In their search to find some kind of spark plug, the Colorado Avalanche have sent Stefan Elliott back down to Lake Erie for some more seasoning.

Tyson Barrie has also been called up to replace him. Barrie and Elliott are both highly-touted defensive prospects but have several key differences. Elliott is a shoot-first defenseman in the mold of Brian Leetch or Dan Boyle while Barrie is more of a pass-first player.

Barrie has good vision and good speed and is an expert at working the puck around on offense, especially the powerplay to set up plays and relieve stress. This move is of no surprise consider Barrie leads the Lake Erie Monsters in scoring and is fourth in the AHL in scoring by a defenseman.

In a few years, it will be Elliott and Barrie together on the point of the powerplay, both of them bringing a different dynamic. The won't be for another few years as A) the Avs already have a logjam on defense and B) both players need to get comfortable at the NHL level before doing that.

Elliott got off to a great start to the season when he scored two goals and an assist in his first three games as a pro. He's had brilliant moments, the best among them is when he went coast-to-coast to score against San Jose. Recently, Elliott has struggled. His passing has not been good and he's made a lot of defensive errors.

Elliott will be back on the Avalanche roster but for now, he needs to learn in Lake Erie from coach David Quinn, who is remarkable at working with young defenseman.

The time of Elliott is over, for now. Now the time of Tyson Barrie, it is.

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