The Avalanche are still sorting through the bottom of their forward group as training camp approaches, and Gavin Brindley is one of the names hanging around that conversation.
Brindley appeared in 56 games for Colorado last season and put up six goals and seven assists, but his run with the NHL club ended after the March 22 game against the Washington Capitals. After that, he was sent to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and did not return to the Avalanche lineup for the rest of the year.
Head coach Jared Bednar recently addressed Brindley in a postgame interview, offering a clearer picture of why the forward disappeared from the NHL picture late in the season and what the staff saw from him early on.
”I liked Brinds’ start to last year. I thought he’d stand out at training camp for all the reasons I talked about, why I liked him tonight.
And then it looked like, you know, to me, [he] became less effective, not as quick. Like it just looked like he hit a bit of a wall under, like, different demands of the NHL, the schedule, everything… Had a couple injuries, too.
So, I mean, if he can sustain that type of game and the game he had at the start of last year, I think he’s gonna find some offensive production and that’s what it’s all about. Like, if you look at our guys, they’re gonna have bad games every once in a while.
They’re gonna be not at their best at times. They’re gonna have the odd bad game but they rarely go in a dip where their energy’s down, and it’s just learning the demands of the league.”
That message lines up with the reality Brindley is facing now. He showed flashes last season, but the Avalanche have added more competition for those same minutes, including players like T.J.
Hughes. That makes the path back into the lineup a lot less straightforward.
At 5-foot-8, Brindley doesn’t have the size advantage that can sometimes help a player survive in a crowded battle for depth roles. What he does have is energy, a willingness to work for the puck, and enough speed to make him noticeable when he’s rolling. There’s still a case for him to get another look, though, especially if Colorado wants to keep seeing how far he can push his game.
His numbers from last season show there was something useful there. Brindley had four game-winning goals in those 56 games, and his 62 shot attempts were a respectable total for the role he was playing. The bigger question is whether he can separate himself from the other players fighting for the same spot.
There’s also the possibility that Brindley fits as a 13th forward, though Bednar would seemingly have other options in front of him, including Hughes and Taylor Makar.
For now, Brindley is still in that in-between spot: good enough to keep in the picture, not yet locked into the Avalanche’s plans. If he earns his way back, he’ll be back in the mix.
If not, more time with the Eagles may be waiting for him. Either way, he’ll be on the ice somewhere.
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