For nearly the entire final stretch of T.J. Hughes’ college season, the Colorado Avalanche were already making their pitch.
Long before the Michigan captain’s run toward the national championship ended, Colorado had started building its case for why the undrafted senior forward belonged in its organization. By the time Hughes’ college career wrapped up, he already had a clear feel for how the Avalanche saw him fitting in.
“Colorado was very interested in me all year,” Hughes said Friday ahead of the Avs’ two-game rookie tournament in San Jose over the weekend. “A lot of meetings, video sessions, kind of telling me how I fit their style and how my game translates to how Colorado likes to play. Skilled game, play with the puck, play fast, play smart.”
Hughes, 24, is now set to begin his one-year, entry-level deal with Colorado. For a high-profile undrafted college free agent, landing with a Stanley Cup contender already set up to offer a real opening in the lineup made the decision a lot easier.
“It got me really interested, and the relationship we built throughout the year was very high and very good, and I felt very comfortable choosing Colorado,” Hughes continued. “They really liked me as a player, and I felt very comfortable about it.”
The front-office attention came from some familiar organizational voices, though not from president of hockey operations Joe Sakic or former general manager Chris MacFarland. Instead, Hughes said assistant general manager Kevin McDonald, Andrew Cogliano and Brian Willsie were the ones who stayed in touch and kept the evaluation going.
“A little bit of [assistant general manager] Kevin McDonald, [Andrew] Cogliano, those two guys I talked to mostly,” Hughes said. “I’d say those two guys came to watch me play a lot.
They broke down clips with me. Brian Willsie talked to me a lot too.”
That long evaluation window has already carried into Hughes’ time in Colorado. He arrived in Denver several weeks ago and has been taking part in captain skates as he gets ready for the official start of training camp next week.
The door is open, too. The Avalanche have spots available for opening night, and Hughes is among the young forwards trying to seize one. If he adjusts quickly to the NHL pace and turns in a strong rookie tournament, then carries that momentum into camp and the preseason, he could be in the mix for the regular-season opener on Sept. 30 at Ball Arena.
“It’s been nice to get on [the ice] with the guys, meet all the new guys I haven’t met before, and just get a taste of Colorado,” Hughes said.
Colorado signed Hughes last spring, and he went straight to the AHL’s Colorado Eagles, where his pro debut came almost immediately after his college season ended. That stint turned into a long playoff run in Loveland and gave him a chance to settle into the organization before heading back to Colorado for the summer.
“It was a quick turnaround after playing in college. Played my first pro game like a week after that Final Four game,” Hughes said.
“I really enjoyed my time with the Eagles. We had a really good run, Western Conference Finals.
The team was great to me, very welcoming, and I just thought it really helped me with my experience for this year.”
In Other News...
Avalanche Cannot Afford To Misuse Nazem Kadri This Season
Nazem Kadri gives the Avalanche a level of versatility that can be easy to take for granted, but this is the kind of season where using him well matters as much as simply having him on the roster. Colorado has options with Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Brock Nelson all in the mix, and Kadris value comes from the way he can help drive offense while still handling plenty of defensive responsibility.
The key is not wasting that blend by burying him where he cannot tilt the ice the way he should. Colorado has enough flexibility to move him around during games and even shift his position depending on the look, but the bigger question is how the Avalanche choose to start with him and whether they lean into the kind of usage that keeps Kadri close to the action and away from a role that would undersell what he still brings. [Read more 🡒]