Colorado Avalanche: Thoughts on Day 2 of Training Camp

Day 1 of Colorado Avalanche training camp started off with a bang, and Day 2 continued at the same pace as the previous day.

The roster went through the same routine on the second day as they did the first day, with two squads scrimmaging on the main ice while the other roster ran drills on the secondary rink.

The great speed and physicality that defined the first day of training camp continued to show today.

After six scrimmages, there are definitely some things that are coming into focus, so here are my impressions from the second day of training camp.

Gabriel Landeskog

He continued to play well positionally but wasn't quite as dominant during this day of scrimmaging as he was yesterday.

He kept up with the pace easily and remained responsible, but there was a definite different feel today.

Yesterday, Landeskog did all the physical initiating any time he was on the ice, and I think that got the attention of some of the veterans because right off the start of the day, Landeskog took a hard hit from Erik Johnson.

Landeskog also got the business from Kyle Quincey throughout the course of the day as well. Still, to Landeskog's credit, it didn't stop him from going to the dirty areas of the ice and initiating some contact of his own.

After today, I think Landeskog has a much clearer picture of what things will be like in the NHL night in and night out from seasoned NHL defenders, and he was able to stand up to it.

The only thing is going to be getting his body used to the punishment, which he should definitely be able to do as he is in great physical shape.

Goalies

I've recently had the great pleasure of spending a decent amount of time with Justin Goldman, who does a ton of goalie scouting for his site The Goalie Guild.

I'm getting some amazing insights into goalies, technique, coaching and more.

Both of us agree that Varlamov has looked fantastic in his first two days of camp as he tries to get himself mentally ready for the regular season.

He looked a bit shaky to start off his first scrimmage but was able to settle in after making a great glove save off of a penalty shot. After that, Varly stopped everything that came his way and really looked fantastic.

He looks strong and poised and his only real issue in camp thus far is getting used to how his new goalie pads react as he makes kick saves.

J.S. Giguere continues to play the role of mentor very well and played solidly in his only scrimmage of the day as well.

The biggest issue with Giguere is ability to get to second chance shots. The only goal he gave up was on a second chance shot that Giguere didn't even make an effort to get to.

All in all, he looks very good and is showing what a great teammate he is, banging his stick on the ice every time the goalie on the other end makes a big save. He did that several times while Avalanche prospect Calvin Pickard was being peppered with shots on the other end.

Probably the most impressive goalie of the day was Finnish Avalanche goalie prospect Sami Aittokallio.

Aittokallio was consistently peppered by the line of Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk and Peter Mueller but showed great poise.

His positioning was perfect, and the way he controlled the shots was fantastic. It would be easy for a 19-year-old kid to get a little starstruck by the players shooting against him, but he was very in the game and stopped a bunch of shots on way to allowing only one goal all day.

The most notable thing about the goalies over the past couple of days actually has nothing to do with goaltending on the ice, but rather the fact that Avalanche goalies coach Kirk McLean was nowhere to be seen.

This leads to the question of how on Earth do you expect your young goalies to develop if your goalie coach isn't there the only days of the year where he will have every single goalie in the system present?

This topic is one that really can set Goldman off if you ask him about it, and it's very hard to argue against. The Avalanche have a lot of young goalies in the system that need guidance, and J.S. Giguere cannot be the coach for the whole team.

Players Gaining Favor

Roster spots are up for the taking and there are some players that are definitely making the most of their opportunities.

Cody McLeod's job definitely has been on the line with the signing of guys like Patrick Bordeleau, so McLeod knew that he had to have a good camp if he wanted to keep his spot.

McLeod has impressed in all facets of the game, playing very well on both ends of the ice. His physical game has definitely come to the forefront as well, as he has really been looking to hit absolutely anything that comes near him on the ice.

After two days it looks like Cody McLeod should be keeping his job.

Joakim Lindstrom struggled in his first stint in the NHL before heading back to Europe.

Last season, while playing in the Swedish Elite League, Lindstrom lead the league in scoring before signing a contract with the Avalanche.

His play in camp has been incredible, to say the least. He was placed on the top line with Paul Stastny and David Jones and has really been one of the best players on the ice throughout camp.

Today, Lindstrom absolutely undressed Kevin Porter in a scrimmage at his defensive blue line before feeding a great lead pass to Paul Stastny who buried a goal.

Lindstrom will not only make the team, he will most likely be on one of the top two lines with the play and chemistry that he has found with the Avalanche.

Stefan Elliott has played a very solid camp but has been kind of quiet about it.

On the first day of camp Elliott made a couple of fantastic offensive plays, one resulting in a goal from an absolute laser of a shot. He has also been very impressive defensively.

He's doing all the little things right, tying guys up in such a way that they can't get quality shots at his net and making great outlet passes.

Elliott might not make the opening-night roster, but he has played very well and could see some time on the big club this year.

Players Falling From Grace

Chuck Kobasew has been virtually invisible during the first two days of training camp.

On Day 1, Kobasew did manage a few good scoring chances but was barely a blip on the radar today. I'm not certain if this is because he thinks he already has a spot on the roster, but there are several people outplaying Kobasew right now.

Brandon Yip had a bad sophomore year in the NHL, and his camp has not improved his status any.

Yip has been out of position, making bad passes and has just been behind the general flow of the game throughout camp.

As of right now, I don't see a spot for Yip on the roster, and he'll be lucky if the Avs don't waive him entirely.

Yip is fairly popular amongst the fans, but he has been doing more to hurt the team lately than help them.

Dillon Donnelly is a very young defensive prospect for the Avalanche, and he showed exactly how green he is during camp today.

In two shifts, Donnelly made about four bad defensive zone turnovers. That is not the way to impress your coaches.

Kevin Porter hasn't been particularly bad during training camp, but he sure hasn't done a lot to make anybody go, "We can't send this guy back down."

He's shown a willingness to play physically, but he continues to show moments of ineptitude in strong offensive situations by missing the net on point blank shots and making bad passes to wide open teammates.

Opening-Night Roster Predictions

There is still one more day of camp and the Burgundy and White game to get through, so a lot can change, but here are my predictions for the opening-night roster for the Avalanche.

Line 1: Joakim Lindstrom, Paul Stastny, David Jones

Line 2: Peter Mueller, Matt Duchene, Milan Hejduk

Line 3: Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O'Reilly, T.J. Galiardi

Line 4: Daniel Winnik, Jay McClement, Cody McLeod

Defense 1: Erik Johnson and Jan Hejda

Defense 2: Kyle Quincey and Ryan O'Byrne

Defense 3: Shane O'Brien and Ryan Wilson

This is still very up in the air as I'm not totally sure what the plans are for Chuck Kobasew, Matt Hunwick or Kyle Cumiskey.

Two days down and two more to go.

Of all the things that remain uncertain about the NHL season, one thing that cannot be denied is that there is a ton of excitement surrounding this Avalanche team and with good reason.