3 years ago
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Avalanche rookie defenseman Justin Barron had an absorbing summertime successful Eastern Canada, skating astir regular with 3 esteemed forwards from his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Boston’s Brad Marchand are shoo-ins for Canada’s 2022 Olympic team, and Barron — who volition play successful his 3rd preseason crippled Tuesday nighttime — said trying to support them during the summertime skates was eye-opening.
“You got 3 of the champion players successful the world, truthful it was large for maine getting to support those guys successful signifier each day,” Barron said during Tuesday’s greeting skate astatine Ball Arena. “It was astir apt the champion happening I could person done.”
Barron, who played successful Monday’s 3-1 nonaccomplishment astatine Minnesota, volition beryllium MacKinnon’s teammate Tuesday nighttime arsenic the prima halfway makes his preseason debut on with chap top-six forwards Mikko Rantanen and Andre Burakovsky. The Avs and Knights some submitted much seasoned lineups arsenic adjacent week’s openers approach.
Barron, 19, mightiness not marque the opening-night roster due to the fact that of guaranteed contracts and his youth, but Avs manager Jared Bednar has showered the 2020 first-round draught prime with praise and accidental passim grooming camp.
“I’m fortunate to person been fixed each the opportunity, playing powerfulness play, playing punishment kill, getting tons of ice,” Barron said. “I deliberation it’s conscionable a substance of continuing to get amended each crippled and continuing to amusement the coaching unit what I tin do. I deliberation I’ve done a beauteous bully occupation astatine benignant of gathering my crippled passim camp.”
Barron is considered a cardinal portion of the aboriginal for the Avs, and helium whitethorn marque his NHL debut this season. But he’ll apt statesman connected the archetypal pairing with the AHL’s Colorado Eagles and play successful each situations.
The Avs person a deep-and-talented bluish line, though Devon Toews is recovering from enarthrosis country and is not expected to beryllium cleared by the opener. Cale Makar is besides practicing successful a reddish non-contact sweater and has yet to play successful the preseason, but Bednar antecedently said that’s for precautionary reasons.
Makar is expected to play adjacent week with Sam Girard connected the archetypal pairing. Rookie Bo Byram and Erik Johnson person been practicing unneurotic and newcomers Ryan Murray and Kurtis MacDermid volition marque the team. Jack Johnson, a 950-game NHL seasoned who volition play successful his 3rd preseason crippled Tuesday, could marque the squad disconnected a nonrecreational tryout declaration to adhd depth.
Barron doesn’t wage attraction to the extent chart. He focuses connected his mentation and however helium performs each time he’s with the Avs.
“I’m starting to beryllium here,” Barron said. “I came to camp, my extremity was to get a spot connected the roster. That’s inactive my extremity now. Just trying to instrumentality it time by time and not look excessively acold guardant and conscionable effort to play good each day.”
Footnote. The Avs reassigned 4 players to the Eagles connected Tuesday morning, reducing the roster to 38. Forwards Jean-Luc Foudy and Gabriel Fontaine, defenseman Andreas Englund and goalie Justus Annunen volition study to squad office successful Loveland.
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