Former first-round draft pick Jack Skille, a 28-year-old right wing, is in Avalanche training camp on a professional tryout contract and impressed coach Patrick Roy on Saturday during a veteran-laden practice before the young players scrimmaged.
"He had a good practice with us," Roy said. "I like his intensity, he works hard. It's clear, he's on a mission to make the team. And that's what we like. We have a lot of depth this year. We have a lot of depth at every position this training camp. Goaltending, defensemen, forwards ... it's going to be good challenge for us as coaches to make the final cuts. I'd rather have tough decisions than know who I'm going to keep."
Skille (pronounced Skilly) played on a line with center Nathan MacKinnon and Alex Tanguay. A 6-feet-1, 215-pounder, he skates well for a player his size and is more than willing to move into the hard areas of the ice to retrieve the puck or make a hit.
"I'm trying to break a trend here and earn my way back into the NHL full time," Skille said. "This was the best opportunity that was presented so far, so I took advantage of it. It's tough, but at the same time if you're talking other contracts -- two ways or whatever -- at the end of the day the worst-case scenario is you end up a free agent.
"But my mindset is to make this team. It's a good opportunity and if I have a good camp and prove myself, I think I should be all right. I like to call the spot I'm in the money spot."
Skille, who is from Madison, Wisc., was Chicago's first pick (No. 7) in the 2005 NHL draft. He played two years for the U.S. National Development Under-18 Team and two more at the University of Wisconsin before turning pro, playing parts of two seasons in the AHL. He made his NHL debut with the Blackhawks in 2007-08 and bounced around since, spending time with Florida and Columbus.
Skille had six goals and two assists in 45 games with the Blue Jackets last year before undergoing season-ending shoulder surgery in February. He has 30 goals, 31 assists and 95 penalty minutes in 239 NHL games.
"I'm 28 and I've never felt better and I'm going to try and take advantage of that and hopefully keep going," he said. "I feel pretty good and this is a good group of guys and I've enjoyed my time here so far."
Skille is hoping his jersey No. 8 might be a good omen.
"It is a nice number," he said. "I've never worn No. 8 and I like it so we'll see if it sticks."
Skille said he thought the Blue Jackets would re-sign him before July 1, but "things fell through," he said. "I took a different approach instead of rushing into a two-way contract the way I did the previous two years the first day of free agency. My agent and I said to be patient and see what other opportunities came about. Colorado came calling about a month later, explained the scenario and the opportunity that would be here."
New Avalanche assistant general manager Chris MacFarland was familiar with Skille because he had the same position in Columbus before joining the Colorado front office.
"He knows me and the type of player that I am, that I can play at this level and help the lineup," Skille said. "They're looking for an experienced guy to come in and prove himself. I've had some unfortunate injuries, but I know how to play that bottom six (forward) role and be efficient at it.
"I have size, speed, I'm gritty, my shot (is effective). The thing I have to focus on is being strong on the walls in the D-zone and playing a north-south game. If I do that, I can be effective out there."
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Roy also was impressed with first-round pick Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Brandon Gormley during the young players scrimmage. Gormley, who was acquired from Arizona for Stefan Elliott, is 23 and was a first-round selection (No. 13) by the Coyotes in 2010.
"Today we liked Gormley a lot," Roy said. "He played with Mat Clark and they played very well. Our guys thought they were the best pairing on the ice."
Rantanen was at right wing with center Mikhail Grigorenko and left wing Andreas Martinsen, who was signed as a free agent after playing in Germany last season. Talk about a big line: Rantanen is 6-4, 211; Grigorenko 6-3, 209; and Martinsen 6-3, 220. "He's got skills," Roy said of Rantanen. "It's nice to see. I thought he brought his game to another level. He will play in some exhibition games as well, give us a better idea where he is in his game and if it's time for him to play in the NHL or not."
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Jesse Winchester, who missed all of last season because of concussion issues, played left wing in the scrimmage on a line with seventh-round pick Gustav Olhaver, who is 6-6, 213, and Garret Meurs.
"It was up-tempo for the most part and just getting the legs again," Winchester said. "I felt good. I had quite a few bumps out there and I felt pretty good. I try not to think about it, just playing hockey. It's fun to be out there battling again."
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Roy said he plans to put Rantanen on a line with Carl Soderberg and Gabriel Landeskog on Sunday in the Burgundy and White Game at the University of Denver. Landeskog had a "bit of a sore groin," Roy said, and didn't take part in the post-practice conditioning sprints but is expected to play Sunday.
Grigorenko will center a line with Tanguay and MacKinnon. Matt Duchene will center Martinsen and Jarome Iginla.
Goalies Semyon Varlamov and Spencer Martin will split time in goal for one team, with Calvin Pickard and Reto Berra doing the same for the other team.