Player Review: Jan Hejda

I sort of got off track on player reviews. However, I’m ready to start them again, so I can put this season out of my mind sooner rather than later. First though, a few updates on World Championships. All nine Avalanche players are on teams that have qualified for the quarter finals. Paul Stastny, Erik Johnson, Aaron Palushaj, and Matt Hunwick (USA) will face Semyon Varlamov (RUS) on Thursday. Gabriel Landeskog (SWE) will face Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly (CAN) will also square off Thursday. Jan Hejda and the Czechs will face Switzerland. Now, on to Hejda’s 2013 in the burgundy and blue.

Statistics: GP 46 G 1 A 9 P 10 +/- -3 PIM 28 Hits 96 BS 102 Giveaway/Takeaway Differential -11 Avg TOI 19:41

Avs Around The World

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr

Alright, time for World Championships updates, Avalanche style.

-Team Canada has played two games. Matt Duchene scored two goals in the first game, (and was named Best Player for Canada), a 3-1 win over Denmark. In the second game, Canada lost to Switzerland in the shootout. Duchene was used three times, and he scored once and was denied twice by Martin Gerber, Switzerland’s goalie. Duchene has gone 16-8 on faceoffs thus far. Ryan O’Reilly has yet to earn any points, but he has gone 9-2 in the faceoff circle.

-Team USA has also played two games since I last posted, and won both of them. Erik Johnson scored two goals in his first game, and had one assist in the second. Matt Hunwick scored in today’s contest. Aaron Palushaj scored in the first game. Paul Stastny has three assists so far, was named Best Player in game one, and has gone 32-13 at the dot. Also, goaltender Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay Lightning), is a native of Denver Colorado.

-Semyon Varlamov was not in the lineup for Team Russia’s first game, but he was in the net for their second, a 4-1 win over Germany. Varlamov made 26 saves on 27 shots to earn the victory.

-Jan Hejda and Gabriel Landeskog’s teams faced off yesterday. Neither had any points, but Landeskog added to his penalty total, while Hejda’s team added to their win total.

 

Player Review: J.S. Giguere

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

Before the jump, I’ll give updates on the Avs participating in the World Championships. Jan Hejda, Czech Republic, played 15:03 in his team’s 2-0 win. Gabriel Landeskog earned a kneeing penalty in Team Sweden’s loss to Switzerland…Paul Stastny was named captain for the USA WC club.

Season Statistics: GPI 18 W 5 L 4 OT 4 SA 469 Sv % .908 GAA 2.84 (Giguere also took two penalties, for a total of four PIM.)

Player Review: Semyon Varlamov

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr

It’s time for player reviews once again…I’m not going to pretend to be happy to be reviewing players’ seasons so soon, but I think it is necessary to look at each player in depth. Last year, I did centers-wingers-defensemen-goalies, so this year I’m switching and starting from the net.

Stats: GPI 35 W 11 L 21 OT 3 Sv % .903 SA 1,007 GAA 3.02 SO 3 (Also earned one assist.)

Avs Win NHL Draft Lottery!

I mean we used this when it was, literally, the new year. I figure it works for the start of a new season too though.

Yes, you read that right. The Colorado Avalanche won the number one pick in this year’s draft. It’s a sweet ending after a bitter season.

Colorado ended the season 29th overall in the league-it’s worst season statistically since the franchise moved to Denver in 1995. Due to changes in the lottery this year, every non-playoff team had a shot to win the number one pick. The chances were staggered, with the league’s worst, Florida, receiving the best odds. (The Avs had an 18.8% chance of earning this pick.) Had a team below Florida or Colorado won the lottery, each team that finished “ahead” would have simply moved down one spot from where they finished-meaning the Avs, at the worst, would have the third overall pick.

Luckily, they got the first, which means that they will be able to pick whomever they want, and shape the rest of the NHL’s choices. Nearly everyone thought, prior to tonight’s lottery, that Seth Jones would be the first pick. He is a versatile, large, talented defenseman, the type that could change a franchise. (Jones first started to skate and play hockey in the Denver area, as his father, “Popeye” Jones, played for the Denver Nuggets at the time.) Now that the Avs have the first pick, anyone who was uncertain before has to be convinced that this young man will be the first chosen this year. After all, he is the only defenseman among the three players expected to go 1,2, and 3.

The Avs certainly don’t need another center (Nate MacKinnon), when one considers Paul Stastny, Matt Duchene, Ryan O’Reilly, John Mitchell, and the fact that Mark Olver, or Brad Malone is capable of taking on the role of fourth line center. Even if the Avs traded one of their centers (rumors about Paul Stastny abound, much to my chagrin), they still have a couple of good centers in the system. MacKinnon, I’m sure you’re fabulous, but I think you can kiss that shot at “Drafted, First Overall” goodbye.

The only player who I think could really challenge Jones at this point is Jonathan Drouin. He’s a winger, who’s said to have skills similar to Patrick Kane. However, he is a smaller player (and the Avs already do have a smaller forward core). As a skilled left winger, he could provide a lot of competition for Gabriel Landeskog, who at this point is the undisputed top LW on the team, and he could challenge Jamie McGinn as he tries to stay on the top line. (And people who are shouting WHAT ABOUT CODY McLEOD HE IS THE GREATEST”…I love Cody Mac, but let’s be real here. If he’s our number one LW (as he was in the final third of the season), the team isn’t going anywhere. He’s a solid player, and he can play top minutes when needed, but he’s not going to score 20 goals.)

If you would like to look at the official, final rankings of the year provided by the NHL, head over here and take a look. Final draft rankings for all 30 teams will be determined after the playoffs.

Basically, I think the team is taking Seth. I’ll save you the fact spamming until draft day, and simply say #AvspickSeth.

 

**UPDATED: E Lacroix Leaving, Avs “Relieve” Coach Sacco Of His Duties

The Avalanche announced this morning that Coach Sacco will not be returning next season as Head Coach of the team. Personally, I’m relieved. While Sacco is not the only problem the team had this year, I think it’s clear that he lost control of the team. There were too many times in the past two years where the team failed to play a full sixty minute game. There were too many times where the team looked flat. It’s up to a coach to keep his team motivated, and I just don’t think Sacco was able to do that any longer.

It will be interesting to see what other changes the Avs decide to make, and who the next coach will be. I’ll keep updating as I hear more.

UPDATE

Eric Lacroix has left the Avalanche organization, the Avs have confirmed. Lacroix was the Vice President of Hockey Operations.

Avs End Season With A Real Stinker

Well that was an upsetting end to the season. Obviously I wanted an Avs win (and, like a lot of other hockey fans, I was rooting for #Lumbus).

Minnesota’s Zach Parise scored the first goal of the game. Ryan O’Reilly would answer with his sixth of the season with less than two minutes remaining in the first. During the second, the Avs appeared to score a second goal to take the lead, but after review, it was taken away. I disagreed with the call-but it turns out that while one referee called it a good goal, another made the official call of no goal on the ice. That meant that Toronto had to find “conclusive evidence that it was not kicked in intentionally.” I don’t think it was intentional, but I can see where, in the situation room, things would have been split, and therefore why they would have decided that the call on the ice should stand. I don’t like it, and I don’t understand why it was called a no goal on the ice (where it looked to me as though it went off his foot but was not kicked,) but there you have it. The game was still tied at one. After that, the Avs seemed to really deflate, and they eventually allowed a powerplay goal (not a good goal by Varls, but he did make some spectacular saves throughout the game). In the final, dying seconds, Minnesota scored in the empty net to cement their victory. With two seconds and change remaining, they decided to do a sort of ceremonial faceoff with Milan Hejduk, and allowed the Avs to run off the clock.

I was not impressed with the officiating in this game. I was sitting in the third row, which meant I had a damn good view of some mighty fine “that should have been a penalty” action. (I’m not saying it was all from Minnesota. I saw the Avs get away with a couple of things too. However, Minnesota became more and more reckless when they realized they weren’t getting called, and they got away with some ridiculous things.) To make things even more infuriating, the officials started sneering and belligerently shaking their heads when the crowd would boo perceived missed calls. (I’ve been to a couple hundred hockey games in my short life, and I’ve never seen that reaction.) There weren’t a lot of penalties called, but it still was frustrating to see some of the things players were getting away with.

After the game, players gave away their gameworn jerseys to lucky selected fans. It’s always a nice touch to end a season, and I like the chance to get to cheer for individual players one last time. Now, it’s the dreaded offseason, coming much too soon again. Remember, I’ll still be posting (player reviews, draft predictions, free agency predictions, etc), so keep checking back here every couple days to argue, agree, or just plain sob about the lack of Avs hockey. Stay classy, Avs fans.

Happy Birthday, Semyon Varlamov!

If someone talented wanted to make a better birthday Avalanche sign…I wouldn’t object.

Today is Semyon Varlamov’s 25th birthday. I haven’t loved a goalie as much as I love Varly since Patrick Roy was here in Colorado. (Obviously, Roy is still my favorite, but this Russian netminder is a close second.) I call him Varls, and when people knock him over, I’ve been known to shriek “Darling Varls are you okay?!” If you need further proof of my insanity, just hang out with me for about thirty seconds. Basically, what I’m trying to convey here, is that I LOVE VARLAMOV!

I expect Varls will be starting tonight, and I’m hoping he gets a big, fat W to add to his season statistics. (For those of you flipping out over losing out on 29th place and the 18.8% chance to win the draft lottery, remember: if the Avs win, Columbus/Nashville goes into OT, and Tampa Bay wins/loses in OT or SO, the Avs will still be 29th.)

Now, back to Varlamov…this year hasn’t been his best, but the team has been completely awful in front of him most nights. And he’s still done things like this:

Saves at 1:00, 1:36, 2:11, and 2:32 are particularly spectacular.

Thanks to @plysenkov on twitter and the tumblr “Hockey Players With Pets”

Avs Play Excellent Game In The Desert

Ryan O’Reilly’s first goal in a while was an important one! Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Avs earned a nice win tonight against the Phoenix Coyotes, in their final road game of the season. Considering how poorly they’ve done on the road this year, it was nice to end that part of the season on a high note.

Pregame: Avalanche At Coyotes

Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

Tomorrow evening the Colorado Avalanche will play their second to last game of the season in Phoenix. I’ll be honest, my hopes are not high for this one. The Avs are 0-1-1 against Phoenix this season. The Coyotes have one of the slimmest chances to make the playoffs. They need Columbus, Detroit, and Dallas to all lose their final two games, while the Coyotes win both of their remaining games. I expect them to come out playing really hard.

The Avs have struggled against the Yotes in the past couple years, and I’m a similar struggle tomorrow evening. At this point in the season…well let’s just say I won’t be upset if the Avs lose tomorrow and then can pull off a win against Minnesota. Obviously, when the game actually starts, I’ll be rooting as hard for the Avs as ever. From a realistic standpoint though, I want the Avs to have that first overall pick. Florida is probably going to finish 30th overall in the league, but the Avs could very well have the second best shot at drafting first overall. While the team is assured a good pick no matter what, defense has been the biggest problem this season, and I think Seth Jones is the best option for this franchise. As an added bonus, Jones’ first team was the Avs, and Joe Sakic’s advice to Jones’ father has helped him.

J.S. Giguere will start in net. David Jones and Milan Hejduk will both be scratched again.