Restoring the Rosters: Colorado Avalanche
Based on Matthew Pouliot’s series on Circling the Bases, I have decided restore the rosters for every NHL team. Like Pouliot, I have established some ground rules for my selections.
- Each team contains players they originally drafted or signed before any other NHL team. This includes players drafted and not signed, as well as European free agents coming over at an older age.
- I have chosen to leave retired players off the list, and lean toward players in the AHL rather than those deported (KHL, SEL, DEL, etc.).
Essentially I am choosing the best available players for a team to succeed in the current NHL season. All 30 teams will be covered, with grades assigned to forwards, defense and goaltending. After all 30 articles are written, they will be ranked in order. This series’ intent is to reward or shame NHL scouts.
This team is setup pretty well moving forward, with 13 current players on the roster home grown. The core of the team is still young and if they can hold onto them moving forward, lookout for 2009-2010 to become the norm instead of the exception when it comes to Colorado’s place atop the standings. Can Wolski, Stastny and Duchene develop into the superstar NHL’ers that other Avalanche/Nordiques draft picks (such as Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin and Owen Nolan) have? Only time will tell. But it looks like it’ll be a fun ride
Forwards:
A good mix of youth and experience. The core top 6 forwards have an average of 4 years experience in the NHL. Still learning the game and continuing to improve their play can only be good for this young Colorado team.
Wojtek Wolski – Paul Stastny – Chris Stewart
Alex Tanguay – Matt Duchene-Milan Hejduk
Ryan O’Reilly – Chris Drury – Radim Vrbata
Sammy Pahlsson – Owen Nolan – Brandon Yip
Bench – Marek Svatos – Wade Belak
While the bottom 6 forwards have an average of 6 years exp in the league, it’s a mix of old (Nolan 1167 games) and young (Yip 10 games) by no means making the bottom 6 grey beards in the league. Being more established and set in their ways, the bottom 6 are solid at their roles. With Yip and O’Reilly ready to jump up to the top 6 and switch spots with Tanguay and Hejduk in the coming seasons. All in all, a pretty good setup for the forward unit, with current players already in place to ascend the ranks when called upon.
Grade: B+
Defence:
Based on all six starting D being in the top four of their respective teams, and the top four of this team being the top pair on their respective teams, this crop of D earns a solid A.
Adam Foote – Kyle Cumiskey
Robyn Regehr – Tom Gilbert
Jean-Michael Liles – Jeff Finger
Bench – Martin Skoula
You could mix up the top 4 to make any pairings you want, but I decided to keep Colorado’s top pair of Foote and Cumiskey together. Foote’s experience and rock solid dependability will allow Cumiskey to continue to find his game while not having to worry about growing pains. Regehr and Gilbert, both solid top pair on their teams, make a very formidable 2nd pair on this team. Regehr’s defensive responsibility allows Gilbert a little more freedom to contribute offensively.
Grade: A
Goaltenders:
Tim Thomas
Peter Budaj
Tyler Weiman
What can you say about US Olympic Goalie Tim Thomas that hasn’t already been said? Not a personal fan of his style, or lack thereof to be specific. He’s more of a reaction goalie a la Dominik Hasek or Curtis Joseph, but he’s made it work for him and that showed with a Vezina Trophy last season. He’s a solid #1 on any team, and it’s taken a Herculean effort by Miller to have Thomas sit on the bench in the coming Olympics. Budaj has shown flashes of brilliance in his time with Colorado, but hasn’t been able to make the jump to a bonafide #1 just yet. Having the best numbers of his career in his limited role this season, could this have been his year if it weren’t for the stellar play of Anderson? Still, a formidable 1-2 punch if I’ve seen one, especially with this D corps in front of them.
Grade: A-
Jose Simoes
NHLHS Contributor
jsimoes@nhlhotstove.com
