Av’s Rookies Sticking for Season

The Colorado Avalanche are off to a terrific start, leading the Western Conference with a 6-1-1 record.

Much of the success can be attributed to goalie Craig Anderson. He has been nothing short of spectacular for the Av’s since singing as a free agent this past summer. Anderson’s .935 save percentage and 2.09 goals against average are among the league’s best.

Another reason the Av’s are off to such a hot start is due in large part to the play of a couple of 18-year-olds. Third overall pick, Matt Duchene and 33^rd overall pick, Ryan O’Reilly have done it all for the Av’s in their first eight games.

“They’ve played every game and they’re being used in different situations,” said Colorado’s head coach Joe Sacco during a conference call. “Ryan [O’Reilly] has been used on penalty killing. He’s been used in a defensive checking role.

“Matt Duchene is playing on our first power play unit and other offensive situations. So, you know, as long as they keep playing the way they are, they’ll remain here.”

Sacco believes that having both players come in at the same time will only benefit their development.

“I think it makes the transition somewhat smoother and a little bit easier to deal with,” he explains. “You have somebody to talk with and that’s kind of going through the same thing emotionally.”

O’Reilly, the former first-overall selection in the OHL draft, is tied for second on the team in points with a goal and five assists. His lone goal was the game winner against Montreal. He’s averaging over 14 minutes a game. His ability to play at both ends of the rink has him playing valuable minutes.

“He’s playing on what I would call our third line, if you want to call it that,” says Sacco. “He’s being used in our top penalty killing unit - At the same time, offensively he has been putting up some points for us lately. What I like most about Ryan is his ability, his willingness to play 200 feet of the rink.”

Duchene, drafted fifth overall in the same OHL draft as O’Reilly, has a goal and three assists so far. Although Sacco and anyone who has watched a game feel as though he should have four or five goals right now.

“Matt is probably one of our leading chance getters right now,” says Sacco. “He’s creating lots of chances not only for himself, but for his teammates. It was good to see him get that first goal. I know that he’s been pressing a little bit, but he’s gonna provide us probably with some more offense. A guy, again, that has a lot of speed and pushes the opposition’s defenseman back.”

Eight games into the season the Av’s know that their two youngest players still have a lot to learn in both the mental and physical sides of the game. They are cautiously optimistic that both Duchene and O’Reilly will be able to make a significant impact all season long.

“We’re just trying to make sure that — one thing we’re gonna try to do with these two players is make sure that their game is consistent,” said Sacco. “If they can bring what they have over the course of the first eight games, if they can bring that over the course of 82 games and continue to work hard and improve every day, there’s no reason why they can’t stick here.”

It’s not unusual for 18-year-olds to make an impact these days. Last season alone there were eight of them playing in the NHL including four of the top five picks: Steve Stamkos, Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian, Luke Schenn, Mikkel Boedker, Josh Bailey, Luca Sbisa, and Viktor Tikhonov.

This season looks to be no different with again four of the top five (John Tavares, Victor Hedman, Duchene, and Evander Kane) as well as Dimitri Kulikov and O’Reilly looking to stick with their NHL teams.

For Duchene and O’Reilly they have one more game before Colorado has to make a final decision on their NHL careers for this season. However, for all intents and purposes the choice has been made and they will not be going back to the OHL this season.