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Tag: colorado eagles

  • Avalanche goalie Trent Miner’s patience, hard work pay off: ‘He is a battler’

    When Trent Miner sat at his locker room stall after the best afternoon of his professional life, he really tried to keep his emotions in check.

    He answered a bunch of questions from a horde of media members on Saturday afternoon, several more than once. He was polite and concise.

    When he left Ball Arena after collecting the first NHL win and shutout in a 4-0 win for the Colorado Avalanche, he definitely had a chance to savor the moment.

    “It was exciting,” Miner said. “Talking with my family and my friends and everyone reaching out. It was pretty special to hear from everyone. I’ve been here for quite a while, so to get to do this with this group … I was very fortunate to be a part of winning that game.”

    It might finally be Avs’ Jared Bednar’s time to win the Jack Adams Award

    Miner’s first NHL win, a 29-save shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets came 26 days before his 25th birthday. It was also 2,395 days after the Avalanche selected him with the 202nd pick in the 2019 NHL draft.

    Players who go 100 picks earlier than that in NHL drafts are more likely to never play in the NHL than to have their dream come true. The 202nd guy in any draft class is a significant long shot.

    Scott Wedgewood went 84th in his draft, and it took him until his sixth post-draft season to reach the big leagues. Miner made it last year, but it took almost 14 months from his NHL debut before he got to celebrate backstopping his club to a win.

    “It was unbelievable,” Wedgewood said. “Super happy for him and everything that comes with it. When you’re a kid, you’re hoping for just one game in the NHL. You want to say I played one game. I made it. When you get the opportunity to play a couple and you don’t win, it can hurt you mentally.

    “He’s had to come in in relief. He’s played a couple back-to-backs. You start behind the eight ball with those opportunities. To see him get a clean start against a good team and he goes out there and wins us a hockey game does it in that fashion, it’s super cool. You just couldn’t be happier for him.”

    Wedgewood spent a large chunk of one season in the ECHL, but Miner has spent parts of three years in the league two rungs below the mountaintop. In his first three full seasons a pro, Miner played five, one and 18 games for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL.

    Keeler: Avalanche’s Brent Burns has become missing piece to Colorado’s Stanley Cup puzzle

    He wasn’t waiting his turn in Loveland. He was desperate to prove he could play there, let alone 50 miles south in Denver.

    That happened last year. Miner became the undisputed No. 1 goalie for the Eagles, leading them into the Calder Cup Playoffs. He made his NHL debut in relief and got his first NHL start, but the Avs lost 3-1 in Chicago.

    Earlier this year, Miner was great in relief and helped Colorado rally from a 4-1 deficit to get a point, but lost in a shootout. His first start was solid, but not what he wanted.

    Even this time up with the club, he’s had to wait. Wedgewood played four straight games, including three in four nights, after Mackenzie Blackwood was injured.

    “He’s a relentless worker and he is a battler,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Goalies may be a little different, but there’s a handful of players that come out of the ECHL and it takes them a while but then they’re grinding in the American League. When they make their to the NHL, you can pretty much guarantee the guys that do that, they’re battlers and they’re going to give it everything they’ve got.

    “He’s tried to make the most of his opportunities. When you see a player develop and you know he’s putting in all that work, it’s a great feeling as an organization. We are certainly really happy for his development and what he was able to accomplish (Saturday).”

    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche earn depth-charged 4-0 victory against Columbus, led by Trent Miner, Brent Burns

    It was Next Generation day at Ball Arena, which involves kids taking over key roles during the in-game fan experience.

    It turned into a day where the Colorado Avalanche stars took a back seat to some of the “other guys” as well.

    Brent Burns scored twice, Trent Miner collected his first NHL victory and shutout with 29 saves and the bottom-six forwards were all over the scoresheet in a 4-0 win Saturday afternoon against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

    “We got contributions from a bunch of different guys tonight,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “It’s how you win. If you want to win a lot, you’re going to win in different ways and different guys are going to be chipping in. That’s what our team has been doing a lot this year.”

    The Avs have now won the first two contests of this season-long seven-game homestand. Colorado is halfway through its home slate this season, and is 19-0-2 at Ball Arena. The Avs have also won 17 straight here, which is one one shy of the franchise record set during the 2021-22 campaign.

    Burns gave Colorado the lead at 13:58 of the opening period. Gavin Brindley took the puck off the wall after a nice pass from Valeri Nichushkin and to the net on a rush. During the ensuing scramble, the rebound of a sharp-angle Ross Colton shot kicked out to the inside edge of the right circle and Burns snapped one through all the traffic in front for his seventh goal of the season.

    His second goal of the game and eighth of the year came with Colorado’s fourth line on the ice. Brindley and Zakhar Bardakov collected assists as Burns’ perimeter shot went off the goaltender, off a Blue Jackets’ defenseman and trickled across the goal line.

    Burns is one of the great offensive defensemen on the 21st century, but his eight goals this year are already two more than his last season with the Carolina Hurricanes. He’s well-positioned to hit double digits for the 14th time in his career, and 15 for the ninth time isn’t out of the question.

    His two-goal game came two days after his defense partner, Josh Manson, scored twice.

    “I don’t think either shot was going at the net,” Burns said. “I wasn’t thinking about it. (Manson) even talked about it today, about how this game has a funny way of humbling you … we just talked about having a good game. It was lucky bounces, but it’s (also) forwards being in good spots.”

    Colorado’s recently formed third line produced the next two goals after Burns’ opener. Parker Kelly, up from the fourth line because of an injury to captain Gabe Landeskog, won a battle along the boards to the right of Columbus goalie Elvis Merzlikins. He got the puck to Jack Drury, who made a crafty little pass to Victor Olofsson for a backhanded shot and his eight goal of the season at 17:28 of the opening period.

    Olofsson, a shoot-first offensive player in his career, had gone 11 games without a goal, though Avs coach Jared Bednar has repeatedly praised his defense and all-around play in his first season with the club.

    Ilya Solovyov scored his first career NHL goal to give Colorado a 3-0 advantage midway through the second period. Olofsson led the offensive rush out of his own end, before leaving the puck for Kelly. His cross-ice pass found Solovyov, the trailing defenseman, and he buried a wrist shot from the left circle at 10:30 of the middle frame.

    It was the third straight game with a point for Solovyov. He had no goals and four assists in his first 25 career NHL games, but has a goal and two assists in his past three.

    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog leaves game after crashing into Panthers net

    Gabe Landeskog left the Colorado Avalanche’s game Sunday with the Florida Panthers after crashing into the opposing net and then the end boards behind it.

    The Avs captain was down on the ice for several minutes after he went headfirst into the net at 1:22 of the second period. His left skate appeared to stumble, then Landeskog crashed into the Florida net and then the end boards behind it.

    He was helped off the ice without using either leg to stride, and immediately down the tunnel towards the team’s locker room.

    Corey Masisak

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  • Avalanche defenseman Keaton Middleton’s NHL dreams finally came through, but his identity is unchanged: ‘I know who I am’

    Keaton Middleton had the type of year last season that thousands of hockey players who have toiled away in the minors dream of.

    He made it.

    So, after five months with the Colorado Avalanche and what looks like a spot sewn up on the NHL roster before training camp even began, how did Middleton approach his first exhibition contest? He met with the biggest, meanest-looking dude on the other team at center ice during warmups and agreed to a fight.

    “I don’t have an identity crisis. I know who I am,” Middleton said. “I’ve known who I am for years. That won’t be a problem for me. I know my game and I know what to do to help our team win.”

    Aside from a quick stint with an injury-riddled Avalanche team in April 2021, Middleton spent the previous six seasons in the American Hockey League. He began year No. 7 of his professional career in the minors, too, but then the Avs gave him another chance.

    Middleton played Nov. 30, 2024, for the Colorado Eagles, was called up to the big club two days later and hasn’t played in the AHL since. He appeared in 41 games for the Avalanche last year and settled into the NHL as a guy who played on the third pairing when needed.

    “It was a learning experience,” Middleton said. “It was like a cup of coffee, maybe even half a pot, but I want another pot now. I spent a lot of time playing professional hockey at the AHL level, and now you get a taste of this, you want to do whatever you can to stick around.”

    When last season ended, Middleton was Colorado’s No. 8 defenseman. Ryan Lindgren signed with Seattle, and Brent Burns arrived in early July. Erik Johnson was seventh on the depth chart and remains available as an unrestricted free agent, but there isn’t a spot in Denver for him because, with Burns, the Avs already have four right-handed shots at the position.

    While the Avs added further depth at forward late in the summer, the NHL depth chart on the blue line hasn’t changed. That certainly looks like a vote of confidence from the organization.

    “He’s a physical, hard, stay-at-home defender and he improved his puck play enough to the point where now he’s come up and played games for us and played well and been able to help us,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Just has to continue to do that. He has an element there of toughness that is nice to have in the lineup sometimes. He earned the right to come up last year and hopefully he earns the right to stay here again this year.”

    When everyone is healthy, Middleton slots in as the No. 7 guy. Given that Samuel Girard is in a race against time to get healthy with a lower-body injury, Middleton might even get to play on opening night for the first time in his career.

    So this camp feels a lot different for the 27-year-old Edmonton native, right?

    “Yes, but also no, because I know I’m still fighting for a job,” Middleton said. “I’m always fighting for a job. That’s a position I’ll be in for my career. The only difference is now I know I’m an NHL defenseman, and I have the capability to be one. But there’s always new guys, young guys, guys having good camps.

    “I have to fight for a spot. I’ll be like that ’till I’m 40. It’s just how it is, just the mindset that I have.”

    Middleton spent a couple of seasons with the San Jose Sharks organization, so he knew Burns from training camps years ago. They might be partnered at times this season, if Bednar wants his two biggest defensemen on the ice together.

    They also skated together this summer for a few weeks before camp began.

    Corey Masisak

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  • DU defenseman Sean Behrens signs three-year entry-level contract with Avalanche

    DU defenseman Sean Behrens signs three-year entry-level contract with Avalanche

    The Colorado Avalanche and Sean Behrens finally made it official.

    Behrens signed a three-year entry-level contract with the Avs, the team announced Friday, allowing the University of Denver defenseman to join the franchise that selected him 61st overall in the 2021 NHL draft. The deal begins in 2024-25, but he will join the Colorado Eagles in the AHL for the remainder of the 2023-24 season on an amateur tryout.

    Behrens took part in the Avs’ development camp in back-to-back years in 2022 and ’23. He comes to the Avs following a junior season at DU that saw him post career numbers in goals (4), assists (27), points (31) and games played (44).

    He is a two-time national champion, helping the Pioneers win their 10th NCAA championship just a week ago and their ninth in 2022 when Denver defeated Minnesota State.

    The Denver Post

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