Earlier in the preseason, I noted the play of two rookies Brad Malone and Tyson Barrie, both whom I thought were fighting their way onto the opening night roster. However, the recent cuts say different and Barrie, Malone, Bordeleau (who also played a physical, hard hitting preseason) and Cann all were sent down to the minors. With the departure of Barrie, Stefan Elliot has pretty much secured his position on the team as I assumed at least 1 of the 2 highly touted defence prospects would make the team. With the roster trimmed down to 27, the Avs will be looking to make 4 more cuts to finalize their 23-man roster. The roster looks as follows with days left before the season opener Saturday:
Forwards (16): Matt Duchene, T.J Galiardi, Milan Hejduk, David Jones, Chuck Kobasew, Gabriel Landeskog, Joakim Lindstrom, Jay McClement, Cody Mcleod, Peter Mueller, Marc Olver, Kevin Porter, Paul Stastny, Daniel Winnik, Brandon Yip
Defence (9): Kyle Cumiskey, Stefan Elliot, Jan Hejda, Matt Hunwick, Erik Johnson, Shane O'Brien, Ryan O'Byrne, Kyle Quincey, Ryan Wilson
Goalies(2): Semyon Varlamov, J.S Giguere
Final Roster Predictions:
Forwards:
First Line: Peter Mueller Matt Duchene Milan Hejduk
Second Line: Joakim Lindstrom Paul Stastny David Jones
Third Line: T.J Galiardi Ryan O'Reilly Gabriel Landeskog
Fourth Line: Cody Mcleod Jay McClement Chuck Kobasew
Extras: Daniel Winnik, Brandon Yip
Cut: Marc Olver, Kevin Porter
Defence:
First Line: Erik Johnson Kyle Quincey
Second Line: Ryan O'Byrne Shane O'Brien
Third Line: Stefan Elliot Jan Hejda
Injured: Kyle Cumiskey
Extras: Ryan Wilson
Cut: Matt Hunwick
Goalies:
Starer: Semyon Varlamov
Backup: J.S Giguere
Final Thoughts: For me, the first 3 forward lines and the top 6 d are all cemented in place, but the 4th line/extra forwards and extra defence remain a question. At forward, I had Marc Olver and Kevin Porter cut, but they could easily compete for a job on the 4th line/extra forward. Jay McClement will be the 4th line centre, but after that the 2 open spots on the line and the extra forwards could easily be a dogfight between the remaining forwards. Olver, Porter, Yip, Mcleod, Kobasew and Winnik are all competing for the final 3-4 spots and we won't know for a few days who makes it and who doesn't. At defence, I had Matt Hunwick being cut because I believe the top 6 of Johnson, Quincey, O'Byrne, O'Brien, Elliot and Hejda all have earned their spots. The remaining battle at d is between 3 players: Cumiskey (who is still hurt), Hunwick and Wilson. While all three could fight for a position on the team, Cumisky is still hurt and will start the season on the IR. That leaves the final spot between Wilson and Hunwick and simply put the Avs are going bigger, tougher d this year and Hunwick just doesn't cut it. At goalie, the Avs are set with Varlamov and Giguere. I for one am really excited for opening night, as well as the final cuts to make the roster complete.
-Joel Forman - Colorado Avalanche News
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