The Colorado Avalanche have a roster bursting at the seams with high-end talent, and as a result, many players enter this year’s training camp with their spot in the lineup relatively assured. But not all players have that luxury: Avalanche coach Jared Bednar told the media today, including outlet DNVR Avalanche, that the club considers its third-line center role to be among the few key spots in the lineup up for grabs in the preseason.
The Avalanche finished last season with veteran Charlie Coyle in that spot, but Coyle has since been traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Today, Bednar highlighted Ross Colton and Jack Drury as the two main contenders for the third-line center role. Colton, 29, is Bednar’s more experienced option. He is playing on a $4MM AAV contract that runs through 2026-27 and had a career-high 17 goals and 40 points in 2023-24, his first with the Avalanche. Competing with Colton is Drury, who arrived in Colorado from the Carolina Hurricanes as part of the first Mikko Rantanen trade. Drury’s resume does not suggest he has as much offensive ability as Colton, though Drury brings a more advanced defensive element to the picture – he factored into Colorado’s penalty kill last season while Colton did not. (1:24 average short-handed time-on-ice compared to Colton’s 0:05) Regardless of who ultimately prevails in this preseason lineup competition, it’s clear Bednar has an abundance of quality options to choose from at the center position – an extremely valuable asset for any coach.
Some other notes from Denver:
- The Denver Gazette’s Evan Rawal relayed word from Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog today that the veteran forward is a “full go” entering the 2025-26 campaign. That Landeskog will be able to play this season without restriction is notable due to the fact that he has missed a massive amount of time due to a complex knee issue. After captaining the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup championship in 2022, Landeskog missed the next three full regular seasons. He returned to play in five playoff games for Colorado, but given the length of his absence, there was some concern that Landeskog might be limited entering 2025-26. Based on today’s comments, it appears those worries can be dismissed.
- Jared Bednar told the media today, including Guerilla Sports’ Meghan Angley, that they will try to play right-handed defenseman Sam Malinski on the left side this season as a response to the club’s abundance of NHL-caliber right-shot blueliners. Malinski, 27, finished last season paired with the since-departed Ryan Lindgren on his right side, meaning this change will require a new adjustment from Malinski. The former Cornell standout broke into the NHL last season, scoring 15 points in 76 games whilst averaging nearly 16 miutes of time-on-ice per game. The offseason addition of veteran blueliner Brent Burns, who is a right shot, appears to be what has prompted this adjustment for Malinski.
- Colorado Hockey Now’s Aarif Deen reported updates on various injuries to Avalanche players today, including the club’s projected starting netminder. Per Deen, Mackenzie Blackwood is out week-to-week dealing with an offseason injury, but is hopeful to be ready within the first week or two of the regular season. Veteran Samuel Girard is dealing with a lower-body injury and will miss time in the preseason, but is hopeful to be ready for opening night. And finally veteran winger Logan O’Connor is dealing with a hip ailment, and is on track to miss the start of the season with a recovery timeline that places his return more in the range of early November.