{"id":203704,"date":"2025-09-22T04:00:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T04:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/203704\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T04:00:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T04:00:13","slug":"10-observations-from-the-avalanches-preseason-opener","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/203704\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Observations From the Avalanche’s Preseason Opener"},"content":{"rendered":"

After hours of travel delays for the Utah Mammoth, the Avalanche were victorious in their preseason opener at the University of Denver\u2019s Magness Arena.<\/p>\n

Colorado won 5-1 in a game that had Scott Wedgewood in goal, and Cale Makar, Gabe Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, and Devon Toews among the NHL regulars in the lineup.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s everything that stood out to me in the preseason opener.<\/p>\n

10 Observations<\/p>\n

1. The two players I wanted to hone in on coming into this game were Gavin Brindley and Danil Gushchin (pronounced Goose-Chin) and they both had goals.<\/p>\n

They were also the last two pieces of the top power play unit with Makar, Landeskog, and Nichushkin. So it was obvious that coach Jared Bednar was interested in what they can do in elevated roles.<\/p>\n

Brindley had two goals in short order, and Gushchin added one shortly after in the second period.<\/p>\n

2. I was really impressed with Brindley and I\u2019m really interested in seeing how he does as the rosters in camp start to get cut down. It\u2019s one thing to play well against prospects and AHLers. But can he replicate it against better competition, and then in regular season games? We\u2019ll have to wait and see.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s definitely someone to keep an eye on this year. His development stalled with the Blue Jackets for whatever reason, but he\u2019s not lacking skill or pedigree. The Avs need a development win, and him becoming a full-time guy down the line would be huge. Even if it takes a year or two.<\/p>\n

3. As for Gushchin, he\u2019s not as hyped and wasn\u2019t as much of a valuable trade piece as Brindley was. But it doesn\u2019t mean he can\u2019t eventually find his way. Having a strong AHL season will do well for him, as will being in a system with Stanley Cup aspirations, as he won\u2019t be rushed into any NHL games because of a lack of options (like in San Jose).<\/p>\n

I remember when the Avs traded a bust in Chris Bigras for Ryan Graves just to give both guys a fresh start. They were able to turn Graves into a full-time, useful NHL player. It would be nice if luck was on their side again, after trading a first-round bust like Oskar Olausson to get Gushchin.<\/p>\n

4. All you want is to get through preseason without any injuries or ailments. I\u2019m sure Bednar held his breath when Makar took an elbow to the face and went down. He got up pretty quickly and seemed fine on the bench after getting checked out. He didn\u2019t play much after the hit and left the game with about seven minutes left.<\/p>\n

Bednar said it was precautionary and we\u2019ll find out Monday how Makar\u2019s feeling.<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0Loved seeing Landeskog drop the gloves with the guy who got the elbow up on Makar. It wasn\u2019t an intentional hit by any means, but the Captain stood up for his guy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was just kind of maybe accidental, maybe not, maybe a little bit of both,\u201d Landeskog said. \u201cBut either way, it doesn\u2019t really matter to me. You see one of your players go down, honestly, it doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s our best player or not, someone\u2019s got to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

6. About 13\u201314 months ago, there were questions about whether Nichushkin and Landeskog would ever play for the Avalanche. Both of them were in the lineup for the first preseason game of the 2025-26 season. It feels like we\u2019re living in the best kind of alternate universe.<\/p>\n

7. Training camp and preseason is made for players who need to shake off the cobwebs. And that\u2019s exactly what Nichushkin is doing. He had three assists but looked rusty at other times, especially in the first period.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just glad he\u2019s available at this time of year after a full offseason of training without any outside distractions.<\/p>\n

I remember last year when Nichushkin came back in November, he had zero points and was a non factor in his first three games. After that? He scored 11 goals and added six assists for 17 points in 17 games before the injury against Winnipeg on New Year\u2019s Eve.<\/p>\n

I can see him getting off to a start like that right out of the gate this year. Just like he did in 2022-23.<\/p>\n

8. That Keaton Middleton and Curtis Douglas fight early in the first period was a lot of fun. They had a conversation during warm-ups, so it was definitely staged. But that in itself says a lot about the Avs\u2019 blueliner. He\u2019s here to win a roster spot but also to entertain.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not sure if he\u2019s good enough to be an everyday player this season, or if he\u2019ll ever be. But I\u2019d love to see Middleton stick around all year.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d love to see him develop into that role of a solid No. 6 defenseman in a pinch, but better suited for the No. 7 role and a vibes guy in the locker room. I guess somewhat similar to the Erik Johnson role after the trade deadline in March.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s such a great guy to have in the room. His teammates and the coaching staff love him.<\/p>\n

9. I\u2019m struggling to understand why the NHL and both teams felt it was necessary to make Utah the \u201chome team\u201d at Magness Arena. Is there some sort of rule that you have to play half your preseason games on the road? That\u2019s the only thing I can think of. I know Utah\u2019s arena still isn\u2019t ready, which is why the neutral location was needed.<\/p>\n

But it was still weird. During the pregame, the announcer had to specifically say \u201cthe starting lineup for the visitors, the Colorado Avalanche!\u201d Then he announced Utah as the home team.<\/p>\n

When the Mammoth scored, the goal horn went off for them, with nobody in the building cheering for them, It just felt like a weird and awkward thing to have to do.<\/p>\n

10. While we\u2019re on the ranting train, I don\u2019t know what it goes into televising a game and I\u2019m not going to pretend I do. I\u2019m also aware that the Utah Mammoth were technically the home team.<\/p>\n

But with that being said, you have to find a way to televise this game for your local fans if you\u2019re the Avalanche. It\u2019s 2025, this stuff should be figured for the preseason by now.<\/p>\n


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