Colorado Avalanche: Thoughts on Day 1 of Training Camp

The Colorado Avalanche hit the ice for training camp and immediately showed that they were a completely different team than the one from last season.

In three different scrimmage sessions, the Avalanche roster showed that the extra size they acquired in the offseason wasn't going to affect their speed in a negative fashion at all.

Here are some thoughts that came to me throughout the course of the first day of training camp.

Jan Hejda

Jan Hejda might end up being one of the most underrated signings of this entire offseason.

His play was strong all around and he showed a great chemistry with Erik Johnson.

Hejda was especially impressive with his positioning. There were several times throughout the day where Hejda used his size, strength and good positioning to fend off forecheckers who were coming on hard.

Each time, Hejda was able to maintain control of the puck, drop the oncoming skater and make a strong outlet pass.

Hejda will be such a great addition to the Avalanche blue line and will make a great partner for Erik Johnson.

Kyle Quincey

Quincey has a disappointing start to last season which ultimately ended in a season-ending shoulder injury, so it was important that he come out and have a good camp.

Quincey was one of the best defenders on the ice and was easily the best defender on the grey team. He jumped into the play frequently, pinched in well, made great passes tape to tape and really tossed people around in the defensive zone.

It is clear that Quincey worked a lot on his physical strength during the summer and that is paying off in a big way.

Quincey really looked like he was playing to prove a point, and he definitely started to prove that point today.

Cody McLeod

McLeod might have been the best player in the entire day all around—he was absolutely everywhere.

He scored the first goal of the day after he created a turnover, fought through two defenders and made a great move to put the puck through Semyon Varlamov.

McLeod was easily the most physical player on the ice, making big hit after big hit on anybody and everybody he could find.

The group sitting around me decided that McLeod was the welcoming committee for all of the rookies.

Joakim Lindstrom

The Avalanche signed Lindstrom before the end of the playoffs last season out of the Swedish Elite League, where he was the leading scorer.

I was a little surprised to see Lindstrom on the same line with Paul Stastny and David Jones at the start of the day, but he quickly showed that he belonged there.

I was very impressed with everything that Lindstrom did while he was on the ice.

He handled the puck well, used his speed very well, has great skill handling the puck and skated aggressively towards the center of the offensive zone.

He didn't score during the scrimmages, but he did show a great amount of patience just before slamming a shot straight off of the post.

Lindstrom definitely had a great start to camp.

Semyon Varlamov

Varlamov had a lot of pressure on him coming into camp and also has a lot of emotions that he must be dealing with after the tragic crash that killed an entire KHL team, the one he would have been playing for had the Avalanche not made a move to acquire him.

It was very comforting to see the way he played. He looked big in his crease, continued to make those great reaction saves that he is capable of, controlled things very well and just looked solid.

For a more complete look at Varlamov and the other goalie on the Avalanche squad, take a gander at my buddy Justin from The Goalie Guild and his review on the Avalanche netminders from day one of camp.

Gabriel Landeskog

Landeskog gave everybody a quick scare at the start of his first scrimmage when he challenged and blocked a shot that quickly sent him to the bench.

After walking back and forth for a bit to get the zing out of his leg, Landeskog came back onto the ice with a vengeance.

Landeskog did absolutely everything that he had been advertised to do since the Avalanche drafted him second overall.

He went straight to all of the dirty spots on the ice and shook things up, throwing checks and being a pest right in front of the net.

The first goal of the blue team's camp came off a shot from Ryan O'Byrne that goalie J.S. Giguere never had a shot to see because Landeskog was right in front of the net, screening.

In his second scrimmage of the day, Landeskog was the best player on the ice, netting two goals and really taking things over.

I can't wait to see this guy on the opening night roster.

Overall Opinion

Overall, the first day of Avalanche training camp was incredibly positive for the team and the many fans who came by to watch.

The Avalanche maintained the speed that has really been their trademark over the past couple of seasons, but the thing that made me so happy was how physical this team has become.

Yes, some physicality is to be expected during training camp as many players are looking to prove that they have the intensity to make the NHL team, but the Avalanche lacked toughness last year in a bad way and that has returned.

Players like T.J. Galiardi, Peter Mueller, Kyle Quincey, Patrick Bordeleau, Zach Cohen, Cody McLeod and even Matt Duchene showed an improved ability to play physically on the puck.

Defense looked really good overall as well. I think my predictions of defensive pairing are going to stay the same, but it was nice to see the depth that has really improved over the summer.

Finally, it seems that this Avalanche team has gotten the message that speed and physical play will do better and that increased toughness will, even if they struggle this season, make them a much more difficult team to play against.

Let's hope that the second day of camp continues to show such promise.