Bragging rights were on the line Friday at Blue Arena.
Sam Malinski, Hank Kempf and Matt Stienburg were there, with a couple other Cornell alums. Logan O’Connor and Sean Behrens were not in the building to watch the University of Denver Pioneers cruise past the Big Red in the first-round of the NCAA tournament, but the 5-0 victory is almost certain to come up again in the locker rooms of the Colorado Avalanche and Colorado Eagles in the near future.
Behrens won two national championships at DU in 2022 and 2024, but Malinski’s Big Red knocked the Pios out of the 2023 NCAA tournament. History lessons, especially with the NCAA tournament and the IIHF world junior championships, are common source material for chirps in an NHL locker room at certain times of the year.
With the NCAA hockey tournament in full swing, we’re going to borrow an idea from Nuggets writer (and Avs beat alum) Bennett Durando. Given that hockey has a more robust path for players to reach the professional ranks, we’re not just going to focus on the NCAA guys.
It’s a little tricky, but we’re going to classify this as “before North American pro hockey.” So playing in a pro league overseas as a young player will count, but the AHL will not.
So, who were the most accomplished Avs players in their younger days? Some of the names won’t be surprises, but a couple might be.
1. Cale Makar
It’s a pretty interesting debate between the top two guys on this list, just like it can be an intriguing discussion at times about their value to the present-day Avalanche. Makar won the Hobey Baker Award as the best player in college hockey and helped UMass reach the Frozen Four. He also won the Hockey East Player of the Year and was an NCAA All-America selection. He also helped Canada win gold at the world junior tournament. Before that, he also swept every major award in the Alberta Junior Hockey League and helped the Brooks Bandits win the league championship twice.
2. Nathan MacKinnon
MacKinnon won the QMJHL and, famously, the Memorial Cup with the Halifax Mooseheads. He was the MVP of the Memorial Cup, which included outplaying fellow potential No. 1 pick Seth Jones. He wasn’t the MVP of his team before that — Jonathan Drouin was. MacKinnon also won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and led the tournament in scoring, but he was a depth guy on the WJC team, and Canada did not medal.
3. Artturi Lehkonen
It’s a pretty good debate about third and fourth on this list, as well. Lehkonen played for Finland at the world junior tournament three times, and won a gold medal. He also won the Liiga Rookie of the Year and a bronze medal at the U-18 world championships. Lehkonen spent a year in Sweden before coming to North America, and he won both the Swedish Hockey League and the Champions League with Frolunda.
4. Martin Necas
Necas was a more productive junior player than Lehkonen, but it shouldn’t be a surprise that Lehkonen has done so much winning at all levels of his career. Necas has done plenty of that as well, and he’d be higher if we included his Calder Cup title with the Charlotte Checkers. Necas won the Czech Extraliga twice and was named both the league’s rookie of the year in 2017 and MVP in 2018. He also won the Hlinka Gretzky Cup and led that tournament in scoring.
5. Nicolas Roy
Roy was a superstar in the QMJHL. He was named a first-team all-star twice and led the ‘Q’ in goals one year. He has a nice collection of international medals as well — gold at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, silver at the world juniors and bronze at the U-18 tournament.
Gavin Brindley of the Michigan Wolverines plays against the Michigan State Spartans at Little Caesars Arena on February 10, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
6. Gavin Brindley
Brindley played for the Americans twice at the WJC, winning both gold and bronze medals. He also won silver at the U-18 tournament. He won Big Ten player of the year and earned NCAA All-America honors while at Michigan.
7. Valeri Nichushkin
Nichushkin won a gold medal at the U-17 world championships and a bronze medal at the WJC. He also won rookie of the year in the KHLin 2012-13 with Traktor Chelyabinsk. During that season, he played in international tournaments with Igor Shesterkin (U-18) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (WJC) as the starting goalies.
8. Nazem Kadri
Kadri won a silver medal at world juniors. He also played in the Ontario Hockey League with Kitchener, a team coached by Peter DeBoer, and was named a second-team OHL all-star.
Brock Nelson of the North Dakota Fighting Sioux is hit by Luke Glendening of the Michigan Wolverines during the semifinals of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Frozen Four on April 7, 2011 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
9. Brock Nelson
Before he became an American Olympic champion, Nelson won bronze at the world junior tournament. He also had a strong career at North Dakota, winning the old WCHA twice and playing in the Frozen Four.
10. Logan O’Connor
O’Connor won an NCAA championship with the Pioneers. He also won the Clark Cup in the USHL as captain of the Sioux Falls Stampede.
Honorable mentions: Devon Toews won the British Columbia Hockey League with Surrey before winning the ECAC and reaching the Frozen Four with Quinnipiac. Parker Kelly won the WHL with Prince Albert. Mackenzie Blackwood won OHL goalie of the year, made the all-rookie team and was a first-team all-star with Barrie.
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