The Colorado Avalanche have already been through a few different lineup ideas, but the most intriguing one may be the simplest: stop treating the young forwards like emergency fill-ins and start giving them real runway.
That means more than just plugging holes when injuries hit. It means making room for players who earn it, even if that means a different look in the top nine and a little less reliance on the usual veteran defaults.
In this version, the Avalanche still keep their established forward core intact. Artturi Lehkonen, Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas remain together on the top line, while Gabriel Landeskog slides in with Brock Nelson and Gavin Brindley.
Jaden Schwartz centers T.J. Hughes and Nazem Kadri, with Parker Kelly, Nicolas Roy and Logan O’Connor rounding out the bottom six.
On defense, the group stays veteran-heavy with Devon Toews and Cale Makar, Brett Kulak and Sam Malinski, Josh Manson and Brent Burns, plus Noah Juulsen. Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood handle the crease.
The point of the exercise isn’t to push Logan O’Connor or Roy out just to make room for youth. It’s to create meaningful chances for the young forwards Colorado has accumulated, especially in spots where development and production can overlap.
The first opening comes in Valeri Nichushkin’s absence, and Gavin Brindley gets the nod there if he has a strong training camp. Another young forward should also get a shot next to Nazem Kadri, and the choice here is T.J.
Hughes, a right-shot winger with what is described as the highest offensive ceiling among the candidates. Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov are also in that mix.
That’s where the real shift happens. If Schwartz gets hurt, the answer shouldn’t automatically be to move O’Connor or Kelly up and slide a kid into a fourth-line job.
L’Heureux should get that chance. If Landeskog is out and Roy moves back to center, Svechkov should be the one who enters the lineup.
The idea is to reward young players with minutes that matter, not just use them as placeholders.
The same logic applies if Lehkonen misses time. Landeskog can stay where he is, and the best-performing young forward - Brindley, Hughes or L’Heureux - should get a stretch alongside MacKinnon and Necas.
The message is simple: develop. Develop.
Develop.
There’s a practical side to it, too. This setup keeps the veteran core fresher over the course of an 84-game season while still adding youth to the mix.
Colorado does not need MacKinnon logging 25-plus minutes because it’s chasing a game in December. If the Avalanche are sitting comfortably in a playoff spot and a young forward is producing, that player should be rewarded.
That balance matters, especially if Colorado wants to avoid the physical and mental wear that seemed to catch up with the group in the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Of course, the whole plan depends on the kids actually earning those minutes. No one should be handed a role just because of age.
Brindley has to look like he did during his impressive October stretch last season. The same goes for Hughes, L’Heureux, Svechkov, and even Fabian Lysell.
Performance has to drive opportunity.
There’s also the question of whether the veterans will be comfortable with that approach. Two years ago, MacKinnon said, “You can’t win with kids.”
The broader point was clear: it’s hard to develop young players while chasing a Stanley Cup. But that thinking has to evolve, and Elliotte Friedman raised that point on the July 6 episode of 32 Thoughts.
The leadership group has to be willing to let young players learn through mistakes instead of defaulting to veteran options every time.
Then there’s the most practical hurdle of all: what if the Avalanche stay healthy? If Schwartz, Landeskog, Roy and the rest of the veteran forwards play close to a full season, opportunities could be limited.
That would be a good problem, but still a problem. If camp goes well, there should be room for Hughes, Brindley, Svechkov and L’Heureux to dress together when injuries create multiple openings.
Even if everyone is healthy, the goal should be at least two young forwards in the lineup every night, with one of them preferably in the top six and perhaps both in the top nine.
What shouldn’t happen is burying Brindley on the third line and leaving Svechkov to center the fourth line for eight minutes a night. If the Avalanche are serious about this approach, they need to find real ice time for the kids.
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For Hughes, it is also the first time he will wear an Avalanche jersey on the ice, a small but meaningful milestone after arriving in Colorado as an undrafted free agent following his collegiate career. The showcase should also clear up one lingering detail about his place in the lineup picture, including the sweater number he will carry as he begins this next chapter. [Read more 🡒]