J.T. Compher's development is on the fast track.
Acquired as part of the Ryan O’Reilly trade with Buffalo three years ago, the former University of Michigan star showed glimpses of his value last season when he had 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 69 games as a rookie, and contributed three assists in six playoff games.
Compher was the first Colorado rookie to collect two or more power-play goals, shorthanded goals and game-winning goals (two overtime goals) in the same season. A natural center, he has played all three forward positions and contributes plenty of speed and grit.
Compher got off to a quick start this year with three goals and an assist in the first five games before he missed 16 games with a head injury he sustained against Calgary on Oct. 13.
He returned Friday against Arizona, scored two first-period shorthanded goals 85 seconds apart while killing the same penalty, and banged in the tying goal Saturday against Dallas with 2:42 left in the third period. Mikko Rantanen scored the go-ahead goal with 1:56 remaining in the 3-2 win.
More of a playmaker in college than a goal scorer, Compher has six goals and one assist in seven games this season.
"I loved his start to the year, he was outstanding,… coach Jared Bednar said. “He was a big loss for us. A right-hand shot, center, power play, penalty kill -- he does a lot of different things for us.
“He may not be a household name around the league, but he is a really good player and a really smart player, a good situational player. He did a lot of hard work to get back."
It’s a small sample size, but the Avalanche are 5-1-1 when he’s played this season. Compher spent significant time on the fourth line after recovering from his injury, but Bednar put him on a line with fellow second-year forwards Alexander Kerfoot and Tyson Jost in the waning minutes of Saturday’s game after the Stars took a 2-1 lead.
“I like what J.T. has been doing lately, he has a hot stick,… Bednar said. “We were running out of time and I wanted to get him out there with some guys that might have a chance to score. That was the biggest shift of the game for us.
“You're down 2-1, you have three young guys go out and hound the puck. They were getting above it, creating a secondary forecheck, created a couple chances and J.T. winds up banging in a rebound.…
The trio kept the Stars hemmed in their end with some hard forechecking and it paid off when Compher scored after goalie Anton Khudobin stopped Kerfoot’s shot but couldn’t control the rebound with Compher digging at the puck.
“We were just flying around getting pucks and bodies to the net,… Compher said. “That's when we're at our best, when we're driving the net and attacking. We pinned them in the offensive zone, we had a few good backchecks to keep the play alive. We had bodies and pucks going to the net and I just happened to be the one who was there at the end to slam it in.…
While Colin Wilson has played well with Kerfoot and Jost, Bednar might keep Compher there Tuesday in Nashville.
As for Compher and the splash he’s made since returning:
“Just trying to help anyway I can, to produce,… said Compher, who killed penalties and won three of four faceoffs. “The first two games it's come in goals, but I can help in other ways. It feels good to be able to help the team when I came back.…
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The Avalanche honored Ryan Straschnitzki and Jacob Wassermann, two survivors of the Humboldt Broncos bus tragedy, in a pregame ceremony Saturday.
The players are paralyzed from the midsection down from the April 6 accident when the Broncos team bus and a semi-truck collided in Saskatchewan. Sixteen team members including players, coaches and staff were killed, and 13 others were injured.
Straschnitzki and Wassermann were invited by Dawg Nation to take part in a sports weekend in Denver. Dawg Nation is a Denver-based nonprofit that helps members of the hockey community in need and has raised more than $1.3 million since 2011.
The players also went to the University of Denver hockey game Friday and attended the Broncos NFL game Sunday against Pittsburgh.
They have started to play sled hockey and hope to eventually represent Team Canada at the Paralympic Winter Games.