Colorado Eagles 3 stars for February
Photo by Matt Cohen/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
The roster keeps getting thinner but a few players still scored key goals this month. It was a light stretch of play with only ten games on the schedule but unfortunately the month of February was light on wins as well. However, a good final weekend at least brought their record to 4-3-3 for the month and 29-17-6 overall. The Colorado Eagles clearly not as hot as they once were now tasked with clinging on to a home-ice play-in for round 0 of the AHL playoffs.
The Eagles have weathered the storm of some extreme lineup changes and talent deficits due to their own injuries and help given to the Avalanche to remain competitive. Jean-Luc Foudy missed six game after the All-Star game, Alex Galchenyuk has missed most of the month and then add in the departure of Martin Kaut and now Shane Bowers it is a tall task for this team to produce consistent offense. As such, it was very difficult to find three players as true standouts for the month.
First Star - Charles Hudon - 43 GP, 18G, 19A, 37P, +9
He missed time with his own injury earlier this year but was able to make an impact when he was back in the lineup with two goals and five assists through the ten February games. Brought in to be the veteran offensive catalyst he’s lived up to that billing. Peep the assist from Foudy in this clip, the two make a nice duo and the top line for the Eagles most nights.
Ohhhhh yeahhhhhHudy puts us back on top babyyy#EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/8V8KiROWJ6— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 25, 2023
Second Star - Ryan Merkley - 11GP, 1G, 2A, 3P, -4 (with COL)
Newcomer Ryan Merkley hasn’t had an entirely smooth transition to the Colorado Avalanche organization as he’s still finding his defensive footing and even dealt with a minor back injury which kept him out of the lineup for a couple games. He did, however, score his first goal of the season and just fourth overall as a professional in a 5-1 win over Bakersfield. It is a work in progress for the young defenseman but his puck moving abilities are his strength.
Merks pads the lead #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/JE6OEwdHS2— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 16, 2023
Third Star - Wyatt Aamodt - 41GP, 2G, 10A, +5
Tasked with mostly a defensive role Aamodt is a steady physical presence as he uses his big frame but is learning the organization’s offensive concepts and can chip in a little scoring. His goal and assist performance in a 4-2 win over Abbotsford was a big part of the success that evening. There’s still hope that Aamodt can become a Andreas Englund type of success story for the Avalanche as a depth option for the blueline in the future.
Ammo with a ROCKET about 30 seconds later to give us a 2-0 lead #EaglesCountry pic.twitter.com/a9BCo5uTa6— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) February 25, 2023
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