Reason for Hope in the Mile High City?

Matt Duchene looks to lead the Colorado Avalanche back to the playoffs for the second time in three years.

     
        The NHL season is almost two weeks old and there have already been a lot of surprises and disappointments. One of the biggest surprises of this young campaign has been the Colorado Avalanche. The third youngest team in the league has stormed out of the gate, with four wins in five games and has dominated their opponents. Has Colorado reached the pinnacle of their success already or are they going to keep playing well? All signs are pointing towards the latter.

        Just two seasons ago, the Avalanche were a very young team that didn't have many expectations. They had drafted two players that ended up making their opening night roster (Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly) and had signed goalie Craig Anderson from the Florida Panthers. As the story would go, the Avs battled their way to an unexpected playoff birth. Last year, Colorado didn't get the same type of goaltending from Anderson and the team was a disappointment. This year, Colorado seems poised to make another playoff push.

        Colorado boasts possibly the top group of young centres in the NHL. Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny centre the top two lines and both players are lethal with the puck. Duchene had a 12 point increase last season and it wouldn't be unreasonable to think he can do it again. Ryan O'Reilly and Jay McClement are the checking line centres and both know their role. O'Reilly has the potential to score a lot of points in the NHL. Even though he has only scored 26 points in his only two NHL campaigns, the Clinton, Ontario native was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2007 OHL Priority Selection and was a prolific scorer for the Erie Otters. I had the privilege of playing with Ryan in Erie and his hands are absolutely scary in practice. He was always the first player on the ice and the last one off of it. As Erie coach Robbie Ftorek said, “He's captain material.”

        Last season, Colorado made an unexpected blockbuster trade, sending up-and-comers Chris Stewart and Kevin Shattenkirk to St. Louis for Jay McClement and Erik Johnson. Johnson was the No.1 overall pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft and is an excellent puck-moving defenseman. The 21 year old has four points in five games and partners up with former Sarnia Sting captain Ryan Wilson to form a dangerous duo on the powerplay. The rest of Colorado's D-core is formed by Kyle Quincey, Jan Hejda, Ryan O'Byrne and Shane O'Brien. Four of Colorado's six defensemen are at least 6'3 and 230 pounds. They'll have no problem intimidating opponents.

        During the 2010-11 campaign, the Avalanche allowed 3.5 goals per game, which was the worst in the NHL. GM Greg Sherman revamped the squad's goaltending by acquiring Semyon Varlamov and J.S Giguere. The Capitals grew tired of the Russian puckstopper's injury woes, but Varlamov still posted a 2.23 GAA and a .924 save percentage last season. He's very fundamentally sound and has an underrated glove hand. To back him up, Sherman brought in Toronto Maple Leafs cast-off J.S Giguere. Although the Montreal native struggled during his tenure in Toronto, he still has a Conn Smythe Trophy and a Stanley Cup ring on his resume, something that not many goaltenders can say themselves. Both of the netminders have a .938 save percentage so far this year.

        To date, the Boston Bruins seem to be experiencing an early season Stanley Cup hangover, the Winnipeg Jets are having trouble keeping pucks out of their net and the Toronto Maple Leafs have already etched their names on the Stanley Cup. Colorado has gotten off to a very fine start and with their young core and new acquisitions excelling, it's seemingly realistic that this team will be playing hockey in late April.