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Grubauer set for preseason debut |
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Rick Sadowski
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Notes and quotes from Avalanche camp Friday:
* Goalie Philipp Grubauer will start in goal Saturday at Minnesota and Pavel Francouz will be the backup.
“It’s going to be exciting, first time strapping on the jersey,” Grubauer said. “That’s going to be awesome. You just want to get adjusted to the game speed, see the puck. You can practice as long as you can, but game situations are different.”
Grubauer, 26, was acquired from Washington on June 22 for a second-round pick (No. 47) in the 2018 NHL draft, after which he signed a three-year, $10 million contract. The Avalanche had sweetened the trade by taking defenseman Brooks Orpik, who had one year and $5.5 million left on his contract, easing the Capitals’ salary cap situation; they bought out Orpik, who eventually re-signed with Washington for one year at $1 million.
“I had success in Washington and I want to bring that to here,” said Grubauer, who went 15-10-3 last season with three shutouts, a 2.35 goals-against average and .923 save percentage for the Stanley Cup champions. “I'm really stoked to be here. I think there's big things coming up here.”
Grubauer and his family have settled into their new home and are getting familiar with their new surroundings.
“We’ve got all our stuff in the house and have adapted a little bit,” said Grubauer, who is from Rosenheim, Germany. “I’ve gotten to know the guys, and everybody’s so nice and trying to help. We went to Garden of the Gods once, to Evergreen, and we’re going to go a little farther west and explore a little bit and do some hiking. That’s really exciting for me. It’s almost like home. I grew up close to the Alps and it feels like home. It’ll be nice to get into the mountains and hike a little bit.”
* Coach Jared Bednar expects a crisper team performance against the Wild than the Avalanche delivered Tuesday in their 5-1 home loss to Vegas even though core members Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, Tyson Barrie, Erik Johnson and Semyon Varlamov won’t travel.
“I expect more out of our group,” Bednar said. “(We’ve had) a couple extra practices and if you look at the lineup and the guys that are left here, they’re all pros. They’re either going to be here or up the road in Loveland (with the AHL Eagles). Most of these guys have been through a couple camps with us. We had a lot of kids playing (Tuesday) who are new to the organization, so I expect this group to tighten things up a little bit.”
* Defenseman David Warsofsky is in Boston getting a second opinion on some tests he had in camp. “Then he’ll be back to join the team, hopefully with some good news,” Bednar said.
* Rantanen didn’t skate Friday after leaving the ice early Thursday with a muscle strain … forward Matt Calvert returned to practice after missing Thursday with the same ailment.
* Defensemen Conor Timmins and Sergei Boikov skated and shot pucks during goalie drills in the morning session. They haven’t yet taken part in full team practices as they recover from injuries.
* Defensemen Nikita Zadorov and Patrik Nemeth practiced while wearing regular jerseys. They had non-contact jerseys previously after undergoing offseason surgeries. They are expected to play in the final three preseason games.
* Forward Matt Nieto had an eventful summer. He signed a new, two-year $3.95 million contract with the Avalanche and got married. “Really happy,” said Nieto, who scored a career-high 15 goals last season.
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