Season Projections

Last season the Colorado Avalanche shocked the hockey league by doing much better than they were expected. After finishing in last place in their conference two years ago, Colorado bounced back the following season and just made the playoff cut. Nobody expected a bounce back like that but it was all thanks to a goalie who made big saves when he had to and also overachieving rookies trying to establish a role on the team. Last season during this run, the average age of the team was about 20 years old which was the youngest in the league. To start this upcoming 2010-11 season the Avalanche basically have the exact team as last year with a difference of more experience in the league. Matt Duchene and Chris Stewart were among the top scorers on the team last season so a lot of pressure will be on their shoulders to perform at those standards once again. Duchene is projected to get about 80 points where Stewart is expected to score 75 points. Each of those goals still impressive for guys there age. Leadership will also need to be shown by the older players like Paul Statsny and Adam Foote, the teams veteran player who won both of the past Avalanche championships. With these four players it should combine for a dynamic power play lineup which is crucial in the NHL. Craig Anderson (discussed in a past post), most also play as well as he did in his debut Avalanche season, he is expected to get at least 44 wins this season which is definitely capable with defensemen like Adam Foote and John Micheal Liles on the blue line. 

Just last night the Avalanche posted an overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime by a score of 4-3. This is very promising because the Chicago Blackhawks are the defending Stanley Cup Champions. There is no telling how well the Avalanche will do but if its anything like last season, us fans are in for a treat.

http://espn.go.com/blog/chicago/blackhawks/post/_/id/4664404/blackhawks-have-plenty-of-room-to-improve

CURRENT STAR PLAYERS

• Craig Anderson - Goalie - #41

Craig Anderson started off his career by being drafted for the backup goaltending position by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2001 NHL draft at the age of 20. He played a minor role for two seasons with the Chicago Blackhawks. He got very little playing time so he was traded to the Florida Panthers in 2002 to further his goaltending career. His performance was subpar to NHL standards so he was sent down to Florida’s affiliate team the Norfolk Admirals to condition himself. Five years later after lot of training and dedication Craig Anderson was called up back to the Panthers due to a goalie injury crisis. He played 15 games as the starting goaltender and took all fans and critics by surprise. During this span he broke NHL records of most saves in a shutout (53) and also held a streak for most consecutive saves in back to back shutouts (93). Later that year he became a free agent and the Colorado Avalanche drafted him in need of a stand up goaltender that would agree to a fair contract. His first season as a member of Colorado was a huge success. Not only did he become an instant fan favorite but he played amazing throughout the season, posting league leading statistics. That season he took the young Avalanche team to the playoffs were they were knocked out in the first round, which was an incredible improvement seeing as how the Avalanche finished in 29^th place last season. He still has one season left with the Avalanche and expectations are high now for this veteran goalie.

http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8467950

• Matt Duchene - Center - #9

Matt Duchene started out his professional hockey career playing for the Brampton Battalion of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). Playing for Brampton, Duchene had a couple very successful seasons that ranked him in the top 5 NHL prospects for the 2009 NHL draft. Duchene grew up as a huge Colorado Avalanche fan so it was to his delight when he heard his name called at the draft by his favorite team. He got selected 3^rd overall at the young age of 18 years old. He immediately adjusted to the new professional hockey environment tallying 55 points in 81 games with the Colorado Avalanche. By scoring that many points as a rookie, Duchene was nominated for the rookie of the year award after the post season in 2010. Unfortunately he came in second to the breakthrough rookie defenseman Tyler Myers who had a great season with the Buffalo sabres. Duchene has been compared in playing style and leadership to hockey great like Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic (mentioned in an earlier post). He is modest, well spoken and a class act player when it comes to respect of the game. He will only get better as a player and make his team better through his hard work and dedication.

http://avalanche.nhl.com/club/player.htm?id=8475168

Colorado Avalanche, Team Details and Backround

The Colorado Avalanche are among one of thirty hockey teams in the National Hockey League(NHL). The teams arena is located in Denver, Colorado located in the Northwest Region of the the USA. The city received a hockey team in 1996 when the Quebec Nordiques were relocated out of Quebec. The Colorado Avalanche immediately adapted to the hockey environment with welcoming fans and a Stanley Cup. Making history by being the first ever relocated team to win a championship in the first season, that success was followed by a second Stanley Cup in 2001 against the New Jersey Devils.

Throughout the years the Avalanche had obtained some of the biggest all stars to play the game. Some greats include Joe Sakic, known to be one of the classiest players to compete in hockey. He was the teams captain since 1996 and held the role until he retired just two seasons ago in 2009. Another allstar that contributed to the Avalanche success was hall of famer goaltender Patrick Roy, who played his heart out throughout his 1996-2003 careers in Colorado. He was later inducted into the hall of fame in 2006, being one of the greatest goalies to play the game. The current Avalanche captain is veteran Adam Foote who has played for the team as long as they have existed.

The logo of the Colorado Avalanche is a capital “A” with a snowy “C” that swirls throughout the crest of the “A” that almost resembles an avalanche. The color scheme of the jerseys and logo are burgundy, blue silver and white. Although the logo has stayed the same since their debut into the league, their jerseys have experienced some changes throughout the years. Their more recent styles consist of a burgundy based home jersey, white based road jersey, and also a blue based third jersey that was introduced in the season of 2009.  The link below is an image of the home jersey.
Colorado Home Jersey