bar with a balcony, a few tables and no reserved seats. There are often beer specials happening. It is definitely a fun place to hang out before or during the game. This also where Slapshot, the Eagles’ mascot, is most likely to be before the game, in case you or your kids want a picture with him.

On each side of the Bud Light Balcony, you will find the two biggest food vendors in the place—one selling pizza, the other selling burgers and poutine. Other fare is scattered around the concourse, including (but not limited to) gyros, nachos and fresh-fried donuts (so yummy!), as well as the more traditional stadium food. Looking for craft beer? Some of the bars in the BEC have a very limited beer selection, but you can find more options at the vendor right across from the entrance and at the Breckenridge Breweries station behind section E.

Hoping for something a little more upscale than stadium nachos? Check out the Blue Bar and Grill, located on the fourth floor (that is the suite level) of the BEC. The restaurant opens 90 minutes before the puck drops, and it is best to make a reservation.

The merchandise stand is behind section J. Expect epically long lines if you go during intermission.

During the game

In the past, the national anthem was almost always sung by local school choirs. Whether or not this will continue this year remains to be seen, but I hope so. The older kids can be amazing, and the younger ones are downright adorable. There is nothing like hearing a ragtag group of 5-year-olds singing our anthem.

(Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

I know all you Avs fans are waiting to hear “All the Small Things,” but here in Northern Colorado, we have our own traditions. One of the crowd favorites, which involved greeting the opposing players when they entered the ice, was taken away when the Eagles moved to the AHL, but other traditions remain. Before puck drop, Reed Saunders (also known as the Voice of Coors Field) will say, “It’s (Friday) night,” and the crowd will answer, “It’s hockey night!” When the opposing team’s power play ends, and Saunders says, “(Team) back to full strength,” the crowd replies with “…and they still suck.”

Chuck a Puck happens during the second intermission, when you will be invited to toss those foam pucks you bought over the glass. Your goal is to hit the bucket at center ice. It should be noted that if you are seated behind the net, you do not stand a chance; go down to center ice for a better shot. Should your puck magically land in said bucket, you will win cold hard cash. The minimum prize is $500 and it goes up another $250 every time there is no winner. Even if you fail to land your puck in the bucket, you could still win one of the other nightly giveaways, so hang onto those tickets and check the numbers when they are announced. Money raised through Chuck a Puck goes to whichever group was selling the pucks that night, often scout troops, local cheerleaders or youth sport steams.

A game stick is also given away during second intermission of every single game. You are automatically entered into this drawing when your ticket is scanned. Just be sure to listen for your section and seat to be announced after Chuck a Puck. And if you win this stick, immediately deliver it to me in section L. I have been attending games for years now and have never won. I want that stick!

(Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

The first minute of the third period is called the Minute of Madness. This is when you will be expected to stand up and make as much noise as you can for a solid minute. In theory, the section that makes the most noise wins a prize. Realistically, I am pretty sure they just randomly pick a section, but hey, free stuff is still fun. If the Eagles score a goal during this minute, the entire stadium wins this prize.

During the Eagles’ goal song, something will be chanted.

What, exactly, do people chant?

Well, it turns out, nobody knows. Or, more accurately, it varies by section. I saw a discussion about it in the Eagles Fanatics Facebook group several years ago, and there were many variations of the chant around the stadium. Variations include:

Drop the puck, drop the puck, go Eagles go.

F—k ‘em up, f—k ‘em up, go Eagles go.

Puck ‘em up, puck ‘em up, go Eagles go.

Rough ‘em up, rough ‘em up, go Eagles go.

Any mix-n-match combo of the above four (i.e., “Drop the puck, rough ‘em up, go Eagles go!”)

Fight, fight, fight, fight, go Eagles go.

Let’s go, let’s go, go Eagles go. (This is the one I hear most in my section.)

And then there’s section C, where they apparently do this:

“We’re gonna beat the s—t out of you, and you, and you and you and you and you.” (Pointing to all the opposing players on the ice)

So basically, it does not matter what you say. Just pump your arm and chant whatever you want and nobody will know the difference.

(Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

After the goal song, the announcer will only say the scoring player’s number and first name, and the crowd will respond with the player’s last name.

Finally, if the Eagles win, you may hear a peculiar sound late in the game coming from Tim in Cell Block E. Or, you may hear it in the concourse as fans leave the stadium. To the untrained ear, it will sound like, “Hoo! How!”

What they are actually saying is “Whose house?”

And in Eagles Country, the response is always, “OUR HOUSE!”

The Eagles home opener is on Oct. 22. We hope to see you soon in Eagles Country!

The post Everything Avs fans need to know (and then some) about attending an Eagles game appeared first on The Rink.

ECHL

First of all, as somebody who spent many years as a fan of the ECHL Colorado Eagles before they moved up to the AHL, let me just talk about how ignorant it is to dismiss ECHL players as talentless hacks. These guys put up with hardships that no AHL or NHL player would ever tolerate. On a normal night, they play with only 16 skaters. I can remember several games where the Eagles had only 13 on the bench. One very memorable night late in the 2017–18 season, they only had four defensemen until Teigan Zahn decided to start a fight at the worst possible time and got himself ejected from the game. The Eagles played the entire third period with only three defensemen and eight forwards. Show me an NHL or AHL team that has ever had to skate that hard.

It is not just the short bench that is exhausting. ECHL players in certain parts of the country spend countless hours on buses, sometimes driving overnight between back-to-back games. In a Montreal Gazette article written by Stu Cowan, former Montreal Canadiens goalie Mike Condon talked about getting on a bus at 11 p.m. in West Virginia and heading to South Carolina for the next game.

“You’d wake up at 8 a.m., 9 a.m. at a Cracker Barrel in South Carolina eating a greasy breakfast,” Condon said in the article. “But that trip wasn’t so bad. The worst was the five-hour, game-day bus rides from Wheeling to Elmira, N.Y., where players would get off the bus after sleeping in their bunks, play the game, then get back on the bus for the five-hour journey back home.”

And then, there is the money. ECHL players generally make less than $20,000 per year. These guys are not playing for fame and fortune. They are playing because they love the game, and, for some, because they still dream of working their way up to the AHL and NHL.

The dedication of ECHL players warrants a lot more respect than many hockey fans give. (Photograph courtesy of Utah Grizzlies)

The skill level may be a bit lower, but these guys are all heart. In many ways, I have more respect for ECHL players than AHL or NHL players. But, since the people making these accusations think calling these players “ECHL caliber” is an insult, let me address whether or not there is any logical reason to call them ECHL players at all.

AHL roster

AHL rosters are divided into two categories: Veteran players and development players.

AHL vets

The AHL defines veteran players as those who have played more than 260 professional games (this includes AHL and NHL games, but not ECHL games). Per AHL rules, teams can only dress six veteran players per game. This year’s veterans are forwards Jayson Megna, Liam O’Brien, Miikka Salomaki and TJ Tynan and defensemen Brett Lernout, Greg Pateryn and Dan Renouf.

Most years, six of those vets would play every game, roughly one veteran per line or defensive pairing. But, nothing is normal this year. Most of the Eagles’ vets are currently sitting on the Avalanche taxi squad. In Saturday night’s game against the Henderson Silver Knights, the Eagles only dressed two vets, Megna and O’Brien. This has not stopped people from wrongly declaring that vets are somehow stealing “all the ice time.” But trust me, those two veteran players were not the only guys on the ice.

Per AHL guidelines, the rest of the roster (all of whom will have played fewer than 260 professional games) are considered development players. And, since the taxi squad has limited the Eagles to only two or three vets per game, that means the lineup most nights is almost all developing players.

Developing players

Top prospects

I am not going to spend much time on the top prospects, because we all know who they are: Shane Bowers, Martin Kaut and Conor Timmins (who returned to the Eagles lineup just last week). And, despite what some other people might have led you to believe, these three players are all playing top-line (or top-pairing) minutes every single game. The only exception has been when they are out due to injury.

Nick Henry and Jean-Luc Foudy could possibly be considered top prospects as well, but I have included them in the next group.

Should there be more “top prospects” in the lineup? Maybe, maybe not, but the Eagles have zero control over that. They do not get to go out and grab more first-round picks just because they want them. They get the players the Avalanche choose to send them and then must fill the rest of their roster with the best and/or most promising young players they can find.

All the rest

This entire post stems from people complaining the Eagles are playing too many ECHL players. This begs the question, what makes somebody an ECHL (or “ECHL-caliber”) player rather than an AHL player? The simplest definition would be a player who has played the majority of their career in the ECHL.

Here is a list of the players the Eagles have been relying on most this season. This does not include guys like Sheldon Dries, Jacob MacDonald or Logan O’Connor, who have spent the majority of the year either on the taxi squad or in the Avalanche lineup.

As you can see, only four players have played more than a few games in the ECHL: Kevin Davis and Josh Dickinson, who have split their three pro years between the Eagles and the Utah Grizzlies, and Peter Tischke and Riley Woods, both of whom are only in their second pro year.

That is it. Four players max who might be called “ECHL caliber” in the Eagles’ lineup.

Of course, dismissing them as “only ECHL players” ignores the possibility of development and improvement completely. It also does a real disservice to guys like Tischke, who played his first full season in the ECHL and is now in only his second pro season, playing for the Eagles. But fine, call them “ECHL players” if you must. That still leaves the vast majority of the roster who have never played more than a handful of ECHL games. There is absolutely no basis for calling guys like Kyle Burroughs, Alexandre Fortin, Dennis Gilbert and Keaton Middleton “ECHL caliber.”

As for the rookies, isn’t developing young players exactly what the AHL is for? Identifying talented players and getting them into the system is what the Eagles and Avalanche development staff are supposed to do. And yet, I see nothing but criticism for this. Just last week, one of the bigger Denver sports podcasts dubbed Ian Scheid “an ECHL player, at best.” Not only does this prove they have not watched a game or done their homework, it is also a huge disservice to the young rookie. Maybe Scheid is not a household name, but he is currently ranked No. 9 among AHL defensemen in points. Of rookie defensemen, he is tied for first in the league, behind only two names, both you probably recognize.

If Scheid is “ECHL caliber, at best,” what does that say about Jamie Drysdale and Ville Heinola? I suspect these Avalanche “experts” would never say such a thing about them.

So, what is the problem? Or better yet, the solution?

I guess my big question here is, what exactly do people expect the Eagles to do? There is no salary cap in the AHL, but they still have serious budget limitations, especially this year. They are constrained by both the number of prospects the Avs give them and the demands of the taxi squad. They have to fill the rest of the spots in their roster with somebody. As a result, they have settled on four rookies who are getting a chance to prove themselves and several young, solid AHL players who are working to make themselves good enough for an NHL call-up. They are filling gaps in their fourth line with guys who are on the cusp between the ECHL and AHL. Almost all of them are 24 years old or younger.

Isn’t that exactly what you want an AHL team to be?

Ian Scheid celebrates his first professional goal. (Photograph courtesy of the Colorado Eagles)

The one legitimate complaint might be that the Eagles do not have enough professional experience on the blue line, but again, what is the solution? At the time of this writing, five of their top defensemen are either in the Avalanche lineup or on the taxi squad. Five missing defensemen is a huge hurdle to clear for any team, and the Eagles have done exactly what they are supposed to do: Called up younger talent from the Grizzlies.

Somebody will say, “Go find an experienced AHL defenseman.” That is the equivalent of “Just sign a solid veteran goalie (who is for some reason unemployed and waiting for a lowball offer).” In other words, it is a pipe dream. Anybody good enough to radically improve the lineup already has a job on another team. Maybe something will happen as the trade deadline approaches, but barring that, what else are they supposed to do?

I truly cannot fathom what people want to happen here. Please, if you are one of the people I am talking about, tell me what exactly you expect the team to do, because you cannot complain the Eagles are not giving young guys a chance and then complain when they do exactly that. You cannot complain they have too many “career AHL players,” but then also complain when they sign rookies. Pick one side or the other, or, better yet, offer a workable solution. But calling this team “ECHL caliber” only proves you have not done your research.

The post No, the Eagles are not playing with an ECHL lineup appeared first on The Rink.

Until now.

Kaut played one game for the Avalanche early in the season. He suffered an undisclosed injury somewhere between that game and the start of the AHL season, and was sidelined for the first month and a half of play. His first game back was on March 12 against the Texas Stars. It took him two games to find his groove, but on March 16, he scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Texas and he has been on fire ever since.

MARTIN KAUT

Wash your hands buddy #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/iu7Ggxbn2u

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 17, 2021

What changed?

Just over a year ago, in February 2020, I wrote the following about Kaut:

Kaut is big, and he’s learning to use his size to his advantage. He also seems to be gaining some confidence and shooting more. But his biggest drawbacks is poor puck handling. Frequently, he brings the puck through the neutral zone, but upon gaining the blue line (and running into the other team’s defense), he almost seems to panic. He can’t juke and dangle his way through the defense or use his puck-handling to keep it out of their reach. If there isn’t somebody wide open for him to pass to, he resorts to tossing the puck up the boards for somebody else to chase.

This is the first big thing that has changed since last year—Kaut is now handling the puck better than ever. He is also using his size to barrel through the other team’s defense rather than bailing. But, more importantly, he is playing with real aggression. Whereas before, it often felt as if he was waiting for the puck to come to him, he now chases it down and takes it. Here he is on the penalty kill in the Eagles game on March 24 against the AHL’s No. 1 team, the Henderson Silver Knights.

This is Kaut on the PK last night late in the game. This is the kind of aggression we haven’t seen from him often in the past, but I sure love seeing it now. pic.twitter.com/MFfeY16uDj

— Marie Sexton (@MarieSexton) March 25, 2021

Almost single-handedly, Kaut kept the Silver Knights’ power play unit from gaining the zone for a solid 20 seconds, then continued to harass them after entry before blocking a shot. This is the kind of play we rarely saw from Kaut in the past, but now we are seeing it each and every game. But, because one highlight does not tell the whole story, let me share some numbers with you.

Stats

Up until recently, Kaut was playing well, but he was nowhere near dominating. Last year, he ranked 13th on the team for points. Looking at the AHL as a whole, Kaut came in at a rather unimpressive 364th.

Kaut has only played six games so far this season. In that time, he has three goals and four assists—all in the last four games. Considering he scored five goals total all last season, those numbers are significant. Ranked by points per game, Kaut is currently 37th in the league and third on the Eagles. In fact, looking at points per game is a good indication of how far Kaut has come.

Obviously, only six games so far this season is a rather small sample size, but the numbers are still telling. Kaut is being aggressive on the puck. He is making a pest out of himself against the other team’s defense, especially on the penalty kill, and his puck control has improved greatly. Add that to the skills he already had—good size and speed and a sniper shot—and Kaut suddenly becomes one of the most formidable players on the ice.

Conclusion

The Eagles wrap up their seven-game road trip tonight against Henderson. After that, they return home to face the Bakersfield Condors, who are currently ranked second in the division. A lot of things could change over the next few weeks, but one thing I do not expect to change is No. 61’s determination. I feel confident in saying the Kaut we have all been waiting for has finally arrived.

The post Martin Kaut has arrived! appeared first on The Rink.

Breakdown by series

California

The Eagles started the season with a five-game road trip, playing the San Diego Gulls and Ontario Reign. To say it was brutal would be an understatement. Both the Gulls and the Reign had the benefit of playing a couple of preseason games and at least three regular season games before coming into the series. The Eagles, on the other hand, had no preseason games, and had their opening series against the Stockton Heat canceled when the latter moved to Canada for the season. Colorado was also missing all of their top scorers from last year. I detailed the first two games of the series and who all was missing here, but after their only win of the trip against Ontario on Feb. 10, the Eagles fell hard in a 7–4 loss to the Gulls, ending the road trip at 1–3–1–0.

TJ Shane

This play was a bright spot in last night's game!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/NmdbzPnWRE

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 21, 2021

Tucson

The Eagles then returned home for three games against the Tucson Roadrunners, who, at that time, were leading the division. I talked a little about these games in my last article. The Eagles not only started to find their legs, they also got back several key players, including TJ Tynan and Jayson Megna. The Eagles won the first game 3–1. The second game of the series was a heartbreaker. The Eagles once again led 3–1 at the start of the third, but gave up two goals in the final two minutes of the game, and then lost in overtime. The Eagles redeemed themselves the next night. Although they only managed to score one goal, it was enough, as Trent Miner earned his first professional shutout. By the end of this series, the Roadrunners had fallen to second in the division behind the Henderson Golden Knights, who, unhappily, the Eagles were to face next.

Wheeling, dealing, scoring, enjoying

Foudy Megna for the lead!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/Nqfk65XOyL

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 25, 2021

Henderson

The first game against the newest team in the league felt closer than the score might indicate. At the start of the third period, the game was tied at 1–1. Henderson’s Gage Quinney scored 1:39 into the third to go up 2–1. The Eagles kept battling, and at 10:32, Megna scored his second goal of the night to tie the game at 2–2. It felt as if the Eagles had the momentum. At 17:01 of the period, the Silver Knights were called for delay of game, giving the Eagles their only power play of the frame. That late in the game, a power play goal would have all but sealed the deal. But rather than scoring, the Eagles gave up a shorthanded goal to Quinney for a 3–2 Henderson advantage. Now down by one with less than two minutes to play, the Eagles pulled goalie Trent Miner, and Quinney immediately capitalized, earning a hat trick for himself and a 4–2 win for his team.

#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/3HmWLVQCe9

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 7, 2021

Despite the loss and once again losing their top scorer (Megna) to the Colorado Avalanche, it felt like the Eagles had what it took to beat this team. But, in the rematch the very next night, the Eagles failed to live up to their potential, falling to the Silver Knights 4­­–1. They were scheduled to play Henderson again two nights later, but that game ended up being postponed due to COVID-19 issues for the Silver Knights.

After these two demoralizing losses, I contemplated writing about how the Eagles were right back where they were the last two seasons, playing well but unable to score. But then, something exciting happened.

Texas

The big news as the Eagles departed for a four-game series against Texas Stars was that Martin Kaut, who had been sidelined with an injury all season, was back in the lineup. In the first game, the Eagles gave up two goals in the first four minutes of the game. It was hard to be hopeful. But, they battled back, pulling within one early in the third period. Texas ended up scoring an empty-net goal in the final second of the game, but it would be the only victory they would see. The Eagles won the next three games, two of them in overtime, scoring a total of 14 goals. In fact, in the Texas series, rookie Jean-Luc Foudy scored two goals and two assists, Shane Bowers scored two goals, Mark Abt had four assists, Miikka Salomaki scored his first professional goal and two assists, Ian Scheid had one goal and three assists and team captain Tynan racked up nine points (three goals and six assists). They returned from Texas with six out of eight possible points.

Oh, Captain! My Captain!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/P73jOzQyzI

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 18, 2021

Yeah. It was one hell of a series.

The Eagles are finally scoring and gaining some serious momentum. But, for better or worse, that momentum is about to be put to the test. Next up for the Eagles is a three-game series on the road against the division-leading Silver Knights.

What stands out

Jean-Luc Foudy

The 18-year-old rookie from the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires has been one of the most exciting stories of the season. Foudy is impossible to miss on the ice. He is a fast, excellent skater and he seems to always be involved in the play. He is great at zone entry and exit and excellent on the penalty kill. He currently has two goals and six assists. If and when the OHL starts playing again, Foudy will have to return to Canada, and Eagles fans will be sorry to lose him.

Good look!

We really like this kid #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/UB8GkMay4o

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 18, 2021

Martin Kaut

I have written more than once about Martin Kaut, most recently in my five bold predictions. I have always believed Kaut had the skill to do well in this league and beyond, but I was never so sure about his drive. But, since returning from his injury, Kaut seems determined to prove me wrong, and believe me, I would love nothing more than for him to do so! He has one goal (the game-winning goal in overtime, no less) and one assist in his last two games. But, more importantly, he suddenly seems to be truly driven. He has been paired in every game with center Sheldon Dries, with either Shane Bowers or Ryan Wagner playing right wing, and Kaut has made himself noticeable every shift. Whereas before, I often felt like he was sitting back, waiting for the puck to come to him, he is now being more aggressive, inserting himself into the play and making things happen. I love this change in him and hope it continues.

MARTIN KAUT

Wash your hands buddy #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/iu7Ggxbn2u

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 17, 2021

Trent Miner

Miner played six games for the Eagles before returning to the WHL, going 2–3–1–0. He had one shutout and ended with a 2.86 goals against average and a save percentage of .903. Those numbers may not look super impressive, but overall, Miner looked good. He was definitely not out of place in the AHL and given the current goalie mess in the Avalanche organization, it was a shame to lose him when we did, although unavoidable with the WHL returning to play.

Miner says NO #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/OkoASvrIJV

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 6, 2021

Shane Bowers

I talked in my last article about how Bowers was underperforming. That may have been true before, but he made a good showing in the Texas series, scoring goals in back-to-back games. Bowers looked especially good when paired with Dries and Kaut. I cannot help but wonder if he and Kaut feed off each other a bit, or even feel themselves to be in competition and therefore keep striving to do better than the other. Whatever the reason, I like how these two perform when they are on the same line.

This was not luck, it was pure skill #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/ifk5uTyQXM

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 18, 2021

Special teams

On the bright side, the Eagles have had power play goals in their last two games. As a result, they have risen from dead last in the league to next to last, converting on five of 49 chances overall. They also had a shorthanded goal against Texas. On the not-so-bright side, they gave up two power play goals in this series after having been near perfect for the preceding six games. As a result, they dropped from fifth in the league to seventh in the league on the kill. Assistant Coach Ryan Tobler, who has been the special teams coach for several years, recently resigned his position with the team and was replaced by Avalanche development coach Brett Clark. It will be interesting to see if this makes a difference with the lackluster power play.

Good to see ya, power play goal #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/EgIfGjDCN8

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 18, 2021

The taxi squad sucks

Let me preface this by saying, I get it. I understand that COVID-19 and quarantine protocols made the taxi squad necessary. I have no better alternative to offer for the season. But, as an AHL fan, I hate it. It is one thing to lose a player to a call-up, but to lose your top scorer so he can warm a taxi squad bench is beyond frustrating. I will be very happy when the taxi squad becomes a thing of the past.

Megna with his 4th goal in 4 games!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/vgQ2vE91cZ

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 6, 2021

Conclusion

The Eagles face the Silver Knights on March 24, 26 and 27 before finally returning home for their first games of the season against the Bakersfield Condors. These two teams are currently ranked first and second in the Pacific Division. It might sound overly dramatic, but it feels like these two series will decide whether the Eagles continue to build on their wins in Texas or whether they backslide into struggling for every point. These six games truly might be the most important games of the season for the Eagles.

The post Colorado Eagles: Red-hot in Texas, Jean-Luc Foudy, and what comes next appeared first on The Rink.

But, since I would always rather get the negative out of the way first, I will start with that.

What is not surprising

Special teams trouble

As I talked about in my last article, special teams issues are nothing new to this organization. In 2018­–19, the Eagles’ power play finished dead last in the league at 13.8%. On the bright side, their penalty kill that year ranked sixth in the league. Logan O’Connor and Andrew Agozzino also led the league that year in shorthanded goals. Last season, the Eagles rose to 17th in the league on the power play, but fell to 16th on the penalty kill.

So far this year, they have not shown improvement. They have only converted twice out of 25 attempts on the power play and are ranked 25th in the league. Their penalty kill is ranked 20th in the league, but on the bright side, it has been almost perfect over the last three games, allowing only one power play goal in nine chances—and that one goal was from the Tucson Roadrunners, who have a 25% power play percentage.

TJ Tynan named captain

The Eagles announced at last night’s season home opener that TJ Tynan had been named captain for the season, just as I predicted. Tynan led the team in assists last year. He is also a smart, level-headed player and is the perfect choice to wear the C.

We know y'all have been waiting for the big reveal.

Tell us if you "C" anything important in this photo #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/kFNpDRDYCt

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 25, 2021

What is surprising

Greg Pateryn leads team in goals

Yes, you read that right. Defenseman Greg Pateryn currently leads the team in goals and in shots on goal. He has six goals so far out of 26 shots. I am pretty sure nobody counted on that.

We could watch this all day #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/F4WmJTg6Jy

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 25, 2021

Ryan Wagner is on fire

Ryan Wagner played the 2018­–19 season with the Chicago Wolves, where he scored four goals and three assists in 49 regular season matchups. After signing with the Eagles last year, he played the first part of the season with the Utah Grizzlies, scoring nine goals and 11 assists in 23 games. The Eagles called him up in January, and he immediately became a big part of the offense. He ended the abbreviated season with six goals and four assists in 24 games.

Have yourself a 1st period RYAN WAGNER #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/JemzpadP3S

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

Six games into the new season, Wagner has scored two goals and two assists. But more importantly, Wagner is a force to be reckoned with. He is fast and furious, always visible and he is outstanding on the penalty kill. I think it is safe to say, he will not be going back to the Grizzlies this season.

Shane Bowers is not on fire

I predicted before the season started that Shane Bowers would lead the team in goals. He still could, of course, but he is off to a slow start, with only two goals and no assists so far. And yes, as some people pointed out, he led the team in shot attempts in their first game against Tucson, but not a single one of them found the net.

Shane Bowers tries to get past a Roadrunner defenseman. (Photograph courtesy of the Colorado Eagles)

Do not get me wrong, Bowers is playing well enough. But that is about it, and “well enough” is not what anybody wants to see out of him right now. I have seen a few people say he has outgrown the AHL and has nothing left to learn there. I would honestly like to know what people are seeing that makes them think this. If you watch the Eagles games (yes, actually watching the games is a must) and you think I am missing something, please tell me what you are seeing that I am not. I legitimately want to know what people are seeing him do consistently—not just in the highlights from one of his two goals, but on a regular basis—that makes them think he is NHL ready, because I simply do not see it.

Maybe it is not fair for me to say Wagner is “on fire” and Bowers is not when they have the same number of goals, and are only separated on the stats sheet by two assists (in Wagner’s favor), but this is all about expectations. People seem to think Bowers should already be playing in the NHL and is being wasted in the AHL. Nobody expects Wagner to get a call-up at all. And yet, based on their performances so far this season, it could easily be argued that Wagner deserves a call-up as much as Bowers, if not more.

In short, Wagner is exceeding expectations. Bowers is not. That needs to change before Bowers gets tossed into the NHL.

I am not saying Bowers will never get there—I think he will. But expecting him to be there sooner rather than later is unrealistic. He is only 21 years old. He has only played one full year of his three-year entry-level contract. He will develop far more playing top-line minutes in the AHL than sitting on the Avalanche taxi squad, or even playing five minutes per game on the fourth line. For now, I am just hoping he goes from playing “well enough” to actually leading this team.

The empty stadium experience

I was thrilled to be granted a media pass for the Eagles’ home opener last night against the Roadrunners. I knew of course that there would be no fans and therefore no concessions, but beyond that, I was not really sure what to expect.

The team had media personnel seated in section L rather than in the press box. This makes perfect sense from a personal distancing standpoint, but not having a table of any kind does make it hard to shuffle laptops and notes, and section L offers no option for plugging in if your battery gets low. (Luckily, my battery was fine.)

I arrived way too early (something I have a habit of doing—it drives my husband nuts). The arena was so quiet, I could hear the Eagles playing two-touch in the hallway by the locker room.

It’s cold, so we skipped straight to soccer today #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/bNjWIy2JT9

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 25, 2021

This left me in a bit of a conundrum. Some people may not realize that cheering from the press box is taboo. But I love cheering on my team, and technically, we were not in the press box. We were in section L. So should I cheer, because this team deserves to hear some fans? Or should I be professional, which I knew my supervisors at The Rink would probably prefer?

For better or worse, it did not end up being an issue. The Eagles were using fake crowd noise, and it was much louder than I expected. In fact, it was so loud, nobody knew whether I was cheering or not. (So if my bosses ask, no, I totally did not cheer. They cannot prove otherwise.) Likewise, the announcements and music were just as loud with the empty arena as they are when it is crammed full of 5,280 screaming fans. Fellow reporter CC Hawkley was sitting two rows behind me, and about four seats down, and even yelling, we could not hear each other.

Unless it was intermission. Intermissions were eerily quiet.

NEVER this quiet between periods at the BEC…#AHL #TUCvsCOL pic.twitter.com/5cWVaqUTrz

— C.C. Hawkley (@seeseehawk) February 25, 2021

So, much to my surprise, I did not miss the fans during play nearly as much as I thought I would. But when I walked into the concourse, it was a different matter.

The saddest, emptiest bar ever. (Photograph courtesy of Marie Sexton)

No lines at the bars. No excited fans trying to get back to their seats as quickly as possible. No lines for the ladies room, and while I always thought I would love that last bit, it was a bit of a downer. I had not realized just how much energy those hallways hold. I had not realized how even standing in line for the bathroom while chatting about that last goal was really part of the game experience. On a normal night, after a win like that, the concourse would have felt like a party. In a normal year, the guys from Club Rowdy would have been chanting as we left the game, “Whose house?”, to which we all would have responded, “Our house!”

Last night, walking through a completely silent hallway to the door, I missed Club Rowdy more than ever.

The post Colorado Eagles: What’s surprising, what isn’t and the (empty) stadium experience appeared first on The Rink.

How? Let me explain. But first, let me start with the bad news.

Special teams woes continue

Special teams issues are nothing new to this organization. In 2018­–19, the Eagles’ power play finished dead last in the league at a rather depressing 13.8%. On the bright side, their penalty kill that year ranked sixth in the league. Logan O’Connor and Andrew Agozzino also led the league that year in shorthanded goals. Last season, the Eagles rose to 17th in the league on the power play, but fell to 16th on the penalty kill. The power play was so ineffective, Eagles fans joked that the team should be allowed to decline penalties like they do in football.

And this season? Obviously, two games is not much to go on, but the power play this weekend was generally underwhelming, converting on only one chance out of 10. The penalty kill allowed three goals in 10 chances. Those numbers definitely need to improve.

The good news

First of all, early indications are that the Gulls are a darn good team. Scott Wheeler of The Athletic ranked the Ducks/Gulls prospect pool at seventh in the league. This weekend, seven of the top 10 prospects named in that article were in the lineup—Trevor Zegras, Jamie Drysdale, Jacob Perreault, Lukas Dostal, Josh Mahura, Brayden Tracey and Benoit-Olivier Groulx.

The Eagles, on the other hand, were missing most of their star players. Colorado Avalanche injuries and the taxi squad took away a total of 16 players, including four of their top seven scorers from last season. To make matters worse, two more of their top scorers from last season, Erik Condra and A.J. Greer, are no longer with the organization.

Colorado Eagles top scorers from 2019–20 season.

The complete list of Eagles players missing from the lineup is impressive: Kyle Burroughs, Sheldon Dries, Dennis Gilbert, Martin Kaut, Jacob MacDonald, Jayson Megna, Keaton Middleton, Sasha Mutala, Logan O’Connor, Daniel Renouf, Miikka Salomaki, Kiefer Sherwood, Conor Timmins, TJ Tynan and their two main goalies, Hunter Miska and Adam Werner.

So who exactly did play for the Eagles? Here are the lineups from the first two games.

Saturday, Feb. 13

Alexandre Fortin – Shane Bowers – Jean-Luc Foudy
Ty Lewis – Mike Vecchione – Callahan Burke
Ryan Wagner – Josh Dickinson – Charlie Gerard
Travis Barron – Riley Woods – Nick Henry

Miles Gendron – Greg Pateryn
Brett Lernout – Ian Scheid
Matt Abt – Kevin Davis

Peyton Jones

Sunday, Feb. 14

Alexandre Fortin – Shane Bowers – Jean-Luc Foudy
Ty Lewis – Mike Vecchione – Riley Woods
Ryan Wagner – Josh Dickinson – Callahan Burke
Luka Burzan – Travis Barron – Jerry D’Amigo

Peter Tischke – Greg Pateryn
Brett Lernout – Ian Scheid
Matt Abt – Kevin Davis

Trent Miner

Of those 24 players, only two—Bowers and Henry—played with the Eagles all last season. Wagner, who had a goal in both games, plus an assist on Sunday, played half the season with the Eagles and half with the Utah Grizzlies (24 and 23 games, respectively).

The SHALLOWEST of angles #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/M2uZ0rsgPl

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 15, 2021

That’s it. Three players left over from last year on the opening weekend roster.

Five more players—Barron, Davis, Dickinson, Lewis and Tischke—have all been staples in Utah for the last couple of years. Each have enjoyed the occasional call-up to the AHL, but were generally relegated to the bottom of the lineup. Gendron has played 52 game in the ECHL, but until this week, only one game in the AHL. And six players—Burke, Burzan, Foudy, Scheid and both goalies, Jones and Miner—were making their professional debut.

That makes 11 out of 24 players who are either ECHL regulars or rookies straight out of college or juniors.

The remaining seven players—Abt, D’Amigo, Fortin, Gerard, Learnout, Pateryn, Vecchione and Woods—all have AHL experience (although in Woods’ case, only six games), but were all playing their first games as a Colorado Eagle.

In other words, the Gulls were a high-caliber, undefeated AHL team, with a lineup full of hot young stars. The Eagles showed up, having not even played a single preseason game, with a roster made up almost entirely of rookies, newbies to the system and ECHL players. And yes, the Eagles lost both games, but they made the Gulls work for it, only losing by a single goal each night. Total shots on goal on Saturday were 38–33 in the Gulls’ favor, but on Sunday, the Eagles outshot the Gulls 45–29. In the third period alone, they outshot the Gulls 21–3, including the game-tying goal by Pateryn with only 13 seconds left in regulation.

OH YES#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/wYw4mulTTr

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 15, 2021

Obviously, more of those shots need to find their way into the goals. But make no mistake, this team came to play, and they fought hard until the very end (something that, in my opinion, was missing in the 2018–19 season). It seems clear that every player in an Eagles sweater had something to prove. If anything, I worry that moving some of the “star” players off of the taxi squad and into the Eagles’ lineup will reduce that drive to succeed. But if those taxi squad players can bring their skills, plus an intensity equal to what we saw opening weekend? This could be an exciting year for Eagles fans.

The post Two good losses for the Eagles? appeared first on The Rink.

I said three weeks ago I was going to write a season preview for the Colorado Eagles. At that point in time, the Eagles were expected to kick off their season on Feb. 5. Then, the Stockton Heat—AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames—decided to move to Canada for the year. It was a move that made perfect sense, logistically, but shouldn’t they have figured that out weeks ago rather than three days before the season was supposed to start?

Well, either way, the schedule change bought me an extra week to write this article. But the truth is, it was difficult to find an angle.

I could talk about last year—how the Eagles were trending upwards, as I wrote about in March of 2020, and how I expected them to make a deep playoff run before the season was cut short. The problem is, none of that is relevant to this season. Only a handful of players from that team will be on the ice at the Budweiser Event Center this year.

I could talk about the league re-alignment for this season, but that is old news, and it does not actually constitute a huge change for AHL teams out west. Even in a normal year, Pacific Division teams only play a handful of games outside of their division, and none outside of their conference. AHL teams almost always play back-to-back games against the same team in order to minimize travel, then often turn around and play that team again the next week at home. For AHL players, this is just more of the same.

I could talk about the players, but which players? Elite Prospects currently shows 33 men on the Eagles roster. Add in guys who are currently playing with the Colorado Avalanche or on the taxi squad and we have over 40 players to cover, and nobody wants to read a long list of stats. I debated playing with projected lineups, but between new players and guys going back and forth to either the Avs or the Utah Grizzlies, 90% of what I said would be guesswork. So how in the world do I go about writing a season preview?

Then somebody suggested I make some predictions. Not just any predictions, mind you. After all, anybody could predict that TJ Tynan will lead the team in assists, or that Ty Lewis will be stuck in Utah no matter how well he plays, or that Liam O’Brien will lead the team in penalty minutes. No. It was suggested that I make bold predictions. I love that idea, so here we go.

Martin Kaut will leave the Avalanche organization

Martin Kaut skates for the Colorado Eagles. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

This year feels like boom or bust time for Martin Kaut. Despite what some Avalanche bloggers may have led you to believe, many of us who actually watch every single Eagles game will tell you his play in the AHL has been satisfactory but not overly impressive. I wrote about him twice last year, here and here, but just for the sake of comparison, in the 2019–20 season, 12 Eagles players had more points than Kaut. Looking at the AHL as a whole, Kaut ranked at a rather unspectacular 364th in points.

Granted, stats never tell the whole story. Kaut is undeniably a smart, savvy, incredibly talented hockey player who makes very few mistakes. From a skills perspective, he has everything he needs to be an NHL player. But succeeding in professional sports takes more than talent. It takes grit and dogged perseverance. It takes some undefinable mental drive I do not have a word for—let’s call it “oomph.” (Yep, it is a super technical term.) Look at Tom Brady. Love the guy or hate him, there is no denying he got where he is by working his butt off, day in and day out. He watches more film and spends more time practicing than anybody. He is also known for being competitive to a fault. Former teammates have described his desire to win as “a sickness” and “psychotic.” He did not win his seventh Super Bowl at the age of 43 just by knowing how to throw the football. He did it because he has “oomph” in spades.

In the hockey world, look no further than Nathan MacKinnon. Yes, he has mad skills, but does anybody believe that is the only thing that makes him as good as he is? No. As Ryan S. Clarke said in The Athletic, “Everyone within the Colorado Avalanche’s dressing room knows Nathan MacKinnon possesses this innate need to both win and to win all the time.” He quoted Halifax Mooseheads assistant coach Jon Greenwood as saying, “Still, to this day, (MacKinnon) tries to get the most out of himself and never seems satisfied.” And when the going gets tough? MacKinnon goes into overdrive, determined to drag his team to a victory even if he has to do it himself.

That is “oomph,” and that is the thing we have not seen from Kaut. But does he have it?

Kaut did earn a call-up last year and scored two goals and an assist in nine games. He seems to be one of those rare players who performs better in the NHL than the AHL. He even said in an interview with Scott MacDonald that he found playing in the NHL easier than in the American League. Based on all of that, one might conclude Kaut has nothing left to learn in the American League. And yet, when Eagles training camp started, Kaut was dismissed from the Avalanche taxi squad and sent back to the AHL. Part of this comes down to the Avalanche talent pool being too deep. There are too many other players in front of him.

Do not get me wrong. I would love nothing more than for this prediction to turn out dead wrong. I will be thrilled if Kaut finds his “oomph,” blows the lid off the AHL and finishes the season in an Avs sweater. But, if he cannot find that extra drive he needs to set himself apart from the rest of the AHL forwards, I predict he either asks to be traded, or opts to return to Europe.

Shane Bowers will lead the team in goals

Shane Bowers takes the puck down the ice. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

I almost did not list this one, not because I do not think it will happen, but because I think it will, which means it is not all that bold of a prediction. But I wanted to talk about Shane Bowers.

Bowers had a slow start last season, partly due to injury. Then, in December, Eagles Head Coach Greg Cronin moved Bowers from center to wing, playing next to a very productive Sheldon Dries, and suddenly Bowers found his legs. By the end of the season, he was playing center again and finished the year with 10 goals and 17 assists in 48 games. Like Kaut, he was dismissed from the taxi squad and sent back to the AHL for Eagles training camp, and I expect him to play most of the year in Loveland. But will he lead the team in goals?

Let’s look at last year’s numbers.

Now let’s go down that list.

Dries will likely spend a lot of the year on the Avalanche taxi squad. Ditto for Jacob MacDonald. Logan O’Connor has all but made himself a regular Av by this point, and AJ Greer and Erik Condra are no longer with the team. So, from last year’s leaders, that leaves only Jayson Megna with more goals than Bowers. Of course, there are a lot of new guys coming in, like Mike Vecchione, who led the San Antonio Rampage in goals last year. But my money is on Bowers to have a stellar season.

Nick Henry will have a breakout year

Nick Henry celebrates his goal on March 6, 2020. (Photo courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

Last year, I predicted that Julien Nantel would have a breakout year. I am sad to say that did not happen. This year, I am predicting the same for Nick Henry. Hopefully I do not jinx him the way I appear to have jinxed Nantel.

Henry came into the league along with Bowers late in the 2018–19 season. Last year, Henry had three goals and six assists in 42 games played. He was solid, but he was not exactly blowing up the ice. Then, a strange thing happened. Henry was suddenly out of the lineup for most of February. He went to Utah for exactly two games. Some speculated that he had been hurt (unlike in the NHL, we often do not know about AHL injuries unless somebody asks, and as far as I know, nobody did). If Henry was hurt, those two ECHL games might have been rehab. Or maybe he was a healthy scratch and those two ECHL games were a kick in the pants. Either way, Henry then scored a goal in his first game back with the Eagles. A week later, the season was suspended due to COVID-19 and never resumed.

It is hard to say what might have happened, but if Henry puts in the time and the effort, I think this could be his year.

TJ Tynan will be named team captain

TJ Tynan skates the puck into the offensive zone. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

This one may not be all that bold either, but it deserves to be talked about. For the two years the Eagles have been in the AHL, they were captained by blueliner Mark Alt. But this year, Alt signed with the Ontario Reign, leaving a gaping hole on the Eagles bench. The problem is, there are not many guys who have been around for more than a season. In fact, if you take out taxi squad players Kaut and O’Connor, and the ELC players like Travis Barron, who have spent most of their time in Utah, there is not a single player left who has played more than one season with the Eagles.

Depressing for us fans, but I guess that is how it goes in the AHL.

Looking at the guys who were around last year, we have Tynan, Megna, Ryan Wagner (who spent about half the year in Utah), Kevin Davis (also spent half the year in Utah) and Dan Renouf. (Also, Adam Werner, but are goalies ever named captains?)

Of those five guys, one name stands out as a locker room leader: Tynan. Tynan was second in the league for assists last year, and probably would have been first if not for having played 16 games with the Avalanche.

I cannot think of a better guy to lead the Eagles for the 2021 season.

The Eagles will play in the Western Conference Championship

Jayson Megna celebrates a win. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

I will not go so far as to say they will win it, but I think they will get there. I think there is good evidence they could have won the Conference Championship last year if the season had not been suspended, and they will be hungry to prove themselves. Is this mostly wishful thinking on my part? Maybe, but I am okay with that. I predict this is the year the Eagles make their presence known in the AHL.

Are my predictions bold or just a lot of hot air? Only time will tell.

The post Five bold predictions for the 2021 Colorado Eagles appeared first on The Rink.

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After being down 1-3 in their series against the Stars, the Avalanche did the miraculous — they came back and forced a game seven. And they did it with their third string goalie and without lineup staples Matt Calvert, Erik Johnson, or Joonas Donskoi. But do they have what it takes to finish off the series?

Games four and five both saw one team dominate the first period then go on to win the game. Game six, on the other hand, was tied 1-1 at the end of the first period. The real story of the game — and indeed, of the series so far — is the Avalanche’s utterly impotent power play. Their last goal with the man advantage was in game four. They are 1/16 on the power play over the past three games. The Stars allowed them five power plays in game six, including a four-minute double minor, but the Avs failed to capitalize. The Stars, on the other hand, are 5/13 on the power play through those same three games.

Nathan MacKinnon continued his ongoing point streak in game six with one goal and one assist. Mikko Rantanen did the same. The two forwards now lead the league in playoff points. Defensemen Cale Makar and Nikita Zadorov each tallied a goal as well, helping secure the victory.

It's Cale Makar!

The ROOKIE puts the #GoAvsGo on TOP.

Presented by @NewAmsterdam pic.twitter.com/9sDGNeLaXJ

— NBC Sports Hockey (@NBCSportsHockey) September 3, 2020

If the Avs hope to advance to the conference championship, they need to capitalize on their power play chances and stay out of the box. It sounds like a cliche, but special teams may end up making the difference in this series. And the Avs need to stay grumpy. Being downright pissed off has definitely worked for them these last two games.

Bednar says the #Avs still remain grumpy and are not happy with where they remain in the series. #Avs

— Ryan S. Clark (@ryan_s_clark) September 2, 2020

Player(s) to watch:

On the Avalanche side, there are rumors that Matt Calvert may return to the lineup tonight. Although Logan O’Connor has played well in Calvert’s stead, Calvert’s grit has been sorely missed. And of course, all eyes will be on third-string goalie Michael Hutchinson, who’s surpassed all expectations so far.

On the Dallas side, rookie forward Denis Gurianov and defenseman Miro Heiskanen have 13 goals and 20 assists between them and lead the Stars in points. Minimizing their chances tonight will be critical.

There are few things more exciting in sports than a game seven! If things go Colorado’s way tonight, the Western Conference Championship is scheduled to begin on Sunday. 

The post Game Preview: Can Avs advance to Conference Championship? appeared first on The Rink.

The forwards:

Callahan Burke:

Burke spent two seasons at the junior level with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders where he amassed 34 goals and 45 assists in 121 games. He also served as the team’s captain during the 2015-16 campaign. After that, he moved on to Notre Dame, where he scored 36 goals and 52 assists in 146 games. He also helped his team win back-to-back Big-10 Championships in 2018 and 2019 and was the team captain his senior year.

When asked by Kevin McGlue in a recent interview to describe his play style, he commented on his quickness, agility, and ability to get to the net. Cal also commented that he had never been to Colorado before, but Eagles player and fellow Notre Dame alumni TJ Tynan told him it was one of the best places he had ever played, which helped convince Burke to sign with the Eagles.

CAL BURKE!! ND LEADS 3-2!! pic.twitter.com/Y3tOFysW4D

— ND Whiteboard (@ND_Whiteboard) April 6, 2018

Charlie Gerard:

At the junior level, Gerard collected 36 goals and 30 assists in 121 games with the Madison Capitols, Fargo Force and Muskegon Lumberjacks. He then moved on to a four-year career at Minnesota State University, Mankato, where he registered 30 goals and 40 assists in 120 games. He also helped the Mavericks win three consecutive WCHA regular season championships.

In their Colorado Eagles Tape-to-Tape podcast, CC Hawkley and Scott MacDonald describe Gerard as small, speedy, and feisty, which means he is going to fit right in here in Eagles Country.

Charlie Gerard got through the defense to tie things up for the Mavericks in the first period. #HornsUp pic.twitter.com/8H5ZtRwyQ5

— Maverick Hockey Weekend (@MaverickHW) March 16, 2019

The D-Men:

Matt Abt:

Abt spent the last few years bouncing between the Wheeling Nailers and the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

When asked by Kevin McGlue about his playing style, Abt described himself as a strong, physical player, and also stated he is solid on the penalty kill. Abt also commented on being friends with former Eagles Matt Garbowsky and Chase Norrish. (Any friend of Garbo’s is bound to become my favorite player.) He said Garbowsky played a big role in convincing him to come to Colorado. The one negative about Abt seems to be that he is “not a dog guy” (his words), but I suppose we can let that slide.

In looking through Abt’s highlights, I was reminded of Mason Geertsen. I noticed big hits and a lot of grit. This particular video was my favorite because we see that he is willing to drop the gloves, but also a good sport at the same time. If he really is anything like Geertsy, he will have a lot of instant fans here in Eagles Country.

Bowen Byram:

Drafted in the 1st round (4th overall) by the Avs, very few incoming players have had as much hype as Byram. Check out this list of awards.

For my purposes, the real question is, will Byram spend any time in the AHL, or will he go straight to the NHL? Honestly, I have no idea and I will not pretend otherwise. I am not a prospect-watcher. I do not pay attention to these guys until they show up on the ice in Loveland. There have been many, many other articles and blog posts written about Byram for those who want details. This one, written by Ben Kerr for Last Word on Hockey, is particularly thorough. Berr’s conclusion is this: “Byram has the skills to be a number one defenseman in the NHL. However, he may not be ready next year as he still needs to add some muscle to his frame before he is ready for the pro game. It is also natural that defensemen take a little longer than forwards to be NHL ready.”

I am sure plenty of people would disagree with that assessment, but I cannot help but hope the Eagles get Byram for a year. Either way, it looks like Colorado hockey fans have a lot to look forward to.

Keaton Middleton:

Middleton spent four years in the major juniors with the OHL’s Saginaw Spirit, where he scored 11 goals and 47 assists in 255 games. He also served as team captain during his final two seasons and earned a spot on the OHL’s Second All-Rookie team in 2014-15. He was selected in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent the two years of his professional career playing for the San Jose Barracuda (where he played on the blue line with his brother, Jacob Middleton). Based on the highlights I found, I expect Middleton to bring a lot of grit to the blue line. You can see some of his San Jose highlights here:

Ian Scheid:

Scheid (pronounced “shied”) is fresh out of Minnesota State University, Mankato (same as Charlie Gerard). Scheid’s story is the kind of tale every hockey fan loves to hear – he started out as a walk-on but did so well, he ended up with a full scholarship. He scored 25 goals and 72 assists in 158 NCAA games with the Mavericks. That is more points than any other defenseman during Minnesota State’s NCAA Division I era, and third all-time amongst Minnesota State defensemen. Wherever Scheid ends up playing, it should be exciting to watch him develop. Here are a couple of great highlights.

Ian Scheid with the seeing-eye wrister as @MavHockey goes up 2-0 over Minnesota Duluth. pic.twitter.com/7rOqli2xzz

— NCAA Ice Hockey (@NCAAIceHockey) March 23, 2018

"That's not fair."
Ian Scheid cuts throughout the defense and scores on this filthy goal last night. pic.twitter.com/8Pz3eQIazd

— Maverick Hockey Weekend (@MaverickHW) February 2, 2019

The Goalies:

Justus Annunen:

Annunen was selected by Colorado in 2018 in the third round (64th overall). Playing for Hermes in Finland’s second-highest hockey league, Mestis, in 2018-19, Annunen had a 13-8 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and .891 save percentage. He also set the record for the longest shutout streak in Liiga history (302 minutes, five seconds). Mike Chambers of the Denver Post predicted Eagles Country would see Annunen and Werner competing for the position of starting goalie in 2020-21. Here are some highlights to get you you excited.  And may the best goalie win!

https://twitter.com/JokkeNevalainen/status/1211217770047819777?s=20

Peyton Jones:

Jones spent his college career at Penn State University. Last season he led the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten regular season championship. This year, they were ranked No. 10 in the country, before COVID-19 ended the season.

In a story by Todd Thorpe of the Bucks County Courier Times, Jones is quoted as saying, “I’d been talking with three or four teams pretty consistently all year long, Colorado not being one of them. Two weeks after the season, they called my agent and were showing a bunch of interest… I wanted the opportunity to show what I can do. Being wanted is a key factor. I really felt wanted by Colorado.” Jones seems like a prospect who will bring Colorado hockey fans a lot of excitement.

"You shall not pass!"

– Peyton Jones, probably. The @PennStateMHKY goalie set the program's win record on Dec. 9. pic.twitter.com/mXLk2LLflu

— Penn State On BTN (@PennStateOnBTN) December 15, 2017

Conclusion

That concludes my three-part series on who we might expect to see in the Eagles lineup this year. Obviously we will have a lot more information after the draft. Until then, I have only four words: is it December yet?

The post Previewing the 2020-21 Colorado Eagles roster, Part 3 appeared first on The Rink.

Who will not be back?

Before I get started on which players may (or may not) be back, let me touch on the two players who we know have moved on.

Igor Shvyrev (F):

Shvyrev never quite developed as much as people hoped. He was fun to watch, but ended up playing mostly on the fourth line in 2019–20. In May 2020, he was placed on unconditional waivers and cleared, thereby terminating the final year of his ELC with the Avalanche. He has since signed a two-year contract with the Metallurg Magnitogorsk of the KHL.

Tim McGauley (F):

McGauley spent the last few years bouncing back and forth between the ECHL and the AHL. He had an outstanding season with the Grizzlies last season. I honestly thought maybe we would see more of McGauley in Loveland this year, but he recently signed with Stjernen Hockey in Norway.

Who might stay?

Most of these players are unrestricted free agents. The exceptions are labeled with “RFA” next to their name. Teams generally have until the day after the draft to extend a qualifying offer to restricted free agents, so we probably will not know about some of these players until at least October. Obviously any claims made here about whether or not these players will be back in an Eagles uniform are sheer speculation. I do not have any kind of insider information (although I sure wish I did).

It is also important to remember that the AHL has specific rules regarding which players qualify as veterans and how many of them each team can have. One Eagles player who is already contracted for 2020-21 crossed the official AHL threshold from “developing player” to “veteran player,” putting the old roster one man over the veteran limit. The players below marked with an asterisk are veterans, and per AHL guidelines, at least one of them will have to be cut in order to comply with league restrictions.

Mark Alt* (D):

Alt spent the last two years serving as the Eagles team captain. He doesn’t get much respect in the Avalanche media, but as an AHL defensemen, he’s amazing. He may not be flashy, but he is steady and reliable, and he is a huge part of the team’s penalty kill. He had five goals and eight assists this year, with a plus-minus of 19. The fact that he wasn’t invited to this year’s phase three training camp for the Avalanche seems to indicate his days in Colorado might be over. If so, it’ll be a big loss at the blue line for the Eagles.

Mark Alt is not messing around. Just 50 seconds into the first period Cap said LET'S DO THIS!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/IJjqt2UNIr

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 8, 2020

Antoine Bibeau (G):

Poor Bibeau had a horrible year here in Colorado, largely due to injury. He started only two games for the Eagles, resulting in an abysmal 6.02 GAA and a .765 save percentage. He played two games for the Avalanche when both Grubauer and Francouz were hurt, and he did better there. Shortly afterwards, he underwent surgery that ended his season. Given all the new goalies in the pipeline, I think it’s safe to say Bibeau will not be back in Colorado for 2020–21.

(Photo by Ashley Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles)

Colin Campbell* (F):

Campbell spent his entire pro career with the Grand Rapid Griffins before signing with the Eagles in 2019. He netted 10 goals and 16 assists in 48 games. Campbell was a productive part of the Eagles offense, but not so explosive as to be irreplaceable. I predict about a 50% chance of him re-signing in Loveland.

A twisted wrister from Colin Campbell get us on the board 1st!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/Lg4brunQaV

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) January 4, 2020

Erik Condra* (F):

Condra is a journeyman who has played all over place, racking up a grand total of 734 professional games (about half each in the NHL and AHL). In 2019–20, he scored 16 goals and 19 assists in 53 games played. On one hand, he is consistent and reliable. His absence would definitely be missed. On the other hand, he has to compete for one of the team’s limited veteran spots. He is also 34 years old and married with kids. You never know when he will decide that being away from home for months at a time just isn’t worth it.

Hard work from Dickinson and Condra puts it home for our 2nd of the game!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/iF9ZvbBhNR

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) November 12, 2019

Kevin Connauton* (D):

Connauton is another journeyman. He has played 314 games in the NHL and 259 in the AHL. He played 38 games with the Eagles this year, racking up five goals and 22 assists. The fact that he was invited to the Avalanche’s phase three training camp and included on the phase four roster in Edmonton indicates he’s doing something right. Maybe the organization intends to keep him around. But obviously, that is only speculation.

(Photo by Ashley Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles)

Sheldon Dries (F), RFA:

Dries played one year with the AHL’s Texas Stars before being given a one-year ELC by the Avalanche in 2018. He played most of the season with the Avs and was re-signed to a one-year contract for 2019–20. This time, he spent most of the season with the Eagles where he was the team’s top goal-scorer with 21 goals and 14 assists. Now, he is a restricted free agent. The fact that he was taken to Edmonton for the playoffs seems like a good sign, but the Avalanche are stacked up front. I’m guessing there is roughly a 70% chance of them extending him a qualifying offer.

It only took 29 seconds for Dries to get us on the board!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/8bWd3M3cpE

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) January 11, 2020

AJ Greer (F), RFA:

AJ’s career has been tumultuous. He was drafted in the second round, and expectations were high. He has always shown an amazing amount of grit and talent in the AHL, but when he is called up to the NHL, his game never seems to materialize. Add to that his arrest last summer for an alleged assault and it felt like his days in the Avalanche organization were numbered. Still, he was given a one-year contract for 2019-20. After an embarrassing suspension early in the season, he settled down and netted 16 goals and 16 assists in 47 games played with the Eagles. But despite his apparent growth, he did not receive a single call-up to the NHL. Scott MacDonald wrote a great article for Mile High Hockey about Greer’s ongoing mental battles. In many ways, his frustration seems to be his own worst enemy.

Greer will start this year with 236 professional games under his belt. That means he has only one more season before he qualifies as a veteran in the AHL. On one hand, Eagles fans generally like him. If he wanted to settle into an AHL career, he would be embraced here in Loveland. But I am pretty sure that is the last thing Greer wants. The fact that he was not invited to the Avalanche phase three training camp does not bode well for his future in Colorado. I think it is highly likely he will take his chances elsewhere. I predict he will finally find his game, end up in a bottom six role for some other NHL team, and someday he will have the game of his life at the Pepsi Center, playing against the Avalanche.

Turn and burn Greer!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/UvESymPCMS

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) December 2, 2018

Michael Joly (F):

Michael Joly came into the ECHL undrafted in 2017 and took the league by storm. That season, he scored 54 goals and 42 assists in 76 games played! (That includes both regular season and playoffs.) He helped the Eagles win the Kelly Cup and was named the playoff MVP. Is it any wonder Eagles fans love him? But when the Eagles moved to the AHL, Joly had some work to do. He started out scrambling for a spot in the lineup, but he kept working. He kept improving. By the end of the 2018-19 season, he was starting in the top six. He finished that year with fifteen goals and fifteen assists. He was injured twice in 2019-20 –– once early in the season, and again in February. He still netted ten goals and nine assists in 42 games played. And nobody is better in a shootout.

Michael Joly the last 8 games:

#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/n34nU9PKQa

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) January 12, 2019

(Technically, that was a penalty shot, but you get the idea.)

The thing I love about Joly is his attitude. Where Greer seems to get frustrated and ends up too much in his own head, Joly buckles down and keeps working. Several times this season when the Eagles were behind late in the third, it felt like Joly was one of the only players working his tail off to get the team back in the game. But that works against him, too. Where I see a player who plays hard until the final buzzer to make plays happen, I think Cronin sees a kid who strays from the system when the system matters most.

Regardless, I personally think the Eagles should keep Joly around. He may never be NHL material (or maybe he will be), but he will keep working and trying, no matter what. Plus, Eagles fans love him. As a gate-driven organization, it makes sense to keep at least one fan favorite on the roster (as long as he is still productive, which Joly is). (One could argue being a fan favorite was what kept Darryl Bootland on the roster for so many years.) And from Joly’s perspective, why not stay in the town where he is a minor celebrity? Nobody else will appreciate him the way Eagles Country does. All that being said, Joly was apparently not invited to the phase three training camp. It is quite possible the coaches aren’t as enamored of him as the fans are.

Jayson Megna* (C/F):

Another vet, Megna has played 121 total NHL games and 355 in the AHL. He was second only to Sheldon Dries in goals scored this year, finishing with 18 goals and 16 assists. He even played eight games for the Avalanche (although with zero points). He was obviously a big part of the Eagles’ success this season, but will he be back? I have no idea.

An absolute from Jayson Megna to give us the lead!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/2M6JBbWs30

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) December 30, 2019

Hunter Miska (G), RFA:

Miska came to the Eagles from the Tucson Roadrunners. The assumption was that he’d back up Bibeau and Adam Werner. He was even sent to the Grizzlies for a while. But in the end, Hunter Miska stole the show in Loveland. He finished the season with a 2.48 GAA and .924 save percentage. His performance in some of the later games in the season was outstanding, earning him the starting position in the minds of the fans, if not the coaches. If this were any other league, Miska would already have a contract inked. But of course, this is the AHL where a stellar goaltender may find himself out of a job so that some new prospect can learn the ropes. And when I look at all the goalies the Avs have already signed, I have to wonder. If nothing else, Miska proved his worth this season. Somebody out there is going to want him in their net. I hope it will be us, but I have a feeling I may be disappointed.

HUNTERRR MISKAAAAAAA

Miska ranks 5th in the league in SV% and 11th in the league in GAA, but holds the #1 spot in the Pacific Division!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/zuEGm5rLr4

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 25, 2020

Griffen Molino (F):

Molino may seem like an odd name to see on this list. He played most of the season with the Grizzlies, where he netted 22 goals and 37 assists. Late in February, Molino was called up to the Eagles and signed to a professional tryout agreement. He did not look out of place in the AHL lineup. He played nine games before the season was suspended, scoring this amazing goal plus two assists in that time. I would not be surprised to see him back in the system this year, maybe splitting his time between Utah and Colorado.

Molino with a SNIPE for his 1st of the year to put us on the board!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/eZQo5BUE6G

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

Julien Nantel (C/F):

I’m a little bit sad typing this, because I really like Nantel. He’s the only player left on the roster who participated in both Kelly Cup runs. In the 2017 playoffs, he scored 7 goals and 7 assists and was second only to Alex Belzile in points, making him an integral part of that first Kelly Cup victory. But nothing lasts forever. Nantel’s ELC ended in 2019, but he was given a one-year contract for the 2019-20 season. He started out with a bang, scoring as many points in the first few weeks as he had the entire previous year. I predicted he was going to have a breakout year. Sadly, he fell lower in the lineup as the season wore on and didn’t play at all for much of February. He finished the year with eight goals and five assists. I would like to see him back in Colorado, but I suspect the Avs will pass on offering him another contract.

Stepping up

Nantel had 4 points all of last season… this year he's got 4 goals through 13 games#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/8hl364Etvx

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) November 23, 2019

Logan O’Connor (F), RFA:

What’s not to love about Logan O’Connor? An undrafted kid from the University of Denver, he was invited to the Avalanche’s 2018 development camp and ended up signing a two-year ELC with them. In his two years with the Eagles, he racked up 31 goals and 36 assists. He led the league in short-handed goals in 2018-19. He also scored his first two NHL goals with the Colorado Avalanche in 2019-20, before the season was suspended. He was part of their phase 3 training camp and was one of the players taken to Edmonton for the playoffs. He was even part of the warmups in Round One when Donskoi’s condition was questionable. It seems like a slam dunk that Eagles fan favorite LOC ends up with a contract. The only question is, will he be in Loveland or Denver? As an Eagles fan, I would sure to love to have him back, but I absolutely think he deserves a spot with the Avs and I hope for his sake he gets it. He is a fast, hard-working player who would make a great addition to their bottom six. And I will buy a #25 jersey the minute he makes the roster.

A beautiful first NHL goal for Logan O’Connor!#GoAvsGo https://t.co/WdGSphrmPj

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) November 28, 2019

Conclusion

That covers all the existing contracts and free agents. Up next, I will tell you a bit about the new players who have been signed by the Avalanche/Eagles.

The post Previewing the 2020-21 Colorado Eagles roster, Part 2 appeared first on The Rink.

Disclaimers

We all know anything can happen. Preseason had already started last year when defenseman Nicolas Meloche was traded for goalie Antoine Bibeau. Any one of these guys could end up being part of a surprise trade down the road. Also, these are the players on contract, but where exactly they’ll play still remains to be seen. Some of them, like Martin Kaut, may very well spend the season in an Avalanche jersey. Others may see more time in Utah than Loveland. Anything I say with regard to which team they’ll play for is merely speculation. Either way, these are the players we know will probably be in the system, one way or another.

Josh Anderson (D):

Drafted in the third round in 2016 (#71 overall), Anderson spent the better part of the last two seasons in Utah. He has played a total of 13 games in the AHL, earning one goal in that time, but Anderson is a defensive defenseman, so points don’t tell the whole story. Overall, Anderson seems to have improved a great deal in his two years, going from a +/- of -13 in 2018-19 to a +6 in 2019-20. The coaches seem to like him, as he is often chosen for call-ups. I suspect he will spend most of next season in Utah as well but will see time on Loveland when needed.

"10-4 good buddy!" – @kmcglue

Josh Anderson scores his 1st as an Eagle!
https://t.co/f5pyZbFAIw#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/9UKyv4CaPg

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) April 11, 2020

Travis Barron (F):

In 2017-18, Barron finished his OHL career and showed up in Loveland just in time for playoffs. He scored two goals and five assists in the postseason, including this one in game 7 of the Kelly Cup Finals.

Travis Barron with the equalizer for @ColoradoEagles and we are tied 2-2 with under eight minutes left in the #KellyCupFinals Game 7 pic.twitter.com/FdTox0UUav

— ECHL (@ECHL) June 10, 2018

In 2018-19, he played most of the season in Loveland, where he netted 3 goals and 2 assists. But the Eagles had a great deal more depth in 2019-20, and Barron spent most of the year in Utah, where he scored 11 goals and 16 assists. This season will be the final year of Barron’s ELC. He is an energetic, hard-working grinder who has earned a lot of fans in Loveland, but whether or not he will make the AHL roster this year remains to be seen.

Shane Bowers (F):

Bowers was drafted in the first round in 2017 by Ottawa and came to Colorado as part of the Duchene trade. He had a slow start this year and an injury that sidelined him for three weeks, but he found his legs in December and never looked back. He finished the season with 10 goals and 17 assists. He is one of the prospects currently in Edmonton with the Avalanche. If Bowers does not make the Avs roster straight out of camp, he will undoubtedly be at the top of the call-ups list this season.

Goals in 4 straight for Shane Bowers!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/LeTOR2rFnS

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) January 18, 2020

Kevin Davis (D):

Kevin Davis played for the Everett Silvertips of the WHL before being signed to an AHL deal by the Avalanche in 2018. He has split the last two years between Utah and Colorado and was reliable enough to see his contract renewed for the 2020-21 season.

I suspect he will remain on that bubble — spending most of his time with the Grizzlies, but always one of the first to be called up when the Eagles need a D-man.

"Tickles the twine and Kevin Davis has the 1st of the night."
– @bobbyborsheim #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/Sa6YMbua1C

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 13, 2019

Josh Dickinson (C):

Dickinson was an undrafted free agent who signed a three-year ELC with the Avalanche in 2018. He has split the last two years between Loveland and Utah.

He may end up spending most of the season with the Grizzlies, but he is a reliable player who can always be counted on to hold his own when injuries result in call-ups.

Remember when Josh Dickinson scored his first goal of the season… and his second… and his third… in the first two periods of a game? Ya. Us too. Good times. #ThrowbackThursday #GoGrizzGo pic.twitter.com/r1NYOGgKIU

— Utah Grizzlies (@UtahGrizzlies) May 7, 2020

Nick Henry (F):

2019-20 was the first year of Henry’s ELC, and I think many people expected more from him. He ended up being a healthy scratch through much of February and was even sent to Utah for two games (It is possible he was injured. We often do not know about injuries in the AHL unless somebody asks the coach directly. As far as I know, nobody did). Henry finished the season with three goals and six assists in 42 games played with the Eagles. Maybe this season was not all we had hoped it would be for him, but he is a hard worker, and I suspect we will see a lot more of him in 2020-21.

Nick Henry (Photo by Ashley Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles)

Martin Kaut (F):

Drafted in the first round (and 16^th overall) in 2018, Kaut has been the center of much speculation since joining the team. His first season was a bit underwhelming, but he showed marked improvement this year, and even scored two goals and an assist in his nine games with the Avalanche. I’d say it is a pretty slim chance he ends up back in Loveland this year. If he is, he will be right next to Bowers at the top of the call-up list.

We can't get enough of Martin Kaut's first NHL goal! #GoAvsGo https://t.co/S3oeC1BYnK

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) February 27, 2020

Ty Lewis (F):

Lewis was another undrafted free agent signed to a three-year ELC by the Avalanche in 2018. He spent most of his first pro year with the Eagles where he scored eight goals and 11 assists. Late in the season, seemingly out of the blue, he was sent to Utah and was never brought back. Last year, he scored 25 goals and 26 assists in 44 games in the ECHL. On the Grizzlies, only Tim McGauley and Griffen Molino had more points, and yet when it comes time for call-ups, Lewis is always snubbed. There’s been a lot of speculation amongst Eagles fans as to why Lewis is perpetually stuck in Utah when he’s arguably good enough for a role in the AHL. I do not have an answer to that mystery, and I probably never will. But I hope for his sake he finds his way out of Cronin’s doghouse sooner rather than later.

Off the post and in!
Ty Lewis
Richart, Wegwerth

Utah 6 | Rapid City 4#WeTheGrizz #GoGrizzGo pic.twitter.com/UZy7dqB0V6

— Utah Grizzlies (@UtahGrizzlies) March 8, 2020

Anton Lindholm (D):

Lindholm was drafted in the 5^th round in 2014 by the Avs and they liked him enough to sign him for two more years after his ELC ran out. He doesn’t bring a lot of offense to the table, but he is a strong skater and he is, in my opinion, vastly underrated as a defenseman. The fact that he is one of the extra players currently in Edmonton with the Avalanche backs this up. He may see a few call-ups next year. Either way, the Eagles will be happy to have him on the blue line.

(Photo by Ashley Potts, courtesy of Colorado Eagles)

Jacob MacDonald (D):

Despite spending the last few years bouncing around the ECHL and the AHL (and even playing two games in the NHL for the Florida Panthers), MacDonald still does not have enough pro games under his belt to qualify as a veteran player, based on AHL guidelines. Last season was his first year with the Eagles and he did well enough to earn a two-year renewal.

Although he’s billed as a defenseman, he’s just as good playing up. He led the AHL in goals for D-men, largely due to playing so many games as a forward. I personally think MacDonald is one of the most exciting, dynamic players on the Eagles roster and wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a call-up at some point next year.

When you’re hot you’re hot

MacDonald has 4 goals in his last 3 games and leads ALL defensemen with 14 on the year#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/WooIbsyqYA

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 17, 2020

Dan Renouf (D):

One of only two AHL vets on this list, 2019-20 was Renouf’s first year with the Eagles. He had two goals and 14 assists, and a +/- of 13. He’s a stay-at-home defenseman who is solid and dependable. He’s also not afraid to drop the gloves to stand up for a teammate.

(Photo by Ashley Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles)

Conor Timmins (D):

Anybody reading this knows Timmins’ story — drafted by the Avs but then sidelined by a concussion for an entire season. This was his first full year in the lineup and he did not disappoint. The improvement of the Eagles’ power play from dead last in the league to 17th can largely be attributed to Timmins. On the downside, he lacks consistency. In Ryan Clark’s article in the Athletic, Coach Cronin is quoted as saying, “[Timmins] makes mistakes by trying to make a better play… He ends up trying to bypass the simple play so he can get the puck 60 feet further up the ice.” Even late in the season, that hadn’t changed. Whether he’ll make the Avs roster this year or spend a bit more time in Loveland remains to be seen, but I think it is safe to say he won’t be stuck in the AHL for long.

Ya love to see it

1st professional goal for Conor Timmins!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/zWEnfH5CrB

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) November 2, 2019

Peter Tischke (D):

Tischke participated in the Avalanche 2019 Development Camp, including the 3-on-3 tournament, and I thought he looked good.

And Peter Tischke for white!#GoAvsGo https://t.co/gMD7ZYLT4o

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) June 29, 2019

2019-20 was his first pro year. He spent most of the year in Utah where he netted four goals and 11 assists. The Eagles re-signed him for this year, so I think there is a good chance we’ll see a bit more of him in 2020-21.

TJ Tynan (C/F):

Tynan is an AHL veteran player who came to Colorado from the Chicago Wolves in 2019 (along with the next player on this list, Ryan Wagner). He quickly made a place for himself, becoming one of the most valuable players on the team. His five goals may not seem impressive, but he also earned 42 assists in only 42 games. He was second in the league in assists, even though call-ups meant he played significantly fewer AHL games than the players in first and third place. Tynan can always be counted on to make a play when the team needs it most and was named this year’s MVP. He’s one of those guys who gets very little respect from the general Avalanche fanbase, but as an Eagle he is outstanding.

What a feed from TJ Tynan #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/LLTwW4vfWd

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) December 22, 2019

Ryan Wagner (F):

2019-20 was only Wagner’s second pro year, and he split the season evenly between the Eagles and Grizzlies, doing reasonably well both places.

The Eagles liked him enough to renew his contract for this season. I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets a lot more time in Loveland this year.

Have yourself a 1st period RYAN WAGNER #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/JemzpadP3S

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

Adam Werner (G):

Last but not least is the only goalie on today’s list, Adam Werner. Drafted in 2016 by the Avalanche, 2019-20 was the first year of his two-year ELC. He played 31 games and ended with a 2.92 GAA and a .909 save percentage. He also played two games for the Avalanche, earning a shut-out in his emergency debut against Winnipeg. Anything could happen (especially when it comes to goalies), but I suspect Eagles fans will be seeing a lot of Werner in 2020-21.

40 shots. 40 saves.

A shutout in his first career NHL game for Adam Werner. #GoAvsGo https://t.co/ElVGBM3UnI

— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) November 13, 2019

Conclusion

I’m reasonably sure that’s everybody we know about so far! Any player from last year who isn’t on this list will be covered in part two of this series, where I’ll run down the free agents (restricted and otherwise). And in part three, I’ll give you a glimpse of new players we might be seeing in Loveland if/when the AHL season finally begins.

The post Previewing the 2020-21 Colorado Eagles roster, Part 1 appeared first on The Rink.

Here are our picks:

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

New York Rangers vs Carolina Hurricanes

Cris:  CAR in 5

The biggest question mark on the Canes is their goaltending. However, their defense corps is one of, if not the best in the League. I think that, in the end, it is just too much for the Rangers to overcome.

Jeff:  CAR in 5

I really wanted to pick the Rangers. They have a three-headed monster in goal, promising youth, and MVP candidate Artemi Panarin. Unfortunately, they were the second worst team in the Metro this year. They just aren’t ready. I think they make it a series because the Canes have a pretty tense situation in goal, but it won’t be enough. Better days are ahead for the Rangers.

JJ:  CAR in 5

John:  NYR in 5

Just a hunch – Carolina’s playoff mojo doesn’t carry over to this year. The Rangers have the feel of a team on the rise in a hurry.

Juliana:  NYR in 5

I almost picked the Hurricanes. In my opinion, this series really hinges on two things: goaltending and if Dougie Hamilton can play for the Canes. This prediction is based off him not playing and Igor Shestyorkin stealing the show. It also helps that the Rangers have Hart candidate Panarin leading the offense. This will be one of the more interesting series to watch.

Marie:  CAR in 4

Let me just start by saying, I have no idea. I’m an AHL fan. I only halfway pay attention to the NHL so a lot of my picks will be based more on random feelings than actual facts. But I think Carolina tends to rally and play well when it matters most. As cliché as it sounds, it’s often about which team wants it more, and I think that’s Carolina.

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Chicago Blackhawks vs Edmonton Oilers

Cris:  EDM in 4

Corey Crawford missed the majority of training camp. Although both teams struggle to defend, the Oilers do have an edge with their goaltending. This should definitely be an interesting series to watch.

Jeff:  EDM in 4

Edmonton has holes but not as many as the Blackhawks have. Edmonton also has two of the best players in the world in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.  In goal, both teams have question marks, but the Oiler hold the slight COVID edge. If Crawford was available for a full training camp, I would give the Blackhawks the edge in net, but he is really behind the curve. The Blackhawks were last in the Central for a reason. Their defense stinks.

JJ:  EDM in 5

This series I was split on, as I can really see either team taking this series in five games. However, I do believe that the Oilers will have a slight advantage over the Blackhawks. I think the Oilers offensive firepower will eventually prove to be too much for the Blackhawks, and that they just will not be able to put a quick stop to the dynamic duo of McDavid and Draisaitl.

John:  EDM in 4

Whether Crawford plays or not, the match-ups between the nets are in Edmonton’s favor, both center on center, and Edmonton’s blue line corps versus Chicago’s small, softish forwards. Not to mention what may be an absolutely sieve-like Chicago blue line against Edmonton’s overall forward corps.

Juliana:  EDM in 5

Edmonton is simply the better team. They have top-ranked special teams, McDavid, and Draisaitl. That’s really all you need to win. I think the Blackhawks can make this series tough for the Oilers, but they’re lacking too much defensively.

Marie:  EDM in 3

This hasn’t been Chicago’s year, and I don’t see that changing in the playoffs.

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Florida Panthers vs New York Islanders

Cris:  NYI in 5

This was a tough one. I do think that Florida could pull it off, seeing as they have the offense. However, after the season Sergei Bobrovsky has had, you can’t rely on him to steal the Panthers any games. While the Islanders have difficulty scoring, their defense definitely outperforms Florida’s. If Bobrovsky does manage to get hot at the right time though, this could be a totally different series.

Jeff:  NYI in 5

While I like the Florida roster overall, I think that the Isles’ stingy defense and goaltending will eventually be too much. If the Islanders get in trouble, Joel Quenneville can out-coach just about anybody. Even though they scored a lot of goals in the regular season, Florida just doesn’t have the high-end scoring they will need to overwhelm the Islanders. That said, Bobrovsky will be in goal for Florida and he has carried his team past better opponents in the playoffs.

JJ:  NYI in 4

John:  NYI in 5

Bobrovsky has been, at times, a good playoff goalie, but he has looked human too often for a $10 million a year guy.

Juliana:  NYI in 5

I truthfully think Florida is a more well-rounded team than the Islanders are, but Bobrovsky looked terrible in the exhibition game against Tampa and he’s been streaky throughout his entire career. If the Isles can tighten their defensive game and play like we know they can, they’ll easily win the series. But the Panthers have Joel Quenneville behind the bench and good offensive firepower. I still think the Isles pull through here.

Marie:  NYI in 5

Just seems like the Islanders are on a roll this season. It feels like they have something to prove.

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Montreal Canadiens vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Cris:  PIT in 4

I would never count out a fully healthy Penguins team. The Canadiens just don’t have the depth necessary to combat that. As well, based on his performance over the last season or so, I do not expect Carey Price to be stealing any games for MON.

Jeff:  PIT in 4

Much like EDM over CHI, the Pens have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Montreal was the 12th seed for a reason. They just don’t have the firepower to take out Pittsburgh.

JJ:  PIT in 3

John:  PIT in 4

I agree with Gatekeeper, this one feels a lot like Chicago-Edmonton for similar reasons.

Juliana:  PIT in 3

Simple explanation: Price is not the goaltender he used to be and Montreal doesn’t have the star power that Pittsburgh does. If Jake Guentzel and Brian Dumoulin didn’t come back, I’d say this series would be closer. But they’re back, so Pittsburgh has a great advantage.

Marie:  MON in 4

This is one of those cases where logic holds no sway with me. My football biases bleed over into hockey. I simply cannot pick the Steelers on Ice Penguins. Also, Alex Belzile (who played a big role when the Eagles won the Kelly Cup in 2017) made the Canadiens roster. I’m not saying he’s going to carry the team or anything, but I love him as a player and hope he gets a real shot (assuming he plays again after that hit he took on Tuesday). Therefore, I’ll cross my fingers and hope for Montreal to pull off the upset.

Jake Muzzin Alex Belzile #HFhits

Well. I guess they’re not going to stop being physical. pic.twitter.com/SfTonrpR6O

— hockeyfights (@hockeyfights) July 29, 2020

Winnipeg Jets vs Calgary Flames

Cris:  WPG in 5

Connor Hellebuyck. The goalie has had an MVP caliber season, despite all the pieces WPG lost on the back end (Trouba, Byfuglien etc). Hellebuyck can and will steal the Jets games.

Jeff:  WPG in 5

If you asked this question prior to the season, I would have said Calgary, hands down. Hellebuyck was having an MVP worthy season for the second time in the last three years, though. A hot goaltender can win a cup for a team. I wouldn’t pick them as a cup winner, but Calgary has so many issues and too much drama.

JJ:  WPG in 5

John:  WPG in 5

Scheifele, Wheeler and Laine. This could be the year Winnipeg puts it all together and makes a run. They have the size and talent to be a brutalizing playoff team, and Hellebuyck is hot.

Juliana:  WPG in 5

Despite how similar these teams are on paper, Calgary lacks in goaltending while Winnipeg has Vezina candidate Hellebuyck in net. The stars of the Flames also had down years, while the stars of the Jets still played like stars. If he continues to play like he did during the regular season, the Jets will sneak out of this qualifying round.

Marie: Winner: WPG in 5

Hellebuyck. That is all.

Save and celly?

Connor Hellebuyck with the can't-miss highlights. pic.twitter.com/yTKLecVJ0i

— NHL (@NHL) September 19, 2019

Arizona Coyotes vs Nashville Predators

Cris:  NSH in 5

ARI doesn’t have the scoring depth they will need. While I wouldn’t pick NSH to be a cup contender, they are a more well-rounded team than the Coyotes.

Jeff:  NSH in 4

I’d love to see this upset but I just don’t think ARI can pull it off. As long as the Preds get decent goaltending, they should be able to send the Coyotes home. That’s not to say that Phil Kessel and Taylor Hall can’t put a scare into the Preds, but I just can’t see it being enough to carry the Yotes.

JJ:  NSH in 4

John:  NSH in 5

In the end, the Yotes will not have enough versus a deep, albeit perennially under-performing Nashville team.

Juliana:  NSH in 4

Both of these teams greatly lack offense, but the defense of the Predators is simply better than the Coyotes. If Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros can be consistent in net, this is an easy series win for Nashville. If there’s any series where an upset can happen though, it could be this one.

Marie:  NSH in 4

Back when the Colorado Eagles were winning back-to-back Kelly Cups, a certain ECHL owner complained that his team, which (in his opinion) dominated the regular season by playing NHL-style hockey, consistently got beat in the ECHL playoffs. He felt the fast, furious, hard-hitting nature of the ECHL playoffs put his team at an unfair disadvantage. Well, like it or not, the playoffs are a whole different animal in just about any league. What worked in the regular season won’t always work in the post-season. Which is all my long-winded way of saying I don’t think Arizona’s style of hockey is going to cut it.

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Columbus Blue Jackets vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Cris:  TOR in 4

Columbus is at their best when they are playing their system. Due to the break, the play-in round is going to be very similar to early season hockey, where games are decided by talent rather than the systems in place.

Jeff:  TOR in 5

I’d say TOR in 4 but it’s the Leafs. They will find a way to introduce some drama. Elvis Merzlikins is a nice story in goal for CBJ, but TOR can take this series on talent alone. Columbus’ -7 goal differential should be enough to send them to the second draft lottery.

JJ:  TOR in 4

John:  CBJ in 4

Columbus, like Winnipeg and Boston, is a team built more for the grind and attrition of the playoffs. They’re going to follow much the same prescription as they did in sweeping the Lightning last year. Probably not a popular pick, but the Jackets may pull off the early upset again. It’s also easy to see the officiating favor Toronto, in that the games are in Toronto, and it’s… Toronto. That could shift the series very much in the opposite direction.

Juliana:  TOR in 5

This is another fun series everyone should pay attention to. The Blue Jackets are relatively healthy now, and so are the Leafs. While Columbus has a way better defense corps than Toronto, the Leafs have a monstrous offense that can score their way out of almost anything. I’d love to say Leafs in 3 or 4 games, but we know better than to say that. Still, I think Toronto pulls away with a series win.

Marie:  CJB in 4

I’m basing this largely on their sweep of Tampa in last year’s playoffs. They’re a team on a mission.

Photo courtesy of NHL.com

Minnesota Wild vs Vancouver Canucks

Cris:  VAN in 5

I do believe MIN will put up a fight; however, as I mentioned above, the play in rounds will likely be more reliant on talent. Vancouver has the edge there.

Jeff:  VAN in 3

Vancouver has a solid team that has promising young players at every position. Minnesota is stuck between over-the-hill vets and unproven youth. I’m not a Devan Dubnyk fan and feel like he puts up decent regular season stats and then turns back into a pumpkin in the playoffs. The Wild gave up a ton of goals while the Canucks scored a ton. This should make for a short series for the team from the, “State of Hockey.”

JJ:  VAN in 5

John:  VAN in 3

Sort of like the Rangers-Carolina prediction. Vancouver just has that feel of a team on a quick rise, where Minnesota is more like Chicago. A team sort of stuck in the middle of the pack and lacking a clear character at this point.

Juliana:  VAN in 5

As boring as the Wild can be, the Canucks give away games like it’s free food. Ultimately, it comes down to lines and defensive pairs clicking. If Vancouver’s top six can score like we know they can, this is an easy series win, but who knows how many defensive lapses they’ll make. I think this series will be closer than some might think, but the Canucks will be heading into the first round of the playoffs.

Marie:  MIN in 5

This is another case where there’s not a lot of logic behind my pick. The two Wild teams (Minnesota and their AHL affiliate, the Iowa Wild) seem to pull off victories when I least want them to. I’m predicting that trend will hold true and some really ugly wins will carry them through the qualifying round.

What do you think?

Tell us your thoughts! 

Are we wrong? 

Who do you think will move on to the next round?

The post Round Table: The-Rink staff play-in predictions appeared first on The Rink.

The-Rink.com writers John Jaeckel, Jeff “El Gatekeeper” Osborn, Mario Tirabassi, Juliana Nikac, Lucas Rozell, Marie Sexton, Eric Andrews, Matt Csakai and Sean Fitzgerald get together again on Facebook live to lightheartedly discuss the lack of hockey during this pandemic.

• Can the NHL really restart in July?
• Ian Mitchell and Michal Teply sign entry level deals
• Juliana talks about NWHL news
• Mario talks about the Rockford Icehogs and Gate hits him with an Ian McCoshen scouting request
• Lucas brings us up to date about the Avalanche / Ryan Graves and Marie gives us the lowdown with the Colorado Eagles.
• Some ancient video game talk.
• We talk about great (or not so great) Canadian food.
• We wrap up with what each of us has been doing to keep sane.
• If you are interested in writing for The Rink for any division, email writefor@the-rink.com

Please subscribe, rate this episode, and even write us a review. Reviews will be read on the air. Follow and listen on these platforms:

Also, please help spread the word to more #RinkRats and visit our sponsor www.PUCKHCKY.com. Use the discount code “THERINK” for 10% off all orders.

Watch the entire Facebook live here!!!!

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The post Blackhawks Rinkcast – Season 3, Episode 17 – Video Roundtable Pt 2 appeared first on The Rink.

“Kaut was mismanaged in 2018–19 because he was forced to play a bottom-six role while veteran players stole his ice time.”

There are frankly so many gaping flaws in this line of thought, it is hard to know where to begin, but I will give it a shot.

The role of the AHL

This myth is wrapped up in the idea that the Eagles somehow have too many veteran players, and are allowing those veteran players to steal ice time from young prospects. So let’s start with the simplest point: What is the purpose of the AHL?

There are a great many players who are dominant in juniors or college, but who simply are not ready for the NHL. Playing on a team comprised entirely of 18- and 19-year-old kids has already proven to be insufficient. This is the primary purpose of the American Hockey League—to give these young prospects a chance to play both with and against older, more experienced players.

Martin Kaut skates with the puck for the Colorado Eagles. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

In other words, having veteran players on the team is not only critical, it is the entire point of the league. Without the veterans, this would be just another junior league.

“The team has too many veterans.”

I see this one on Twitter on a regular basis. It was especially prominent during last year’s playoffs. There are “too many vets,” or the Eagles have “sold out” as an “all vet” team. Again, this is patently false. Why? Because the AHL dictates exactly how many veteran players a team can have on their roster.

Here is the rule:

Of the 18 skaters (not counting two goaltenders) that teams may dress for a game, at least 13 must be qualified as “development players.” Of those 13, 12 must have played in 260 or fewer professional games (including AHL, NHL and European elite leagues), and one must have played in 320 or fewer professional games. All calculations for development status are based on regular-season totals as of the start of the season.

In other words, the Colorado Eagles have exactly the number of veteran players allowed by the league. (I would be willing to bet every other team in the league also has this exact number of veteran players, but I did not check all 31 rosters.) Only six players are veterans.

Is one-third of the lineup “too many”? Well, I suppose you could debate that. But, six is the number allowed by the league, and six is the number you can expect any AHL team to have, the Colorado Eagles included. Everybody else on the roster is considered a “development player” by the American Hockey League.

Martin Kaut skates during warmups prior to a Colorado Eagles game. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

I think this “too many vets” thing comes up because some people think any player who is no longer on his entry-level contract is automatically a “veteran” player. This is incorrect. The AHL determines veteran status based on the number of professional games played. There are many players in the AHL who are past their ELCs but who are not yet veteran players as defined by the league. I do not know if they have an official name, but I call them “tweeners.” The efficacy of tweeners and whether or not a team can have too many of them is too big of an issue for this one post. I will tackle that another day.

Regardless, the Eagles simply cannot have “too many vets” because the number of veteran players is strictly enforced by the AHL. Anybody who says otherwise obviously does not know the most fundamental rule of the American Hockey League.

“Veteran players are stealing ice time from prospects.”

Vets are not “stealing” ice time. First of all, they are playing on the same lines as the prospects. A right winger cannot “steal” ice time from the left winger on his same line. But, this myth is so widely believed that Scott MacDonald of Mile High Hockey addressed it early in the season. He asked Eagles coach Greg Cronin about it. Cronin’s response was that the Avalanche dictate which prospects get the most playing time.

Did you catch that? I am going to say it again for those in the back: Nobody is “stealing” anybody’s ice time. Top prospects like Martin Kaut will play big minutes because that’s how the Avalanche want it. And this will happen regardless of what veteran players are doing.

This is at the heart of debunking this “mismanagement” thing. Martin Kaut received tons of playing time last year. He played in the top six for the majority of the year. Nobody on the team “stole” ice time from him.

“But he was (sometimes) stuck on the third line!”

I can see why people who do not actually watch Eagles games might freak out about this. After all, in the NHL, the top two lines play significantly more time than the bottom two lines. But that is not the case for the Eagles.

Martin Kaut walks with coffee in hand prior to a Colorado Eagles game. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

Now, I do not know if this is true across the AHL, or if it is just Cronin’s coaching style. And, the AHL does not track ice time, so there are unfortunately no numbers I can point to. But, I have talked about this with MacDonald on Twitter. More importantly, I watch every single Eagles game, both home and away, start to finish. I can say with confidence that there is not a significant difference in ice time between the top three lines. Depending on the night and the players involved, the fourth line might get fewer minutes, but even then, the difference is not as extreme as it is in the NHL. There is no double shifting of the top line while the third line warms the bench. Every single line has prospects on it, and, as stated above, the prospects will get their time no matter what because that is how the Avalanche want it and because developing young players is the entire point of the American Hockey League. Whether they are listed as first or third line is irrelevant—they will always get to play.

The only time this may change is during playoffs, which brings me to my next point.

Players still must earn their ice time

Most of this “Kaut was mismanaged” stuff comes from last year’s playoff push. In the last few weeks of the season, as the Eagles fought for the final playoff position in the Pacific Division, Cronin—presumably with permission from the Avalanche—seemed to stop focusing on prospects and started making guys earn their ice time. After being on the top two lines for most of the season, Kaut was suddenly lower in the lineup. He may even have been a healthy scratch for a game or two.

First of all, as I have already pointed out, playing on the third line instead of the second does not mean much. They still play roughly the same number of minutes.

But, more importantly, Kaut had not earned it.

I know, a couple of people whose opinions you trust told you Kaut was killing it in the AHL. They watched two or three games and looked at a few stats and a highlight or two. They combined that with his play in the Czech Republic League and his first-round draft status and told you he was absolutely NHL ready and was being unfairly held back by Cronin. Believe them if you like, but I personally have more faith in the coaches than that. Not only that, I have faith in what I see with my own eyes. As I said earlier, I watch every single Eagles game, both home and away, start to finish. And anybody who actually watched Kaut last season, week in and week out on a regular basis, could see he needed more time. Anybody who watched more than a handful of Eagles games could see he was far from dominant. He was middle of the pack, at best.

The hard reality is, Martin Kaut had the majority of the 2018–19 season playing in the top six to prove himself to the coaching staff, and he failed to do so. He simply did not earn top billing once playoffs rolled around. Expecting a coach to bench guys who are actually scoring in favor of one who is not just is not realistic, especially during playoffs.

Which brings us to one of the hottest debates in the world of sports.

“We owe it to him” versus the sunk cost fallacy

Whenever I say that all AHL players should have to earn their ice time rather than having it handed to them, I hear the same protest: “But he’s a first-round draft pick! We owe it to him.”

We could debate this one all day: Does a team automatically owe a player ice time simply because they are a first-round pick? Some people will say yes, but personally, I fall on the “sunk cost” side. I do not watch these kids in NCAA or juniors, and I do not really care when they were drafted. Once a player is in the system, they are just another player and it is up to them to earn a spot in the lineup. The only thing I look at is how well they play in the AHL. If a first-round pick is unable to earn his ice time against an undrafted player like Logan O’Connor, that is on that player. The only thing the team “owes” him is the tools to make his game better. Some will say the Avs are not doing that. I think that is another giant misconception and nobody has proven it more than O’Connor, but that is an argument (and a blog post) for another day.

“But he isn’t developing.”

This is arguably the biggest myth of all. Admittedly, Martin Kaut did not develop as quickly or as noticeably in his first year as many expected. So what? Lots of players will not be “NHL ready” after only one year in the AHL. That is why entry-level contracts are generally two or three years long—because some guys take longer to develop than others. The AHL is different from the European hockey Kaut was used to. And let’s not forget he had just had heart surgery as well. Expecting him to rocket on the fast track to the NHL was never realistic.

Martin Kaut fends off Carl Grundstrom for a loose puck during a game between the Colorado Eagles and Ontario Reign. (Photograph courtesy of Ashley Potts / Colorado Eagles)

And this season?

After a slow start and an injury that kept him sidelined for 15 games, Kaut suddenly started to shine. A lot of it was learning to use his size to his advantage. A lot of it seemed to be more about confidence and determination than anything. Whatever it was, it was suddenly working. But was he NHL ready?

It is no secret that I still was not convinced, even when the Avs called him up. But, I really am rooting for him. How could I not? And I can honestly say, I have never been happier to be proven wrong. He did far better in those few games in the NHL than ever expected. So yes, clearly Kaut has made huge progress this year.

Nobody knows what will happen with the remainder of the season, but assuming it eventually resumes, Kaut likely does not have to worry about being bumped down the lineup during playoffs this time around.

The post Debunking the “mismanagement” of Martin Kaut appeared first on The Rink.

Ontario

The Eagles won both games against Ontario handily, despite having several key players out of the lineup.

The Eagles were missing Sheldon Dries, Logan O’Connor and Kevin Connauton, all of whom had been called up to the Avalanche. They were also missing Jayson Megna and Anton Lindholm due to injuries. Igor Shvyrev and Michael Joly were also absent for unknown reasons. Colorado had a total of six players from the Utah Grizzlies in the lineup.

The Eagles played the same lines both nights:

AJ Greer — Julien Nantel — Shane Bowers

Ryan Wagner (Utah) — Colin Campbell — Martin Kaut

Griffen Molino (Utah player currently on PTO with Eagles) — TJ Tynan — Erik Condra

Tim McGauley (Utah) — Josh Dickinson (Utah) — Nick Henry

Jacob MacDonald — Connor Timmins

Josh Anderson (Utah) — Peter Tischke (Utah)

Dan Renouf — Mark Alt

Hunter Miska

Friday vs. Ontario

The Eagles came into the weekend at 3­–2–0–0 against the Reign so far this season. These two teams were also neck and neck in the standings. The first 10 minutes of the game were exactly what one would expect from two fairly evenly matched teams—lots of fast-paced, back-and-forth action. At the 12:16 of the first period, Griffen Molino thought about taking a shot on net. Instead, he tipped the puck to Erik Condra in the left circle, who put it home, scoring the only goal of the first period for a 1–0 Colorado advantage.

The Eagles held onto their lead until 13:31 of the second period when Sheldon Rempal scored to tie the game at 1–1. At that point, the Eagles kicked their play into high gear. Less than a minute later, Jacob MacDonald poke-checked a puck away from Kale Clague. Nick Henry picked it up and slapped it in from the top the of the right circle, putting the Eagles up 2­–1.

Hanks put his weight behind that one #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/4n1P87Smjj

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 7, 2020

Less than three minutes later, AJ Greer tipped in a shot by Jacob MacDonald during a power play for a 3–1 gap. Just 2:15 later, Shane Bowers chipped in a rebound to make the score 4–1, which ended up being the final score of the game.

Saturday vs. Ontario

Saturday night started out with a bang when Mark Alt scored a mere 50 seconds into the game to put the Eagles up 1–0. Colorado hung onto this one-goal lead through the first intermission.

Three minutes into the second period, Ontario’s Tim Schaller was called for tripping. It only took nine seconds for Jacob MacDonald to score a power play goal, putting the Eagles ahead 2–0.

Mac scored on the powerplay to notch his 16th goal of the year!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/W0nR3I6kxV

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 8, 2020

A minute later, Ryan Stanton was called for roughing. Greer scored his second power play goal of the weekend to put the Eagles up 3–0. Just like on Friday night, there were no goals in the third period.

As in any shutout, the real hero of the night was the goalie. Hunter Miska was amazing in net, turning away a total of 34 shots on goal.

Texas

The Texas Stars came into the series ranked seventh in the Central Division at 26­–27–3–4. The Eagles have beaten some of the best teams in the league, so in theory, this series should have been easy. But any sports fan knows it does not work that way. Absolutely anything can happen, and in this case, it did.

Tuesday vs. Stars

Once again, the Eagles had quite a few call-ups from Utah in their lineup. Kevin Connauton and Logan O’Conner were with the Avalanche. Jayson Megna, Anton Lindholm and Michael Joly were out due to injury. Igor Shvyrev was a healthy scratch.

AJ Greer ­— Sheldon Dries — Shane Bowers

Griffen Molino — TJ Tynan — Erik Condra

Ryan Wagner — Colin Campbell — Martin Kaut

Julien Nantel­ — Josh Dickinson — Nick Henry

Jacob MacDonald ­— Connor Timmins

Peter Tischke — Kevin Davis

Dan Renouf­ — Mark Alt

Hunter Miska

The Stars came out hot and immediately began outshooting the Eagles. At 11:35 in the first, Colin Campbell tipped in a shot from Dan Renouf to put the Eagles up 1–0.

Practice the tip in Morning Skate, get rewarded in the game!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/G1npoutppe

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 11, 2020

The lead was short-lived. Only 17 seconds later, Oula Palve scored to tie the game at 1–1. Exactly one minute after that, Jerad Rosburg scored as well, sending the Eagles into the first intermission down 2–1.

Things only got worse in the second. Five minutes in, Gavin Bayreuther scored, and two minutes after that, Joel L’Esperance scored a power play goal to make the score 4–1 Texas with 12:54 left to play in the middle frame. Things looked grim.

But recently, the Eagles have made a habit of having big second periods, and they were not finished yet. Colorado outshot the Stars 21–­7 in the second. With just over five minutes left to play in the period, Julien Nantel scored his seventh goal of the season to cut the margin to 4–2. Just over a minute later, Campbell scored his second goal of the night, bringing the score to 4–3 Stars. Then, 36 seconds after that, Nantel scored again, completing the comeback for a 4–4 deadlock.

"TIE GAME BOYS"
-Nantel#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/umgz6U9bkW

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 11, 2020

Just like that, the game was tied. The momentum definitely seemed to be in the Eagles’ favor going into the second intermission.

In the third period, the Eagles absolutely crushed the Stars’ offense, allowing only two shots on goal the entire period. Unfortunately, one of those two shots went in and ended up being the game-winner, as Texas won 5–4. Final shots on goal were 47­–23 in the Eagles’ favor, but they trailed where it counted most. It was a disappointing end to an exciting game.

Wednesday vs. Texas

Sheldon Dries was crosschecked into the boards head first in Tuesday’s game and did not return. He was also out on Wednesday. Martin Kaut was called up to play for the Avs, but the Eagles did get Lindholm back.

Jacob MacDonald­ — TJ Tynan — Erik Condra

AJ Greer — Julien Nantel — Shane Bowers

Ryan Wagner — Colin Campbell — Griffen Molino

Josh Dickinson — Igor Shvyrev — Nick Henry

Anton Lindholm — Connor Timmins

Peter Tischke — Kevin Davis

Dan Renouf — Mark Alt

Adam Werner

The Eagles came out much stronger on Wednesday than they had on Tuesday. The teams traded scoring opportunities through most of the period, with shots on goal staying mostly even. Finally, at 17:02 of the first, Josh Dickinson scored an unassisted goal for a 1–0 Colorado lead. Check out the crazy angle on this one.

Never give up on a play!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/pxjw0xTcQ4

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 12, 2020

The Eagles went into first intermission up 1­–0.

The second period saw only one goal, as L’Esperance scored just over five minutes into the period to tie the game at 1–1. Ryan Wagner broke the tie 3:38 into the third for a 2–1 Eagles edge, and at 12:12, Campbell gave the Eagles a much-needed insurance goal at 3–1. Both teams ended the night 0-for-2 on the power play. Shots on goal were also much more even than the previous night at 36–32 in favor of the Eagles.

Special teams

Last season, the Eagles finished dead last in the AHL on the power play. They spent the first few months of this season at or near the bottom as well. Since then, they have risen to 16th in the league at 18%. Colorado has scored seven power play goals in their last seven games—a huge improvement over their special teams performance earlier in the season. This is largely due to Connor Timmins, who is excellent at quarterbacking the power play.

Mac fires it and AJ picks up the tip for our 3rd of the night!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/QIJ0IBOH0G

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 7, 2020

The Eagles are 14th in the AHL on the penalty kill at 82.4%. Their penalty kill has only given up one goal in 21 kills over their last six games, including two perfect games against the Milwaukee Admirals, who were first in the league on the power play until they faced the Eagles, and have since fallen to second. This is largely thanks to Mark Alt, who is outstanding on the kill.

Could special teams be better? Of course. The Eagles had multiple power plays in the third period on Saturday night. At least two of those could only be classified as awful. The Eagles seemed to fall back into their old pattern of dump and chase, never managing to get themselves into position. But overall, the power play is improving.

Hot-handed goalies

As of Monday, Hunter Miska was ninth in the league in goals against average at 2.38. He is fourth in the AHL in save percentage at .928. By way of comparison, Adam Werner is 26th in the AHL in GAA (2.98) and 28th in the League at save percentage (.907). Both are good, but Miska has clearly earned the starting position in net. But in the AHL, development of a young prospect is sometimes deemed more important than who is playing well. The Eagles may eventually end up with Michael Hutchinson as well once Philip Grubauer is healthy, so it will be interesting to see who gets the starts once playoffs arrive.

Hunter Miska warms up prior to a Colorado Eagles game. (Photograph courtesy of Amanda Potts / Colorado Eagles)

Big help from Utah

The call-ups from Utah continue to impress. In the NHL, it is common for call-ups to be dumped onto the fourth line and given very limited ice time. Not so for the Eagles. Colorado has Utah players on three of their four lines, and all four lines seem to get fairly equal time.

Over the last six games, Griffen Molino has one goal and two assists. Wagner has three goals and one assist. Dickinson also had a goal on Wednesday night. The Grizzlies are absolutely holding their own. As a result, the Eagles are winning games against very good teams, even with a third of their lineup gone. This is a true testament to just how deep the talent runs in this organization, from the Avalanche all the way down to the Utah Grizzlies.

Other takeaways:

• Since being suspended for fighting back in October, Greer has kept his head down, frequently skating away from potential dustups. Saturday night was apparently his breaking point. He dropped the gloves late in the second period against Mikey Eyssimont, but did not completely lose his cool as he has occasionally done in the past.
• Scoring leaders: Greer had two goals and four assists this week. Jacob MacDonald had one goal and two assists. TJ Tynan had four assists, and currently has 22 points in his last 19 games. Campbell had three goals and one assist in the series against Texas. Nantel also had two goals against Texas.
• The Eagles have had very strong second periods lately. This is a nice change from previous seasons when they often seemed to fall behind in the second and be stuck digging themselves out of a hole in the third.

What’s next?

Obviously, nobody knows. All play is suspended indefinitely at the moment. But, this is how the Pacific Division looks at the moment.

The post Eagles rule the Reign, split series against the Stars appeared first on The Rink.

Both games were hard-fought matches, all the way to the end. The Eagles won the first game in a shootout and the second game in overtime.

More than four months later, the Admirals visited Loveland for back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday. The Admirals currently lead the AHL in points and point percentage. They also have the league’s top power play at 26.3% and are ranked fifth in the league on the penalty kill. Their goalies, Connor Ingram and Troy Grosenick, are ranked third and sixth in the AHL, respectively. Ingram came into Saturday’s game with a 1.98 GAA and a .931 save percentage.

The Eagles knew they were in for a battle.

Saturday

Lineup:

The Eagles went into the game missing three key players — Logan O’Connor and Martin Kaut due to call-ups, and Michael Joly for unknown reasons.

Ryan Wagner – T.J. Tynan – Erik Condra
Sheldon Dries – Jayson Megna – Griffen Molino
AJ Greer – Julien Nantel – Shane Bowers
Tim McGauley – Igor Shvyrev – Colin Campbell

Anton Lindholm – Jacob MacDonald
Kevin Connauton – Connor Timmins
Dan Renouf – Mark Alt

Adam Werner

Game:

The Eagles came out flat in the first period, and it cost them. At 6:48, Lukas Craggs put one in the net. Two and a half minutes later, Eeli Tolvanen scored. Less than six minutes later, it was Yakov Trenin’s turn. With less than five minutes left in the first, the Eagles found themselves being badly outshot and down by three points.

But the Eagles have been here before. Just last week, they were down 0–4 against the Bakersfield Condors and came back to win the game 5–4. Could they do it again?

At first, it looked like it could happen. At 17:13 of the first period, Griffen Molino scored his first goal as an Eagle.

Molino with a SNIPE for his 1st of the year to put us on the board!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/eZQo5BUE6G

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

Only 48 seconds into the second period, Milwaukee’s Jeremy Davies was called for slashing, giving the Eagles their first power play of the night. It only took Jacob MacDonald nine seconds to score his fifteenth goal of the season.

https://twitter.com/ColoradoEagles/status/1233963358056927232?s=20

Suddenly, the Eagles were down by only one goal with 39 minutes left to play.

After being outshot 13–9 in the first, the Eagles turned the tables on the Admirals, putting up 17 shots to the Admirals’ seven. They dominated the second period. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get anything past Ingram. Then, less than three minutes before the second intermission, Tom Novak scored on a breakaway.

The Eagles continued to fight hard, outshooting the Admirals 10–7 in the third, but it was too little, too late. Final shots on goal were 36–27 Eagles.

Sunday

Lineup:

In addition to the players missing on Saturday night, the Eagles went into Sunday’s game without Jayson Megna and Anton Lindholm.

AJ Greer – Sheldon Dries – Shane Bowers
Ryan Wagner – TJ Tynan – Erik Condra
Griffen Molino – Julien Nantel – Colin Campbell
Tim McGauley – Igor Shvyrev – Josh Dickinson

Dan Renouf – Mark Alt
Kevin Connauton – Connor Timmins
Peter Tischke – Jacob MacDonald

Hunter Miska

Game:

This game was the opposite of Saturday’s in many ways. The Eagles came out strong, controlling the puck much better than the night before. Five minutes into the first, Ryan Wagner scored.

Go to the net and you'll get rewarded!#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/SY7wZfawzp

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

Thirteen minutes later, he scored a powerplay goal, putting the Eagles up 2–0 going into the first intermission.

Have yourself a 1st period RYAN WAGNER #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/JemzpadP3S

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

The last half of the first period and the first half of the second were full of shoving, chirping, and fighting, resulting in a total of 38 penalty minutes before the second intermission. Milwaukee scored at 7:20 in the second, bringing them within one.

The last half of the game was all about Hunter Miska. The Milwaukee Admirals had 19 shots on goal in the second and 18 in the third, forcing Miska to make some spectacular saves. The Eagles scored once in the second, only to have the goal waved off due to incidental goalie contact.

Goaltender interference….

Now we'll head to the PK#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/QNtTlbYcIW

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

A few minutes later, they had another ping off the post.

UGHHHHHHHH#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/67n51cEtyU

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 1, 2020

The fast and furious play continued into the third until 18:03, when Sheldon Dries scored, giving the Eagles a bit of insurance. Milwaukee pulled their goalie, but the Eagles held strong to secure their third win of the season against the number one team in the league.

Takeaways

• The Eagles were 2/10 on the powerplay this weekend against one of the top-rated penalty kill units in the league. A great deal of this can be credited to Conor Timmins, who is fabulous at quarterbacking the power play.
• Despite being ranked first in the league on the power play, the Admirals went 0/7 on the man advantage.
• The Admirals tried to goad Eagles players into fights several times on Saturday. Greer made up for past indiscretions by skating away, earning the Eagles a powerplay. Later in the game, Lindholm did the same thing, earning a 4-minute power play. Unfortunately, this ended up being negated. But the Eagles’ discipline and restraint worked in their favor on Saturday. Not so much on Sunday, when they began pushing back.
• Hunter Miska was amazing in net, stopping 48 of 49 shots and earning the first star of the game.
• The Eagles had several call-ups from the Utah Grizzlies in the lineup, and they were all fantastic, proving just how deep the organization is.
• The Eagles are now 3–1–0–0 against the top team in the AHL.
• Team Captain Mark Alt‘s daughter won the baby races at intermission. I’m sure he’s a very proud daddy.

What’s up next?

The Pacific Division is the most tightly contested division in the league. The Eagles currently sit in second place, but the Stockton Heat, the Ontario Reign, and the San Diego Gulls are all less than three points behind them. The Eagles have 16 games left to play this season, and ten of those games are against either Tucson, Stockton, Ontario, or San Diego. They’ll host Ontario next weekend.

Buckle up. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.

The post Eagles split the series against the Admirals appeared first on The Rink.

Notice anything odd about that list?

How about the fact that the author snubbed an entire division?

That’s right. There’s a whole division over here in the west, and they’re playing some pretty darn good hockey. At least one Pacific Division team deserved a spot on this list at least as much as the Hartford Wolf Pack, if not more. Which team? Well, that’s where things get complicated. But before I get into that, let’s talk about how this might have happened.

Points versus point percentage

The quick and easy way to assess league leaders is to look at points. Here’s how the AHL looks as of March 1, 2020.

Notice the six teams with the most points are the exact teams on Ellis’ list. But assessing teams across the league based on points doesn’t work in the AHL. Why not? Because the Pacific Division plays fewer games than the other three divisions. Playing fewer games will obviously result in fewer points. This doesn’t come up often since the AHL doesn’t have Wild Cards, but when analyzing the entire league, one must resort to point percentage.

The problem with this method is that point percentages vary wildly. In the 24-hour period from February 29 through March 1st, Providence went from ninth place to fifth. Colorado went from fifth to eighth, and then back to sixth. And Stockton went from sixth to ninth.

That’s a lot of movement for a 24-hour period.

Obviously, basing a league-wide assessment on point percentage is also a flawed system. So how do we decide who gets to be on a list of Calder Cup contenders?

Division Standings

The simple answer would be to pick the top team in each division. But when discussing division standings in any league or any sport, one question will always come up: Does being way out front in a division definitely mean that team is amazing or is it only that they’re playing in a weak division? Depending on the league, the division, and the team in question, it could be either. For every example I could give of the former, somebody else could give you an example of the latter. Sometimes, like with this year’s Kansas City Chiefs, it can be both.

My point here is not to argue that the Admirals or Senators aren’t as good as they look. They very well might be. But so far this season, the Pacific Division is 25–14–5–3 against the Central, which is a pretty good indication that they’re a stronger division overall than the Central. (No team in the Pacific has played a team in the Eastern Conference, so there’s no point of comparison against the other divisions.)

Pacific Division Standings

No division in the league is as hotly contested as the Pacific.

In the Atlantic Division, the first place Hershey Bears have a 2-point lead on the second place Providence Bruins and a 14-point lead on the fifth place Springfield Thunderbirds.

In the North, the first place Belleville Senators are eight points ahead of the second-place Rochester American and 15 points ahead of the fifth place Binghamton Devils.

In the Central, the Milwaukee Admirals have a six-point lead on the second-place Iowa Wild and a jaw-dropping 25-point lead on the fifth-place Grand Rapids Griffins.

Some of these first-place teams could end up falling to second, or maybe even third in their divisions, but most of them are in no danger of falling out of the playoff race completely.

And in the Pacific?

At the time of this writing, only four points separate the first-place Tucson Roadrunners from the fifth-place San Diego Gulls.

Absolutely anything could happen in the coming weeks. And this is where we have to examine one big factor that hasn’t been discussed yet.

Trends

Any sports fans knows a season can turn on a dime. Look at the 2018–2019 St. Louis Blues. At mid-season, they were dead last in the NHL. Five months later, they were hoisting the Stanley Cup. So let’s talk about some trends in the Pacific Division.

Tucson Roadrunners

The Roadrunners have been on top of the Pacific for the past few months. But what can’t be seen at a glance is that they’re trending downwards. In mid-December, the New Jersey Devils traded Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes. Part of the return package included two Roadrunners, Nate Schnarr and Nick Merkley. Whether Tucson’s recent skid is only a matter of losing these players, or whether there’s more to it, I don’t know. But there is no denying the numbers. Tucson has been struggling since December. I think they’re likely to end the season third or fourth in the division. They may even end up falling out of the playoffs altogether.

Stockton Heat

Stockton has been hanging out around the second spot in the division for most of the season. Their only trend seems to be that they’re continuing to do what they’ve been doing all along – playing good, consistent hockey. But is that enough to get them through the playoffs? Only time will tell.

Ontario Reign

This is an opinion piece, so I can tell you that my husband predicted way back at the beginning of the season that the Pacific would come down to Ontario versus Colorado. The way things are looking right now, he could be right. Since December, each month has been better than the last, and their position in the division has been rising steadily.

San Diego Gulls

Yes, they’re currently in fifth place, but let’s not forget that’s only four points behind the first-place team. They’ve been nipping at Ontario’s heels for more than a month, and they’re on a roll. Like Ontario, each month since December has been better than the last. They went 9­–2–2–0 in February. If they can maintain that momentum through March, they could very well leapfrog to the top of the division.

Colorado Eagles

Like the Roadrunners, the Eagles’ season took a sharp turn in December, but in Colorado’s case, the turn was upwards. (You can read more about that here.) They’re getting stronger each week and battling hard for comebacks. (You can read about the most recent one here.) The Eagles are 6–4–0–0 against the top team in the Division, the Tucson Roadrunners. The Eagles also played the Milwaukee Admirals four times this season and went 3–1–0–0 against them. The Admirals have the top-ranked power play in the entire league, but in this weekend’s games, they went 0/7 on the power play against the Colorado Eagles.

Colorado’s numbers across the season look less impressive because of their mediocre start. But if you look at their stats since the first of December? The only Pacific Division team keeping pace with them are the San Diego Gulls. And the Hartford Wolf Pack isn’t even close.

Finally reaching my point

My entire point here is to prove that at least one of the Pacific Division teams deserves to be on Steven Ellis’ list at least as much as the Hartford Wolf Pack. I’m not saying the Wolf Pack are a bad team. They’re not. But like the Roadrunners, the Wolf Pack seem to be trending downwards.

Remember that we can’t go by points here because the Pacific Division plays fewer games. We have to go by point percentage. Based on that, two teams in the Pacific are ahead of them, and a third right on their heels.

As I mentioned above, rankings based on point percentage can change drastically from day-to-day. But since I’m talking about trends, here is Hartford’s point percentage since December against the top five teams in the Pacific:

Stockton: 0.55

Hartford: 0.59

Tucson: 0.59

Ontario: 0.62

San Diego: 0.66

Colorado: 0.68

The only team not doing better than them is Stockton.

So which Pacific Division team should have been included on this list of Calder Cup contenders? Take your pick. Any one of the top five teams in the Division deserved that final spot at least as much as the Hartford Wolf Pack.

The post Time to give the AHL’s Pacific Division the respect they deserve appeared first on The Rink.

What We Know

We know that the as-yet-unnamed NHL team in Seattle will be implementing a new AHL team in Palm Springs, California to serve as their affiliate beginning in 2021. The AHL Board of Governors also approved the purchase of the San Antonio Rampage by the Vegas Golden Knights. The team will relocate to Nevada after the current season and begin playing at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas in the fall of 2020. There are also rumors of yet another AHL team moving to Colorado, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

Here’s how the league looks right now.

Eastern Conference:

Western Conference (the one I’ll be talking about):

Here’s a lovely color-coded map showing the location of the teams, courtesy of the AHL mobile app. Blue stars are the Central Division, yellow are the Pacific. (Green are Atlantic and red are North, but those divisions don’t come into play in all of this.)

Notice that three of the four divisions have eight teams, but the Pacific Division only has seven. The divisions were realigned in 2018 when the Colorado Eagles moved from the ECHL to the AHL. At that point, the San Antonio Rampage and Texas Stars were moved from the Pacific to the Central, and Colorado was added to the Pacific.

With Palm Springs joining the league in 2021, the obvious solution was to put them into the Pacific Division, which made all the divisions equal with eight teams each. Colorado remained the geographical outlier, but so be it. That left the Western Conference looking like this:

But then the Vegas Golden Knights announced their intention to move the Rampage to Nevada. Go back up to that map above and mentally move one of those stars in Texas to Las Vegas. They’ll be a lot closer to California than Colorado. So a lot of people assumed these two teams would swap places — put the Rampage into the Pacific, and move the Eagles to the Central. That makes the Western Conference fall like this:

Perfect! But only until…

A couple of weeks ago, news outlets started reporting that Colorado Springs was in the process of securing an AHL franchise of their own. Rumor has it the Stockton Heat will move to Colorado, starting in the 2021-22 season. All of a sudden, those nice, neat divisions don’t look so nice and neat.

So what might things look like?

Obviously this is anybody’s guess, but there is no simple way to keep all divisions equal at eight teams each without leaving one Colorado team in the Pacific. Colorado will likely have two AHL teams, roughly 130 miles apart, but in separate divisions. In the hockey world, that’s pretty much unheard of. On the bright side, leaving the Heat in the Pacific would allow them to retain their existing rivalries.

The only problem with that scenario is the timing. San Antonio will be moving to Nevada effective next year. They could immediately move to the Pacific, becoming the eighth team and leaving the Central one team short, or they could stay where they are.

If they move next season, the Eagles could move to the Central at the same time, or they could wait. Either way, one division will still be one team short until 2021, when the Palm Springs team begins and the Heat (theoretically) move to Colorado.

It’s confusing, I know. I had to resort to pencil and paper to keep all this straight. But assuming that a) Stockton moves to Colorado Springs, and b) Palm Springs ends up in the Pacific (which is all but guaranteed), these are the four most likely scenarios:

1. Nevada moves to the Pacific and one of the Colorado teams moves to the Central. Each division would have eight teams, but one Pacific team in Colorado would be a geographical outlier. (Image 1 below)
2. Nevada moves to the Pacific, and both Colorado teams move to the Central. This would put the Central at nine teams and leave the Pacific with only seven, but all teams would be roughly in the correct geographical area. (Image 2 below)
3. Nobody changes divisions at all. This leaves all divisions with eight teams (once Palm Springs joins), but also makes three teams geographical outliers who have to travel long distances for the majority of their away games. In my opinion, this is the least likely scenario.
4. Both Colorado teams move to the Central and both the Rampage and the Texas Stars return to the Pacific. This keeps all divisions at eight and leaves Texas as the one big geographical outlier. Personally, this is my favorite scenario, but I doubt they would move the Stars just to make life easier for a team in Colorado.

Image 1

Image 2

Conclusion

Obviously, anything can happen. Maybe we’ll find out tomorrow that another team is moving. But based on what we know right now, it’s not unreasonable to assume the Colorado Eagles will end up in the Central Division in the next two years.

The post Will the Colorado Eagles move to the Central Division? appeared first on The Rink.

In 2016-17 and 2017-18 — the seasons the Eagles won back-to-back Kelly Cup Championships — comebacks were the norm. Colorado almost seemed to thrive when playing from behind. Down by two or three, and headed into the third? No problem! The team could always find a way to win.

Then the Eagles moved to the AHL, and, suddenly, comebacks became a thing of the past. It wasn’t that the Eagles were a bad team, but they never managed to rally when faced with a deficit. Through the 2018-19 season and the first half of the current season, the comebacks could be counted on one hand. Just one week ago, the Eagles were 1–9–0 when trailing after the first. As of this morning, that stat is 3–10–0. But numbers aside, last night’s comeback against the Bakersfield Condors reminded Eagles fans of the good old days.

The Game

Four of the Eagles’ starting forwards weren’t in the lineup on Saturday. Logan O’Connor, Sheldon Dries, and Martin Kaut were all playing in Los Angeles with the Avalanche, and Michael Joly was out for unknown reasons. Their spots were filled by Ryan Wagner, Tim McGauley, and Griffen Molino, who had all been called up from the Utah Grizzlies. McGauley and Molino have been spectacular for the Grizzlies, ranked 2nd and 3rd respectively in points in the ECHL. Despite the added depth, there’s only one word for the Eagles’ first period: Ugly.

It wasn’t that the Eagles were outplayed. Shots on goal after the first 20 minutes were nearly even (12-11 Condors). However, Stuart Skinner was perfect in net for Bakersfield. Adam Werner, on the other hand, had one of his less spectacular periods. First, Anthony Peluso chipped one in from the left circle at 1:55 of the first period. At 12:13, Luke Esposito sent a slapshot in from above the left circle. Then, with less than five minutes remaining in the first, Jakob Stukel tried to center the puck from behind the net, but instead of sliding through the crease to his waiting teammate, the puck bounced off of Werner’s back and into the net. It was the unluckiest of goals, adding to the Eagles’ frustration.

The second period started with more of the same. At 3:14 of the second, Joel Persson scored a powerplay goal through a screen to put the Condors up 4-0. It felt like the proverbial nail in the coffin. A fair number of fans probably turned the game off then and there. But the Eagles persisted. They outshot Bakersfield 15-9 through the second and just couldn’t get anything past Skinner.

The last twelve minutes of the middle period contained six penalties – three by each team – resulting in very little 5-on-5 play. The Eagles managed to kill off a short 3-on-5 penalty before getting their own 5-on-3 power play late in the period. They failed to capitalize on a two-man advantage, but seconds after returning to 5-on-4, A.J. Greer scored a powerplay goal with only 13 seconds left in the period to make the score 1-4.

Photo by Ashlee Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles

After 39 minutes of frustration, getting a goal in the last minute was the exact boost of energy the Eagles needed. But they still had a three-goal deficit to deal with.

The Third Period

The Eagles came out strong in the third period, proving they were going to fight until the end. Their first big break came at 6:42 when Wagner slapped one in from just inside the right circle. It looked like Skinner caught it with his glove — even Skinner seemed to think he’d stopped it — but instead, it slipped over his fingers and into the net. Less than two minutes later, Julien Nantel chipped a puck in from just outside the crease, assisted by Shane Bowers and Greer.

And suddenly, the Eagles were down by only one point with more than half a period left to play. They kept the pressure on, outshooting the Condors 14-5 with more than half of those shots coming from the slot or just outside the crease. Finally, with only 3:12 remaining in the game, Greer hit one home from the top of the left circle to send the game into overtime.

The extra period was fast-paced, with a lot of back and forth play up and down the ice. Exactly halfway through overtime, Logan Day took a shot from between the circles. Greer blocked the shot and passed the puck to Jayson Megna. Megna beat Day in a race down the ice and chipped the puck over Skinner and into the net, completing the Eagles’ amazing comeback.

The goal The call #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/F6mAQi84Hi

— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 23, 2020

Conclusion

Despite a disastrous first period, Colorado held strong. They outshot Bakersfield 42-25. They went 2/6 on the power play and 1/3 on the penalty kill. But more importantly, they proved that last-minute comebacks are no longer a thing of the past. This team has heart.

Even with several starters out of the lineup, they have the depth and the skill to make anything happen. Not only did they beat the odds, they did it on February 22, exactly forty years after Al Michaels famously asked, “Do you believe in miracles?”

As of last night, Eagles fans definitely have reason to believe.

The post Colorado Eagles complete amazing comeback appeared first on The Rink.

Here’s why.

Let’s Talk About Call-Ups

Obviously, I’m not a coach. I can only guess at what’s going on in their heads. But I think people have unrealistic expectations when it comes to call-ups. Certain phrases get tossed around a lot. Things like, “Let’s bring him up, just to see what he can do.” Or, “It’s time to bench [some perfectly healthy bottom-six player] and give that new kid a chance.” Or, “We need to reward good play in the AHL by giving him NHL ice time.”

Personally, I think it’s highly unlikely any of these things cross a coach’s mind when he’s debating a call-up. Coaches aren’t going to toss an unproven rookie into the lineup as some kind of fun little experiment or in lieu of a gold star. Maybe if his team has already been eliminated from the playoffs and he has nothing left to lose. But for any team still in contention, the coach isn’t thinking, “This is a good time to assess that young prospect.” After all, he has a whole team of people doing that already. Assessing young prospects is the exact point of the AHL. If and when an NHL coach needs to bring somebody up, they have exactly one goal in mind:

Win the next game.

That’s it. Win the next game. And then the next. And then the next. Which players are going to help them do that? The consistent ones. The reliable ones. The ones who are least likely to commit a costly mistake. And like it or not, Kaut, Bowers, and Timmins do not fit this bill. All of these guys make the occasional spectacular play – a play that lets you see just how much potential they have –but none of them are consistent. And when a coach needs to call somebody up, he doesn’t want to gamble on inconsistency. He wants somebody he can count on to hold the line and make as few mistakes as possible.

I’m not saying Bowers, Kaut, and Timmins will never get there. They will. They’re all young. They all have enormous potential. Every single one of them will probably be in the NHL someday. But it won’t be this week or this month, and it probably won’t even be this season.

Photo by Ashlee Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles

That’s not what the other people say!

I know, I’m about to contradict people whose opinions you trust. They’ve told you these three guys are all NHL ready. I’d argue these people are viewing young prospects through some very burgundy-and-blue-tinted lenses. It’s a big case of confirmation bias. They’ve looked at past play in college or juniors. They’ve looked at draft status. And based on those things, I think they’ve already decided these players are better than the AHL. When they take time to watch an Eagles game, they only see what they want to see: Big plays and points by the guys they’re watching most. But they’re not seeing the big picture. Specifically, they’re failing to see how these players match up against other AHL players.

Look at it this way: T.J. Tynan, Sheldon Dries, Jacob MacDonald, Erik Condra, and Jayson Megna are all consistently dismissed by these same people as, “good enough for the AHL, but not NHL material.” Yet, they lead the team in points. Bowers clocks in at sixth, Timmins at 11th, and Kaut at 13th. But to really assess their play and their NHL readiness, you also have to look at them against the entire backdrop of the AHL. Looking at stats for all AHL skaters, the Eagles’ top scorer, Tynan, is ranked 26th. Bowers doesn’t show up until 167, Timmins at 278, and Kaut at 362.

There were injuries to take into account, and stats don’t tell the whole story, especially for defensemen. They’re just one piece of the puzzle. But these numbers underscore my primary point: None of these guys are dominating in the AHL. They’re all improving. They’re all trending upwards. But they aren’t truly dominant players quite yet.

Shane Bowers

Photo by Ashlee Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles

Of these three prospects, I think Bowers is the closest to being ready. After a slow start and an injury that had him sidelined for three weeks, he came back in a big way. Since returning to the lineup, Bowers has scored nine goals and 14 assists in 22 games, including a goal and an assist in Friday’s game against the San Jose Barracuda. There’s no question that he’s improved tremendously since the beginning of the season. So why isn’t he ready?

Ryan Clark of the Athletic recently reported that the number one reason Bowers suddenly started being productive was because Head Coach Greg Cronin moved him from center to wing. By putting him at wing next to a very productive Dries, it gave Bowers less space to manage, which in turn boosted his confidence and led to more productivity. We’re seeing the results of that move now. He’s finally gaining some confidence at the AHL level, but that’s a far cry from being ready to play in the big leagues.

Everything I’ve read about incoming prospects since the Eagles moved to the AHL has the same theme: The AHL is a lot harder than people think. Guys who dominated in college or juniors rarely have the immediate success people expect when they transition to the AHL. In that same article in the Athletic, Bowers himself is quoted as saying, “There’s a lot more that goes on at this level of the game than at the college level or even the junior level.” Translation? He’s still figuring out how to play against older, more experienced players. He had to be moved to an easier position in order to do that. If he’s still making that adjustment at the AHL level, how could he possibly be ready for the NHL?

Martin Kaut

Photo by Ashlee Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles

Expectations have always been high for Kaut because he was a first-round draft pick. I think people put way too much emphasis on draft position than is warranted, but that’s an argument for another day. Kaut undeniably has good hockey sense. He tends to be in the right place at the right time. His speed is decent for such a big guy. So why isn’t he ready?

In Kaut’s first season in the AHL (including four playoff games), he scored 14 goals and 14 assists. Like Bowers, he started this season with zero points in his first seven games, then missed 15 games due to injury. Since returning to the lineup in mid-December, he has five goals and nine assists. In the last few weeks, he’s really started to shine. Two of those goals and six of the assists were just in the last eight games.

Kaut is big, and he’s learning to use his size to his advantage. He also seems to be gaining some confidence and shooting more. But his biggest drawbacks is poor puck handling. Frequently, he brings the puck through the neutral zone, but upon gaining the blue line (and running into the other team’s defense), he almost seems to panic. He can’t juke and dangle his way through the defense or use his puck-handling to keep it out of their reach. If there isn’t somebody wide open for him to pass to, he resorts to tossing the puck up the boards for somebody else to chase.

I recently saw somebody posit that the only thing holding Kaut back is the lack of structure in the AHL. They speculated that once he was in the “structured” games of the NHL, he’d thrive. Maybe it can be said that in general, NHL games are more structured than AHL games, but this is hockey. Lack of structure (or structure totally falling apart) happens on a pretty regular basis. Would anybody call Sunday night’s Avalanche game against the Minnesota Wild “structured”?

The Eagles’ recent series against the San Jose Barracuda was similar to the Avalanche’s game against the Wild in many ways. The Avs and Eagles both rely on speed. This weekend, the Wild and the Barracuda both used hard-hitting, physical play and attempts to goad players into fights to disrupt that speed. Kaut did fine in those two games – he even had a goal – but that’s against the last-place team in the AHL. That doesn’t mean he’s ready to face a team like the Minnesota Wild.

If Kaut keeps improving the way he has these past two months, he might be ready for a bottom-six role with the Avalanche by the start of next season. But as it stands now, he isn’t reliable enough for a call-up from a coach whose number one priority is winning the next game.

Connor Timmins

Photo by Ashlee Potts, courtesy of the Colorado Eagles

Of these three players, Timmins is probably the one most people think is closest to being ready. He’s also the one whose drawbacks are the easiest to see.

Timmins’ biggest issue is a lack of consistency. He makes some amazing plays. He also makes some terrible blunders. Or course, every single pro athlete makes mistakes. It doesn’t matter what sport or what league, there’s no such thing as a perfect player. And when it comes to defensemen in hockey, their blunders are often far more noticeable (and costly) than the mistakes made by forwards. But the fact remains that Timmins consistently makes large, costly errors in nearly every game.

According to Coach Cronin, these errors happen when Timmins tries to make big plays rather than taking the easy option. In Ryan Clark’s article in the Athletic, Cronin is quoted as saying, “[Timmins] makes mistakes by trying to make a better play… He ends up trying to bypass the simple play so he can get the puck 60 feet further up the ice.” One perfect example of this was in the February 1 game against the Tucson Roadrunners. Late in the second period, Timmins picked up the puck in the corner of the defensive zone with a Tucson player right on his back. He had two easy pass options up the ice – A.J. Greer along the boards or Michael Joly coming across near the blue line. Instead, he tried a spin move back toward the corner. In the process, he somehow chipped the puck right into the slot, providing an easy goal for Tucson.

Another good example came in the game on Saturday against San Jose. Timmins brought the puck across the blue line, where he ran into former Avalanche prospect Nicolas Meloche. Timmins began juking to the left to puck-handle around Meloche, and Meloche absolutely leveled him. It was a huge, clean hit that left Timmins flat on his back and the puck on Meloche’s stick.

A great deal of this comes back to what I mentioned when talking about Bowers: The AHL is a lot harder than people think. Timmins spent a few months with the Eagles at the end of last season, even though he wasn’t playing. He traveled with them and practiced with them. At the time, Coach Cronin commented that Timmins was surprised by the level of play in the AHL and that he struggled in practices. He’s improved immensely since then, but tricks that worked in the Juniors don’t work at this level, and they won’t work at the next one either.

Until he can play more consistently for the Eagles, he won’t be ready for the Avalanche.

I’d love to be proven wrong

All that may make it sound like I’m not rooting for these guys. I absolutely am. I’d love nothing more than for them to suddenly become the dominant players everybody wants them to be. But realistically, it won’t happen overnight. All three will keep improving. All three will eventually find their way to the NHL, maybe as soon as next season. But when it comes to call-ups this year? I expect their lack of consistency will compel the Avalanche to choose somebody else.

The post Why Bowers, Kaut, and Timmins won’t be called up this season appeared first on The Rink.

AHL Inaugural Season

It’s difficult to talk about the Eagles without remembering that this is only their second season in the American Hockey League. After winning back-to-back ECHL Kelly Cup Championships in 2017 and 2018, the team stepped into a new league, with a new head coach and a roster that was largely unfamiliar.

(Photo by Kevin Bires/Colorado Eagles via Flickr)

To some extent, the first season felt like an exercise in frustration. The Eagles could shoot, but they couldn’t score. Their defense couldn’t cleanly exit the zone. They frequently won the first game of their back-to-backs, only to drop the second game in spectacular fashion. Special teams were in stark contrast to one another. The power play came in dead last in the league, but the penalty kill was outstanding. They led the league in short-handed goals for most of the season, with Logan O’Connor and Andrew Agozzino scoring nine between them.

Colorado finished the 2018-19 season at 36­­–27–4–1. They secured the final playoff spot in the Pacific Division with some big, last-minute help from the San Diego Gulls, but nobody was surprised to see them eliminated in the first round.

Roster Moves

The Eagles chose not to re-sign several key players from the 2018-19 season, including David Warsofsky, Dominic Toninato, and their top scorer Andrew Agozzino. They also parted ways with backup goalie Spencer Martin and saw their number one goalie, Pavel Francouz, step up to the NHL to play with the Colorado Avalanche.

Of the six AHL veterans backing the team, only one familiar face remained — team captain Mark Alt. The team also chose to hang onto Anton Lindholm and re-signed AJ Greer and Sheldon Dries to one-year contracts. In addition, the Eagles added firepower in the form of TJ Tynan, Jayson Megna, Erik Condra, and Colin Campbell. They shored up their blue line by bringing in Kevin Connauton, Jacob MacDonald, and Daniel Renouf. They also scored Calle Rosen as part of the Tyson Barrie trade.

In net, Colorado added fifth-round draft pick, Adam Werner, from Sweden. They also signed Hunter Miska from the Tucson Roadrunners and traded defensive prospect Nicholas Meloche for San Jose’s Antoine Bibeau.

(Photo by Ashley Potts/Colorado Eagles via Flickr)

Of course, a new season often brings in new young prospects as well. Expectations were high for Shane Bowers and Nick Henry, who had joined the team late the previous season, but without making much impact. Loads of hype surrounded Brandon Saigeon, who was expected to join the lineup. And, after missing the previous season due to concussion, Conor Timmins was finally healthy again.

Several promising players from the previous season were still riding out their ELCs, including Igor Shvyrev and first-round draft pick Martin Kaut. Add to that the known strengths of forwards Logan O’Connor and Michael Joly, and things looked promising. Dominating the Pacific Division seemed not just possible, but likely.

A Brand New Season

One can only wonder what might have been if not for injuries. The Colorado Avalanche suffered a slew of them in October, resulting in call-ups for several key Eagles players, including Tynan, Megna, O’Connor, Rosen, Connauton, Dries, Lindholm, and goalies Werner and Bibeau.

The Eagles suffered their own injuries as well, with both Kaut and Bowers out for several weeks. Add to that Greer’s six-game suspension for completely losing his cool against the Milwaukee Admirals on October 18, and the Eagles roster was suddenly largely filled with call-ups from the Utah Grizzlies.

(Photo by Ashley Potts/Colorado Eagles via Flickr)

At the end of November, the Eagles hovered around the fourth spot in the Pacific Division at 10–8–1–0. It felt like a replay of the previous season — hot one night but cold the next, with a completely ineffective power play. To make matters worse, the rock-solid penalty kill of the previous season was nowhere to be seen.

But that isn’t the end of the story.

One by one, the players returned from their stints in the NHL. Greer, Bowers, and Kaut all found their places again in the lineup.

And, suddenly, things began to click.

A Whole New Season (Take Two)

The Eagles went 0–2–1–1 in their first four games in December, but even with those losses, it was clear things were beginning to gel. The team had a real “diamond in the rough” feel, and it seemed it was only a matter of time before they started to shine.

On December 14, in front of a sold-out home crowd on Teddy Bear Toss night, they beat the San Diego Gulls, and they never looked back. Four days later, they put up ten goals against the Manitoba Moose. Every single player in the lineup save one (Greer) tallied at least one point, including goalie Hunter Miska. A week later, the Eagles scored three goals in twenty-four seconds (yes, you read that right) against the Bakersfield Condors. After Christmas, they sauntered into Tucson and swept the number one team in the league in their own barn with back-to-back victories.

(Photo by Ashley Potts/Colorado Eagles via Flickr)

At last! This was the team we’d been waiting for. This was how we knew they could play if they could just find their groove. And find it they did. All in all, our heroes won eight games in a row and earned points in twelve consecutive contests. They jumped to third place in the Division, with a five-point lead and three games in hand over the fourth team, the Ontario Reign. They sit seven points behind the Stockton Heat and nine behind the Roadrunners.

But nothing lasts forever. The Eagles’ win streak ended on January 4 with an overtime loss to Manitoba, and the point streak ended with a 2­–4 loss to Tucson a week later. The question is, how will they recover? Will they keep playing with the same grit and discipline we saw through December? Or will they regress to the type of play we saw earlier in the season?

The short answer is: It’s too soon to say. Since ending their win streak, the Eagles have gone 3­­–4, with two of those losses being against the top two teams in the division. Special teams continue to be their biggest weakness. During their win streak in December, they scored ten power play goals in 38 chances. They allowed goals in only five of 32 penalty kills.

Since then, they’ve gone 4/28 on the power play, and 5/21 on the penalty kill. Their power play is currently ranked 24 in the league at 14.8%. Better than last year’s last-place status, but nowhere near as good as it needs to be. Looking back at those December games — some of them against very good teams — it’s clear the Eagles have the tools to do better. They just need to implement them more consistently.

(Photo by Ashley Potts/Colorado Eagles via Flickr.)

As the saying goes, there’s a lot of hockey left to play, and the Eagles have proven they have what it takes to be contenders. Whether or not they will live up to their potential remains to be seen.

They play the San Antonio Rampage at home this weekend and then have several days to regroup before heading back to Tucson for two very critical matchups. If they can continue their upward trend, they won’t be scrambling for the division’s fourth playoff spot in the final games of the season like they did last year.

Finishing in second or third place in the Pacific seems realistic. Finishing in first is not out of the question. And as for playoffs? A first-round exit is far less likely than it was in 2019.

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