First-round picks Bowen Byram and Martin Kaut were among eight players reassigned by the Avalanche on Thursday, reducing the roster to 29 players.
Byram, 18, who was selected with the No. 4 pick in the 2019 NHL draft, was returned to his junior team, the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League, where last season he had 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) in 67 games.
Byram had no points, three shots on goal and was a minus-4 in four preseason games. He won’t be able to play for the Avalanche in the regular season.
Kaut, who turns 20 on Oct. 2, was assigned to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League. He had no points and eight shots on goal in four preseason games. The No. 16 pick in the 2018 draft, he had 26 points (12 goals, 14 assists) in 63 games last year with the Eagles. The following six players also were assigned to the Eagles:
Forwards Sheldon Dries, Michael Joly and Logan O’Connor; defensemen Jacob MacDonald and Dan Renouf; and goalie Hunter Miska.
MacDonald and Renouf need to clear waivers.
The Avalanche are expected to carry seven or eight defensemen, and nine healthy defensemen remain, including Kevin Connauton, who has been playing with a “bubble… mask to protect his broken cheekbone. The rest: Mark Barberio, Samuel Girard, Ryan Graves, Erik Johnson, Cale Makar, Nikita Zadorov, Calle Rosen and Conor Timmins.
Ian Cole is recovering from surgery on his hips and isn’t expected to be available until December.
Jayson Megna is among those competing for the one or two extra forward spots the Avalanche will carry. He helped his cause Wednesday with a goal in Colorado’s 4-1 win in Las Vegas. He has three goals and an assist in four preseason games.
Forwards Shane Bowers, A.J. Greer, Vladislav Kamenev and T.J. Tynan remain in the mix, along with Valeri Nichushkin, who I think will make the team.
Of course, everything changes once Mikko Rantanen finally signs.
Locks up front: Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Andre Burakovsky, Matt Calvert, J.T. Compher, Joonas Donskoi, Tyson Jost, Nazem Kadri, Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, Matt Nieto. Colin Wilson (shoulder surgery) has been skating while wearing a non-contact jersey.
The Avalanche are set in goal with Philipp Grubauer and Pavel Francouz, who made 16 saves Wednesday in the win against Vegas. He lost his shutout with 17 seconds to play.