Central Notes: Avalanche, Olausson, Bogosian, Heinola

After the team’s practice this morning, head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar issued several roster updates before the team takes on the Anaheim Ducks tonight. Most notably, after missing Colorado’s last game, Bednar asserted that defenseman Cale Makar is doubtful to return tonight (X Link).

Aside from Makar being doubtful, Bednar also mentioned that forward Andrew Cogliano would not be in the lineup due to a lower-body injury, and although Valeri Nichushkin missed practice due to being sick, he is expected to play tonight. Although they will be missing several key players in their lineup, this is exactly the situation the Avalanche were hoping to weather as they spent the entire offseason with a primary goal of addressing the team’s depth.

Of all three, Makar is by far the most important player to be missing out of the lineup. Arguably the most important part of Colorado’s lineup, Makar continues to make his case for the best player in the entire league, as he has seven goals and 34 points in 23 games, while also maintaining some of the best defensive metrics among all defensemen.

Other notes:

• Before Bednar had spoken to reports about the lineup tonight, the Avalanche announced they had recalled forward Oskar Olausson for tonight’s game. Colorado’s first-round selection in the 2021 NHL Draft, Olausson has yet to play for the Avalanche this season, after playing in one game last year. Playing for their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, Olausson has five goals and eight points in 20 games, sitting seventh on the team in scoring.
• Michael Russo of The Athletic is reporting that Minnesota Wild defenseman, Zach Bogosian, is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning to provide more defensive prowess into the lineup, Bogosian has one assist in nine games for the Wild, averaging just over 13 minutes of ice time per night.
• Suffering an ankle injury during this year’s preseason, the rehab for Winnipeg Jets’ defenseman Ville Heinola was expected to be between two and three months. In an update on his progression, reports are confirming that Heinola has returned to skating, although he is still not skating in full equipment (X Link). The timeline should still be accurate to project his return, but it is nonetheless a positive that he has not experienced a setback in his recovery process.