The Colorado Avalanche are starting to narrow things down, and the picture for Opening Night is getting clearer by the day.
On Tuesday, the club cut its training camp roster from 44 to 39 by making five moves. Two defensemen, Domenick Fensore and Christian Wolanin, were placed on waivers, while three forwards - Cooper Gay, Maros Jedlicka and Nikita Prishchepov - were sent to the Colorado Eagles’ AHL camp.
The waiver moves on the back end weren’t exactly a shock. Fensore and Wolanin were the names to watch on the blue line, but the expectation is that neither is likely to be claimed. They’re not being moved because they can’t play; they just don’t appear to be the kind of players another team would jump to grab.
The forwards reassigned to the Eagles also fit the expected pattern. Gay, Jedlicka and Prishchepov were never really in the mix for an Opening Night spot, and it would be surprising to see any of them get a regular-season call-up. For now, they look like the kind of depth pieces who will be important for Colorado’s AHL club.
The Avalanche also made an expected move with prospect Beckett Hamilton, sending him back to Red Deer of the WHL. Hamilton had a solid camp, but the assignment was always the likely outcome.
Still, he’s a name worth tracking. Colorado’s third-round pick will have a decision to make next season, since he remains ineligible for the AHL. He could stay in the WHL for one more year as a 19-year-old, or potentially head to the NCAA.
More roster trimming is coming soon. Colorado still has at least 16 more players to move off the final roster, and with preseason games left Friday against the Jets and Saturday against the Mammoth, those final decisions are close.
There doesn’t seem to be much suspense at the top of the battle. The main questions are the seventh defenseman spot and possibly two extra forwards.
Noah Juulsen appears to have the inside track as the depth defenseman. Jared Bednar has been consistently complimentary of the rugged blueliner, so unless injury changes the picture, he looks like the favorite to land on the Opening Night roster.
Up front, Taylor Makar and TJ Hughes are the names to watch for the 13th and 14th forward spots. If both stick, Colorado will then have to decide how to manage their ice time, with a rotation in and out of the bottom six looking like a possibility.
Gavin Brindley is another player to keep an eye on. He stayed with the Avalanche for an extended stretch last season and could do it again. If he makes it, that could have ripple effects for players such as Fedor Svechkov or Zachary L’Heureux, who might end up on waivers.
For now, the Avalanche still have two more preseason games to sort through the bubble and let the final roster battle play out.
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Beloved Avalanche Favorite Just Found His Next NHL Chapter
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Johnsons place in Avalanche history is secure after 18 NHL seasons, including 14 in Colorado, and a Stanley Cup run that ended with the franchises championship in 2022. For a player who spent so much of his career in burgundy and blue, the move gives him a new platform while keeping a familiar voice in the league conversation. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Blue-Line Decisions Are Revealing Colorados Roster Plan
The Avalanche made another round of blue-line trim work on Tuesday, placing defensemen Christian Wolanin and Domenick Fensore on waivers as they continue sorting out the last details of their roster before the regular season. It is the kind of move that can feel routine this time of year, but it also says plenty about where Colorado stands as camp winds down and the lineup picture gets clearer.
If neither player is claimed over the next 24 hours, both are expected to head to the Colorado Eagles, giving the Avalanche more certainty as they lock in their opening-night group. For a team with postseason expectations, these end-of-camp decisions are less about headlines than about fine-tuning depth, and the front office is clearly using every available move to shape the defense the way it wants it. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Camp Decisions Are Tightening Up Faster Than Some Fans Expected
Training camp has already started to feel a lot more orderly than chaotic for Colorado, with the coaching staff splitting the roster into two groups that made the picture pretty clear. One side looked a lot like the Avs expected Opening Night lineup, while the other had more of a Colorado Eagles feel, a setup that suggested the team is wasting little time separating the near-locks from the long shots. Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, Devon Toews and Cale Makar were all part of the projected structure, giving a good sense of how close this group is to being formed.
What remains less settled is the back end of the roster, where the Avs appear to have 21 spots spoken for and only two openings still in play. Those final jobs could go to forwards or defensemen, which keeps the door open for a few different types of camp performers, including names like Taylor Makar and TJ Hughes. For a team that seems to know most of its answers already, the real intrigue now is whether the last decisions are about upside, versatility or simply who fits best into the last few available chairs. [Read more 🡒]