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Tristen Nielsen

Avalanche Reassign Tristen Nielsen

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Saturday: It was a short-lived recall for Nielsen.  Following their game this afternoon (in which he didn’t play), the Avs announced (Twitter link) that he has been sent back to the Eagles.

Friday: The Avalanche have added some extra depth up front in advance of their game against the Rangers on Saturday.  The team announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled forward Tristen Nielsen from AHL Colorado.

The 25-year-old started the season on a minor league deal but a strong showing early on with the Eagles resulted in the Avs converting him to a two-year, two-way NHL pact that carries a $775K cap charge.  This is now his third recall since signing that contract in late October.

Nielsen has played in four games with the Avalanche, picking up an assist, three shots on goal, and nine hits in 6:18 of playing time per night on their fourth line.  He has been much more productive with the Eagles, tallying 10 goals and five assists in 18 outings in the minors.

Colorado already had a full 23-player roster following Wednesday’s recall of Trent Miner from the Eagles with Scott Wedgewood injured.  Accordingly, another roster move needed to be made before officially adding Nielsen to the roster but that was not announced by the team.  If Wedgewood is going to miss some time, he could land on injured reserve while Gavin Brindley – though returning soon – is eligible to retroactively be placed on IR.

Colorado Avalanche Reassign Jason Polin, Tristen Nielsen

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The Colorado Avalanche announced today that forwards Tristen Nielsen and Jason Polin have been reassigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.

Polin was originally recalled to the Avalanche’s NHL roster on Nov. 21, while Nielsen was recalled on Nov. 20. Nielsen got into three games during this recall, while Polin drew into two.

The Avalanche did not surrender a goal in both games where Polin and Nielsen played, with Nielsen scoring his first NHL point during the team’s win over the Chicago Blackhawks yesterday.

Both Polin and Nielsen are undrafted forwards who have spent significant time in the AHL en route to becoming NHL call-up options. Nielsen began his pro career with the Abbotsford Canucks, and won the Calder Cup with the team in 2024-25.

Polin, 26, had a four-year college hockey career at Western Michigan University, where he starred as a senior, scoring 30 goals and 47 points in 39 games. Polin was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Memorial Award as a senior, and was his conference’s player of the year.

While neither player has fully established himself in the NHL to this point, (and their recent recall further underscores that), it’s clear they have at least earned the trust of the Avalanche to the point where they’ll be called on to fill NHL roles in instances where injuries hit.

This season doesn’t carry major financial implications for Nielsen, who remains under contract through 2026-27 at a $775K cap hit (with a two-way structure and total guarantee of $225K next season) it is, however, an important one for Polin. Polin is a pending unrestricted free agent who will have the opportunity in the summer to leave the only pro organization he’s ever known, assuming he does not sign an extension beforehand.

Polin is currently playing out a one-year, two-way contract carrying a league-minimum NHL cap hit and a $140K guarantee at the AHL level. AHL veterans have had some difficulty in recent years securing contracts to continue their career in the AHL due to the league’s development rule, which caps the number of players a team can dress for any game that have cleared a specific threshold of professional games played.

For Polin, this is where his extensive NCAA career comes in handy. By developing his game in the NCAA, he has limited his exposure to pro hockey, leaving him at this point with just 115 total pro games played. That gives him a solid amount of runway before teams will need to consider the AHL’s development rule when signing him, which should alleviate some of the pressure on him heading into an important unrestricted free agency.

Now back in the AHL thanks to this reassignment, it’ll be important for both Polin and Nielsen to continue playing well for the Eagles. Nielsen has nine goals and 14 points in 16 games this season, while Polin has six points through 16 games.

With other call-up options waiting in the wings, such as veterans Alex Barre-Boulet and T.J. Tynan, as well as younger contributors Ivan Ivan and Taylor Makar, it’ll be important for Nielsen and Polin to sustain their momentum in a crowded field of call-up options.

Avalanche Recall Tristen Nielsen

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The Avalanche have recalled forward Tristen Nielsen from AHL Colorado, according to a team announcement. The team had two open roster spots, so no corresponding move is necessary.

It’s Nielsen’s second recall of his NHL career. The first one came earlier this month, after the Avs, who had initially signed Nielsen only to an AHL contract in August, tore up that deal and converted it into a two-year, two-way contract to make him eligible for a recall. He made his NHL debut on Nov. 4, recording four hits in 5:25 of ice time in a win over the Lightning, before being promptly returned to the minors.

Nielsen, 25, had spent his first four professional seasons in the Canucks organization, all with AHL Abbotsford. He was Vancouver’s property after signing an entry-level deal with them in 2023, but the Canucks non-tendered him back in June. So far, he’s been found money for the Avs’ affiliate. He’s second on the Colorado Eagles in scoring with 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in 16 games and has operated at a point-per-game pace since being returned to them earlier this month.

The British Columbia native will now presumably get another crack at the Avs’ fourth line Thursday against the Rangers, unless they opt to dress seven defensemen. With Valeri Nichushkin sidelined week-to-week, they’ve been elevating names from the minors like Nielsen, Daniil Gushchin, and Taylor Makar on an as-needed basis to slot into the lineup.

Avalanche Recall Jack Ahcan, Reassign Tristen Nielsen

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Nov. 5: Nielsen was returned to AHL Colorado after making his NHL debut last night, the team announced. He skated just 5:25 of ice time, recording four hits.

Nov. 3: Amidst numerous injuries to regular lineup players, the Colorado Avalanche announced today that they have recalled forward Tristen Nielsen and defenseman Jack Ahcan from their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The moves come after several updates to injured Avalanche players were reported earlier today by Guerilla Sports’ Jesse Montano: forward Gavin Brindley has been managing a concussion, Logan O’Connor is “progressing” but will remain out, and Samuel Girard is a possibility to return to the ice this weekend.

In recalling Nielsen, the Avalanche have given themselves an additional forward option to work with while O’Connor and Brindley remain injured. The Avalanche have been running an extremely inexperienced fourth line: two of the three players (Zakhar Bardakov and Taylor Makar) have played in a combined nine total career NHL games, and combine for less than 30 games of experience playing professional hockey in North America.

By recalling Nielsen, 25, the Avalanche have given head coach Jared Bednar a more experienced option to potentially pencil into his fourth line. While Nielsen doesn’t have any NHL experience just yet, he does have nearly 250 games of AHL experience, and has won a Calder Cup championship.

Nielsen also positioned himself for an early-season recall with a tremendously successful preseason performance: he tied for the lead among Avalanche forwards in goal scoring with two in his three preseason contests, to go along with one assist.

There were those in Vancouver’s media sphere who believed Nielsen had done enough in the AHL to earn a call-up in Vancouver, but the opportunity to make his NHL debut never materialized for the tenacious winger. But through his strong preseason performance and solid start to his AHL season (he ranks third on AHL Colorado with nine points in 11 games) he has put himself in a position to finally get into an NHL game in Colorado.

On defense, Girard’s lingering injury means that the team, before this recall, only had six healthy defensemen on its roster. By recalling Ahcan, they’ve given themselves a spare blueliner to provide insurance in case any of their regular blueliners is unfit to play.

With the team set to host the Tampa Bay Lightning tomorrow and Girard reportedly not ready to return until this weekend, keeping a seventh defenseman is an important move to ensure the Avalanche don’t get into a tough spot in case an unexpected injury or other reason for unavailability on defense were to pop up.

Ahcan, 28, is a 5’8″ left-shot defenseman bringing 279 games of AHL experience and 13 games of NHL experience to the table. Ahcan has been a quality producer from the blueline at just about every level he’s played at on a full-time basis, and he has scored at a 40-point 72-game pace over the course of his AHL career.

The Avalanche’s current third-pairing left-shot blueliner is Ilya Solovyov, a big stay-at-home defenseman who the team plucked off of waivers on Oct. 3. This recall gives Bednar the option to swap Solovyov with Ahcan should he prefer to ice a third pairing with a little less size and a little more offensive ability than it would have with Solovyov in the lineup.

Photos courtesy of Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports

Avalanche Sign Tristen Nielsen

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The Colorado Avalanche have signed forward Tristen Nielsen to a two-year NHL contract. The deal is a promotion from the AHL contract Nielsen entered the season on. His new contract will run through the end of the 2026-27 season.

Nielsen has had a red-hot start to the AHL season. He has scored seven points in seven games, tying him for the Colorado Eagles’ scoring lead alongside Daniil Gushchin, who has seven points in five games. It’s a huge spike in production for Nielsen, who spent the last four years in a depth role on the Abbotsford Canucks. He reached a career-high 41 points in 64 AHL games during the 2022-23 season, but fell all the way to 28 points in 67 games last year.

A scoring decline pushed Nielsen towards a change of scenery this summer. He signed a minor-league deal with the Eagles in early August and joined the Avalanche for their training camp in September. He scored three points in three NHL preseason games throughout camp – an especially impressive milestone given Nielsen only played in two preseason games over the course of four years in the Canucks organization. He’s continued that hot scoring into the regular season, and earned a second-look from the NHL brass as a result.

Nielsen originally signed with Vancouver as an undrafted free agent, after appearing in parts of six seasons in the WHL. He split those years evenly between the Calgary Hitmen and Vancouver Giants, and racked up 175 points across 241 games in the league. That includes a team-leading, and career-best, 65 points in 61 games during the Giants’ 2022-23 season. The Canucks signed Nielsen as a local gem two years later, and while he was never able to strike in Vancouver, his new contract will open the door to a possible NHL debut with the Avalanche soon.

Minor Transactions: 10/4/25

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With the preseason wrapping up today, some teams will be recalling players they’ve already cut to give them one more game or they will be returning players recently brought up for that purpose.  We’ll keep track of those moves here along with any other minor transactions.

Morning Notes: Demidov, Avalanche, Drouin, Benoit, Jets

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In one of the more violent preseason contests in recent memory, the Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens combined for 150 PIMs yesterday evening. Unfortunately, after multiple fights broke out between Hayden Hodgson, Arber Xhekaj, Jayden Struble, and Jan Jenik, it was Montreal’s sensation, Ivan Demidov, who would leave the game with an injury after a malicious slash from Senator Nick Cousins.

Fortunately, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, there doesn’t appear to be any long-term injury concern for Demidov. The Canadiens may hold him out of the team’s next contest on Saturday, again against Ottawa, though he should be ready to start the season on time. The odds-on favorite to win the 2025-26 Calder Memorial Award has recorded three assists in three preseason contests with Montreal.

Understandably, the Canadiens’ admonishment of Cousins’ actions was clear. In an article from Sportsnet’s Eric Engels, head coach Martin St. Louis was quoted as saying, “There’s no need for that. It’s an exhibition game; both teams are trying to get ready for a long season. I don’t think there’s any need for that in the game.”

Other notes from this morning:

  • After recalling five players for their preseason win against the Vegas Golden Knights last night, the Colorado Avalanche have sent nearly the entire group back to their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. The Avalanche announced that Tye Felhaber, Jason Polin, Alex Gagne, and T.J. Tynan, who were all recalled yesterday, have been reassigned. Additionally, Jayson Megna and Tristen Nielsen will join them en route to the Eagles, while Ronnie Attard will remain on the roster for today’s contest.
  • One of the New York Islanders’ freshly signed forwards missed today’s practice. According to Andrew Gross of Newsday, Jonathan Drouin missed this morning’s practice due to illness. The veteran forward has gone scoreless in three preseason contests for the Islanders, averaging 19:02 of ice time per contest.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs got some positive news this morning regarding one of their injured defenseman. David Alter of The Hockey News reported that Simon Benoit has shed his non-contact jersey, indicating he’s nearly recovered from his upper-body injury. The heavy-hitting blue liner skated in 78 games for the Maple Leafs last season, scoring one goal and 10 points with 204 hits.
  • Moving to Manitoba, the Winnipeg Jets announced they’ve extended their ECHL affiliation with the Norfolk Admirals through the 2025-26 season. The new campaign will be the Admirals’ third as the ECHL affiliate of the Jets. The team has qualified for the Kelly Cup playoffs in each of the last two seasons, losing in the Division Finals both times.

West Notes: Oilers, Parekh, Nielsen

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While a significant chunk of extension speculation surrounding the Oilers involves Connor McDavid, there are other notables also entering the final year of their respective contracts, highlighted by defensemen Mattias Ekholm and Jake Walman along with their goaltending tandem.  Earlier this week in an appearance on Oilers Now (audio link), GM Stan Bowman indicated that there have been a couple of preliminary talks with the agents for some of their pending UFAs and that he feels those discussions will pick up over the next six weeks or so to see if there’s something that lines up for both sides heading into training camp.  Edmonton has around $45MM in cap room for 2026-27 per PuckPedia, with a big chunk of that earmarked for McDavid’s next contract.  However, there will still be ample space for them to re-up some of their other key expiring deals while still allowing for a bit of flexibility to reshape their roster next summer.

More from out West:

  • Earlier this week, the Flames announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Zayne Parekh wouldn’t take part in the World Junior Summer Showcase due to a lower-body injury. However, the injury isn’t believed to be significant and he’s expected to be a full participant in training camp.  The 19-year-old scored in his NHL debut back in April and has tallied 33 goals in each of the last two seasons at the OHL level while amassing 203 points between 2023-24 and 2024-25.  He’s still ineligible to play in the AHL but his offensive production with OHL Saginaw should give him a real chance to make Calgary’s roster in the fall.
  • The Avalanche’s AHL affiliate has announced the signing of forward Tristen Nielsen to a one-year deal. The 25-year-old became an unrestricted free agent after being non-tendered by Vancouver back in June.  Nielsen spent last season with AHL Abbotsford and was a capable secondary scorer, notching 15 goals and 13 assists in 67 regular season games while chipping in with nine points in 24 playoff contests on the way to their Calder Cup title.

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