All 22 players at Avalanche development camp Tuesday spent nearly all their ice time under the supervision of skating coach Tracy Tutton, a skating specialist with the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League who has worked with other NHL teams. Defense development consultant Adam Foote also helped out.
First-round draft pick Mikko Rantanen said he needs to work on the "explosiveness to my skating, the first couple strides," a weakness he hopes to improve before training camp in September.
"It was nice to skate with the skating coach and try to learn new things," said Rantanen, who was taken with the 10th pick in last month's NHL draft. "I'll try to learn from those when I go back to Finland, some techniques to get more explosive in my skating. I feel confident. When I go back home I'll work hard and improve my weaknesses to be ready to fight for a place in training camp."
There are no guarantees, of course, but the 6-foot-4, 211-pound right wing wants to follow the same route to the NHL as Colorado's Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon, who made the opening-night roster as teenagers, as did former Avalanche forward Ryan O'Reilly.
"I will do everything I can to be there and fight for a place in the lineup," Rantanen said. "I know it's hard and it will take hard work, but I will do everything I can and fight as hard as I can to be there."
The Avalanche won't put any pressure on Rantanen, who could return to Europe or play for the San Antonio Rampage, Colorado's new AHL affliliate.
"I would like to see him play for us, but we're certainly going to be very patient," coach Patrick Roy said. "He'll come to camp and we'll see how it goes."
Rantanen, who is from Nousiainen, Finland, had nine goals, 19 assists and 22 penalty minutes in 56 games last season, his second with TPS Turku in the Finnish Elite League (Liiga). He had four goals in five games at the 2015 World Junior Championships and was considered the top European in NHL Central Scouting's final draft rankings.
"I think it has been helping me to play against men the past two years in Finland," he said. "I think it has helped me a lot."
Rantanen said he felt comfortable playing on the smaller North American rinks in Canada during the 2015 World Junior Championships and doesn't foresee a problem adjusting to NHL surfaces.
"I actually enjoy playing on a small rink," he said. "I enjoy that more. Things happen quicker and faster, so it's good. Small rink or big rink, you can play hockey if you are good.
"My strengths are making plays, having hockey sense and of course protecting the puck and playing near the boards. One thing I try to do is be big and try to help the team with that. Hard work." *****
The Avalanche on Tuesday announced that former NHL defenseman Dave Farrish has been named an assistant coach, and Brett Heimlich video coordinator.
Farrish will work with defensemen as a replacement for Andre Tourigny, and Heimlich takes over for Mario Duhamel. Tourigny and Duhamel were on Roy's staff the past two seasons. Farrish and Heimlich join holdover assistant Tim Army.
Farrish, 58, most recently was an assistant from 2012-14 with Toronto. He was an assistant in Anaheim for seven seasons, including when the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007.
"Dave brings a wealth of experience and hockey knowledge to our organization," Roy said in a release. "He is the ideal candidate to complement our coaching staff and we look forward to working together to make our team as competitive as we can."
The upcoming season will be Farrish’s 25th in coaching at the NHL, AHL, IHL or ECHL levels. Farrish had 17 goals and 110 assists in 430 NHL games from 1976-84, playing with the New York Rangers, Quebec Nordiques and Maple Leafs. Heimlich, 29, spent the past eight seasons as video coordinator with San Jose.