Sights and sounds: Avalanche Development Camp Day Three and Scrimmage Recap

1 year ago  /  Mile High Hockey

Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images


A scrimmage wrapped up an action-packed week for the rookies. Day three of the Colorado Avalanche Development involved a short morning which looked more like a regular in-season morning skate. Therefore, time on the ice was short-lived for the guys who did some simple drills and post-practice skatearound which saw some guys working on their craft.


With things wrapping up as a group, Colby Ambrosio and Mikhail Gulyayev have been working with each other on some passing along the boards, and now feeding each other one-timers #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/PiQJf9JXB9— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) July 5, 2023



Later in the evening came the 4-on-4 scrimmage between Team White and Team Burgundy. Anticipation for some sort of hockey action was high, helping with the fact that there were several key prospects to watch.


Roster for tonight’s 4v4 scrimmage: pic.twitter.com/vz49SR8s24— Meghan Angley (@megangley) July 5, 2023



First Period
In the first of two 25-minute periods, it would be all Team Burgundy. Ivan Zhigalov played for both sides and was busy on both ends. Owen Allard for Team White would miss an early shot off the bar, leading to a break for Matthew Steinburg to finish off and take the lead.
Taylor Makar missed on an ensuing breakaway, as did Mikhail Gulyayev the other way but at least did hit the net. Gulyayev, despite all the challenges facing him off the ice, rose up and made his presence known in the first half of the scrimmage.


Mikhail Gulyayev is making an impact. Had a couple stops, just couldn’t finish on a breakaway, and is even yelling for the puck and for his teammates to move to cover players #GoAvsGo— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) July 5, 2023



One of his teammates, Hunter Anderson, also made a statement for himself. He put away two of Burgundy’s three total goals in the first period. On both shots, he went between the arm and the body of the netminder. He hasn’t made much of an impact in the practices leading up to the scrimmage but helped his team grab the lead heading into the only intermission up three goals.
Second Period
After an early Taylor Makar penalty shot was stopped, this settled down for the time being. Team White managed to defend some more but couldn’t find the net themselves. This was thanks to the play of Gianni Fairbrother jumping into plays, Jason Polin doing well moving the puck, and Anderson continuing to put himself into good positions.
Meanwhile, Sam Malinski was another standout for Team White having several good shifts, including one with smooth skating and a couple of shots, but it didn’t find twine. Therefore, he and his team had to pay.


Sam Malinski just had an excellent shift, skating circles around burgundy and getting a couple shots, none of which found the net #GoAvsGo— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) July 6, 2023



Jeremey Hanzel got in on the fun for Team Burgundy with two goals within the span of about 30 seconds. His first one was a slick move to beat his man at the blue line and go top corner, while the next goal he went low five-hole on 6-foot-8 netminder Cooper Black to make it 5-0.
Dominik Pavlet, another invitee goaltender ended his span of the game with some great saves coming out of his crease and flashing the glove on a couple of occasions, earning an audible gasp and applause from his teammates and the small crowd. Even with the physicality turned up in the final minutes, it would be all she wrote in a shutout win for Team Burgundy.


Dominik Pavlet just made two great saves way out of his crease and flashing the glove, earning an audible gasp from his teammates on the burgundy bench #GoAvsGo— Mile High Hockey (@MileHighHockey) July 6, 2023



Takeaways
Even with the shutout loss, Team White’s Malinski and Makar were good all week. Malinski came to the Colorado Eagles at the end of last year as a college free agent and looked good. There had been talks of whether or not he would replace Erik Johnson with his move to the Buffalo Sabres, but he will likely continue to be a good defender in Loveland Meanwhile, Makar will still be in college and has a ways to go before breaking into the professional league, so don’t dream too highly of the Makar brothers sharing the ice just yet.
Hanzel had been the surprise star all week in camp. His size and ability to skate earned him plenty of attention along with a pair of goals in the scrimmage. He is currently unsigned by the Avs, with decisions to be made about his future. Does he move up to the AHL with a depleted Eagles squad or will he be sent back to the WHL and Seattle Thunderbirds?
Finally, the name Hunter Anderson managed to grab some people’s attention with his performance in the scrimmage. He put himself in the right places, worked hard on the puck, and earned himself a duece of goals with a slick shot. He was never really noticeable in the practices but got a good look in the scrimmage. At only 18 years old, going into his freshman year to play at the University of Denver, he has a good future ahead of him for whichever team drafts him and plenty of talent to develop.
Upcoming
Well, there are no games upcoming anytime soon. We enter the true offseason for hockey in the dog days of summer and the NHL Draft and Free Agency pass by. We will wait and see whatever moves the Avs decide to make moving forward and await the return of training camp in September....

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