Eurolanche

Avs Rookie Camp: Day 1 & 2

Rookie NHL coach Patrick Roy attended part of the camp, along with Joe Sakic and Adam Foote, observing the youngsters from the press box. Drills were held by Craig Billington, the VP of Player Development, as well Assistant Coaches Tim Army and André Tourigny, and Lake Erie Monsters Head Coach Dean Chynoweth. This was the first camp from many of the players, considering none was held last year due to the NHL lockout. After two days on the ice, here are the players who stood out the most:

Let’s begin with Nathan MacKinnon, which I’ll keep short as his name already sells everyone. Already being penciled in on the starting roster, he showed that he did not take that for granted and was the fastest skater out there. You can see he is eager to learn and play in the big league as he was always the closest player to the coach explaining the plays. I can’t wait to see the kid play against NHL defenseman to see how he will handle himself but he is looking more and more like the real deal.

Chris Bigras, thus far, is everything he was sold as when the Avs made him their 2^nd selection, 32^nd overall in this year’s draft. He was selected for his two-way game and showed his defensive upside, continuously shutting down his opposition and not letting anyone through to the net on both 2v2 and 1v1 drills. A lot of hype is already surrounding Bigras, with some already seeing him as a possible surprise to make the team out of camp, however will likely have to spend another year developing in the OHL before possibly making it on the LEM roster next year.

Duncan Siemens was the other standout, having filled out his frame since his first camp in 2011 and also showed much more promise. Siemens is not the fastest skater but displayed his strong skating ability and some Foote like playing skills. Once he gets in the crease, he will make it hell for opposition to get anywhere near the goaltender and should be a great defender for years to come. Siemens has one more year of junior eligibility left however will likely start the year in Lake Erie and serve as a possible call up.

The one let down thus far has been the absence of Joey Hishon, who is currently day-to-day with a groin injury. The bright side is that it is not another concussion, which has plagued his career so far. Hishon should be back on the ice soon and hopefully display the same playmaking skills that made the Avs select him in the first round of the 2010 draft.

Rookie camp concludes Tuesday and the vets will be going to medical and physical tests on Wednesday before jumping on the ice on Thursday for the three day training camp.

Our friend Ashton took following photos for the Eurolanche: