Colorado Avalanche: Mild Expectations In 2010-2011

The sensations felt by fans of the Colorado Avalanche after the 2009-2010 season can be compared to that of seeing 2010's 'The Karate Kid' in theaters. The story had been done before, the cast primarily featured unknowns, and the overall expectations were of a fairly nauseating experience.

Instead, one left theaters with feelings of contentment, best manifested by the quote "hey, that wasn't so bad."

Shedding their tag as one of the league's worst teams only a season removed from fitting the description, the youthful Avalanche are looking to add a different tag to their image.

It won't be easy.

Colorado's offseason can only be described as lethargic; while other Northwest Division teams were bulking their rosters up for deep postseason runs or injecting great young talent into their lineup, Avalanche brass was content with a checking line forward as their lone acquisition.

As the St. Louis Blues learned a season ago, making the playoffs is sometimes too daunting a task for a roster full of players barely out of high school, even if it was done the year before. The Avalanche have only three players over the age of 30—Adam Foote, Scott Hannan, Milan Hejduk—and have 10 players age 24 or younger, including a pair of 19 year olds in Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly.

This is where the tired, worn-out term "rebuilding" is inserted into the conversation.

Because they're so young, and because they have so little invested financially, determining what to consider a success when game 82 wraps up at the end of the 2010-2011 season differentiates from your run-of-the-mill NHL team.

Improvement on their eighth place Western Conference finish in 2009-2010 is ideal, but not necessarily a measure of a successful season. Instead, the improvement of individual players will be the story of Colorado's forth coming season.

Sophomores Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly, and T.J. Galiardi are coming off of outstanding rookie seasons, and the departure of veterans Darcy Tucker, Brett Clark, and Marek Svatos means not only will they be relied on to improve on their already impressive point totals, but to also become the leaders of the Avalanche, both on and off the ice.

Meanwhile, highly touted rookie defensemen Jonas Holos, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Colby Cohen will look to make their mark in the NHL, injecting new life into an old and withered defensive squad.

Colorado's talented young players carry the future hopes of a Stanley Cup Championship on their shoulders, and the 2010-2011 season is their chance to carve out a niche in the NHL. Only when they show what they can—and can't—do will they be surround them with high payroll veterans aspiring to win the Stanley Cup.

Unfortunately, Jackie Chan can't quite churn out the one liners like Pat Morita could, so I'll borrow one from him when conveying expectations to Avalanche fans about the upcoming season:

Patience, Daniel-san.