After sending down Michael Sgabossa, Steffan Elliott and David Van Der Gulik, the Avalanche roster is ready.
To start the season, the Avs are keeing two goalies, eight defensemen and 13 forwards for this compressed 48 game season.
Here's a breakdown of the roster:
Forwards: Patrick Bordeleau(making NHL debut), Steve Downie, Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk, David Jones, Chuck Kobasew, Gabriel Landeskog, Jamie McGinn, Cody McLeod, John Mitchell, Mark Olver, P.A. Parenteau, Paul Stastny,
Defensemen: Tyson Barrie, Jan Hejda, Matt Hunwick, Erik Johnson, Shane O'Brien, Ryan O'Byrne, Ryan Wilson, Greg Zanon
Goaltenders: Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Semyon Varlamov
Missing from the lineup is Ryan O'Reilly who, obviously, is still playing in the KHL while his contract dispute continues. For the moment, former Minnesota Wild draft pick Patrick Bordeleau has been given his roster spot.
Without O'Reilly, the Avs will move Mitchell up to center the third line and Mark Olver will center the fourth line between McLeod and Bordeleau.
The top two lines of the Avs look strong with Landeskog, Duchene and Parenteau forming the first and McGinn, Stastny and Jones on the second line. Though, the lines will probably get equal playing time, so first and second is a relative term.
Mitchell will slide between Hejduk and Downie to form a third line that hopefully can produce. With O'Reilly, a resurgent Hejduk and a healthy Downie, it could have been potent. However, with Mitchell, it is a bit of a wild card. No one knows what the Avs will have with it until it is put on the ice.
Assuming the fourth liine gets more than ten minutes a night, it will be a physical, agitating line going from the pint-sized Olver to the gigantic Bordeleau.
On defense, the Avs have two players who can take over games in different ways in Johnson and Wilson. If Wilson can be a physical force with speed, grit and a helping of offense, he is a legitimate top four. If he can't, cracking the lineup will be tough. His problem has always been consistency.
Behind those two, the Avs have a healthy dose of defense-first guys like O'Brien Hejda, O'Byrne and Zanon (and his
beard) with smaller defensemen Hunwick and Barrie rounding out the defensive roster.
For the Avs, the x-factor is probably the youngster Barrie. He could be the first player since John-Michael Liles to provide speed, offensive creativity and brilliant passing. Barrie, if he can hold his own on defense and not being physically manhandled, can provide a spark for the Avs offense.
Johnson can play a good two way game but Barrie has a special offensive flair that Johnson lacks. Barrie will start the season on the point of the second powerplay unit. The Avs will need him to be that spark, to run the powerplay and infuse some offense into a defensive corps that scored only 26 goals last year, five of those from not-so-dearly departed Kyle Quincey.
Simply, put the defense, while solid, is put together to be solid defensively and offer minimal support offensively. They will need Barrie, Johnson with helpings of Wilson and Hunwick, whenever he plays, to contribute on the offensive side of things.
In goal, the Avs are strong with the young Varlamov and the veteran Giguere. Last year, both showed that they can be leaned up when the team is struggling. Both goaltenders will push one another throughout the season. While both have a history of injuries and/or struggles, the Avs are solid in net.
If Varlamov can play to his potential, it will make goaltending the Avs' most dependable position.
There are still a lot of questions concerning the Avs, especially with the absence of O'Reilly but their youth could make them a playoff-calibre team. They will have to play as a team, use their size on defense to defend the crease and the speed and grit combination up front to keep teams off balance.
During a 48 game season, the Avs will have to start hot and avoid the lulls that have plagued them the previous two years in order to even be in the playoff picture.
Colorado Avalanche Blogger • 
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