Marek Hejduk shines on Day One of Colorado Avalanche Development camp

Avs development camp kicks off with a familiar franchise name showing well on the ice alongside guys like Cal Ritchie, Sean Behrens, Taylor Makar, and more

Start – 0:00
Eric’s thoughts on the signings – 1:00
Dev Camp! – 11:00
Who stood out? – 17:30
Pavel Francouz interview – 48:00
Superchats – 55:15

An ALLCITY Network Production

PARTY WITH US: https://thednvr.com/events

ALL THINGS DNVR: https://linktr.ee/dnvrsports

SUBSCRIBE: https://www.youtube.com/c/DNVR_Sports

Indeed: listeners of this show will get a $75 SPONSORED JOB CREDIT to get your jobs more visibility at https://indeed.com/allcity. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need Indeed.

Visit Your Front Range Toyota Stores at a location near you – Toyota is the official vehicle of DNVR.

Get Coors Light delivered straight to your door with Instacart by going to https://coorslight.com/DNVR. Celebrate Responsibly. Coors Brewing Company, Golden, Colorado.

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at
https://betterhelp.com/dnvr today to get 10% off your first month and get on your way to being your best self.

WATCH THE AVALANCHE ON ALTITUDE: https://www.fubotv.com/dnvr – Start your free 14-day trial and receive 15% off your first month!

Sign up on the Volo app using code DNVR3 to get Volo Pass for only $10/month for the first 3 months.

Manscaped: Get 20% Off and Free Shipping with code AVS at https://www.Manscaped.com

Download the Circle K app and join the Inner Circle or visit https://www.circlek.com/inner-circle!

Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code DNVR for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

Check out FOCO merch and collectibles here https://foco.vegb.net/DNVR and use promo code “DNVR10” for 10% off your order on all non Pre Order items.

Exclusively for our listeners, Shady Rays is giving out their best deal of the season. Head to https://shadyrays.com and use code: DNVR for 35% off polarized sunglasses. Try for yourself the shades rated 5 stars by over 300,000 people.

When you shop through links in the description, we may earn affiliate commissions.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Go to https://www.bet365.com/olp/open-account?affiliate=365_02162536 or use code DNVR365 when you sign up! Must be 21+ and physically located in CO. Please gamble responsibly. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help call or TEXT 1-800-GAMBLER

Circa Sportsbook: Circa | Sports® bets can only be made while physically located in the state of Colorado. Must be 21 or older. All rights reserved. Circa | Sports Colorado encourages you to gamble responsibly. Gambling problem? Call or TEXT 1-800-GAMBLER or visit problemgamblingcolorado.org

#coloradoavalanche #hockey #hockeypodcast

[Music] welcome in to the Toyota Lounge for the dmvr Avalanche podcast powered by your Front Range Toyota dealerships today was day one of avalanche development Camp lots of lots of lots of players to talk about I don’t know how many of them will actually get to but a lot of guys there a lot of fun a lot of good stuff going on before we jump into development Camp though Big E back in the room he didn’t get his chance to express his thoughts on the ab signing of Eric branstrom so e what do you think of the ab’s potential 6D sorry for my absence yesterday but I’m a big brandstrom fan I always been um I love that he can skate I love love that he can thank the game AJ was there we talked about it the other day um that rookie Cam that rookie face off whatever the first one that was in was it Vegas yeah it was Vegas yeah I think so wow I get the Vegas and Anaheim yeah I get I know backwards anyway he was unbelievable and I know it was rookie Camp I’m not that stupid right but um what I’m trying to say is his size is I listen you’re not going to like him because of his size his size is not good you know what I mean I always say that about Sammy too like you don’t have or you don’t like Sam Gerard because you think he’s very physical in front of than that and then he’s a Powerhouse that’s not what Sammy Gerard is you know yeah this guy can think the game can skate he makes things happen it’s it’s it’s effortless you know what I mean and he’s uh he’s a good player and I know forsberg back then really liked him because we had that conversation back then uh Peter forsberg and I um at that time when he was a first round pick for for Vegas it’s funny cuz all three first round picks that year for Vegas the first we’re all I mean they’ve been all gone but it was funny like they didn’t last long they used the only one left I think yeah well no I’m talking about the first year though no I I mean they’ve traded every first round pick they’ve made Suzuki branstrom and uh the guy in National Cody glass so all three that year are gone obviously they’ve been gone I love that guy Cody glass yeah you know he turned out to be a de he’s an okay for 4C I honestly funny enough I loved all three of those guys which I thought oh my God they set themselves up so wonderfully and then the guy they kept was by far the worst of the three yeah anyway go back to branstrom it’s not easy it is the NHL it’s a tough League yeah um coming over you’re you know you’re from a different country and it took him a little bit branom to you know to to G gone and it’s funny because during the chase of Mark Stone um I remember that I was working with Calgary and then there was a car Carlson Chase as well right so everybody remember Vegas was like going after those big things and and the one thing that Vegas wasn’t willing to get rid of was Eric branstrom they weren’t willing to get get rid of them and I remember at the time branstrom was a tip toop Blue Chip Prospect like a top 10 guy like absolutely everybody thought that this guy was going to be what Quinn Hughes has become yeah y exactly and then I was working with calary at the time and we weren’t willing to let go maybe it was valami or whatever it was uh you know that that young first rounder that they wanted us part of the package and then finally finally Vegas said screw it we’re putting him the package and that’s all they got Mark so now they have a cup EXA exactly I mean call Hey listen you could be mad at Vegas all you want like everything they’ve done has been masterful whe people are going to say it’s not within the rules or whatever it was Hey listen they’ve done some great work you know I mean like starting with their expansion draft but branstrom was the guy the year before they didn’t get uh Eric Carlson they didn’t want to put rrom and I I think the ownership was like hey we go for it and then that mentality changed and then since then it’s been crazy a little bit and then they uh you know obviously they went and then the next year they decided to put branstrom in there you know what I mean and and that’s you Eric Brom is it took him a little while he can skate uh listen I think he’s it’s smart of him to come to this team it’s a transition team as we know I think he’s betting on himself a little bit like drw last year a little bit like hey I’m going to go there for one year at 9 900 right yeah taking a pay cut right I’m going to go there and I’m just going to go and play up to my potential and and some people were a little mad that there’s maybe a little bit of a log Jam now Hey listen I said it in pod the day before I I like log jams it’s part of being an NHL player you if you’re not willing to fight every day then you you you shouldn’t be in this league when I say fight I’ll say it again not for violence fight within your spot like get your spot and that’s what makes teams better and if there’s eight capable guys then that’s awesome then let them freaking figure it out and if you’re going to lose one on waivers then that means you did a good job as management that you you know what teams know that we’re handcuffing we’re going to lose a guy or we Sayed from development camp on till rookie Camp to rookie face off whatever it is make them make decisions so you know what sign it another one one cmax is listening like sign another one go it’s all good let’s make competition and that’s how you get better I I that last bit’s important to me it has to be a competition if you’re going to go out if you’re going to go out and give a bunch of guys contracts and then just play Jack Johnson for 82 games in that spot the Log Jam makes a lot less sense obviously it’s not much of a log Jam as it is just a log yeah at that point exactly it’s uh too thick for the the Beavers to chew through behind it I guess like Sam melinsky then bring it on man bring it on I’m him Bring It On Let’s Go yep and we all know bransom can play you guys you talked about that yesterday you can play the right right obviously um if if I’m a guy like that like I I always say it you got to worry about what you can control and it’s the toughest thing to do as a pro athlete which is just concentrate on what you can control but it’s human nature cuz it’s like oh oh God you still look on the paper you’re like oh God oh God they signed another guy oh God oh God but as management it’s like I like it as a coach it’s like I like it because they’re like oh nothing’s handed to you in this league nothing it’s the best league in the world you get you get one injury in and that guy’s in your lineup that was going to be my next thing you’re bang on things change things change that’s why drafts that’s why you don’t draft by position you know things change there’s no being if you’re a team serious about winning in the NHL there’s no oh well this is your spot so you just have it come on man choose boxes that stuff that stuff happens for like yeah top five picks being like we need to see you fail a lot before we move off why is that though why is that you tell me I’ll tell you why please do job justification that’s why first rounders and second rounders will get a better look cuz you’re justifying that you made the right pick so you’re trying to save your job cuz you keep making the wrong pick you’re fired right so that’s why they get the benefit of the d That’s why those guys get better you know good ice during training camp or you know set up the end of the burger ice to get the the caviar ice you know yeah that’s why which is which is fine it’s perfectly fine yeah they we’ll see uh again on branstrom I know we talked about him the other day but having sat on it for a day two yeah I really start to like the fact that the ABS went out and got a guy who was on RFA at the end of this season yeah and and have given themselves an opportunity to potentially extend a guy in their lineup in the future yep yep 24 years old right did he I think he just turned 25 he turned 25 in September okay he about to turn than msky and I love I love it’s true but also like the situation he was in yep didn’t do him any favors and he’s coming to a situation the organization takes itself seriously it has an identity it has a culture he gets to come in and just fit into things instead of trying to fix things which is what the expectation was of him in Ottawa very different situation if it goes really well they could sign him to a long-term deal they could just give him a qualifying offer yep sort it out later he should be arbitration eligible next year they could just do that have a two-year deal where he’s not going to make very much money but will’ll be in your lineup for exact there runway for Parker Kelly and for br Trump which can solve a lot of roster problems in the future that they ran into this summer yep I always forget Parker Kelly’s 24 years old yeah like same situation also going to be an RFA uh obviously he has a two-year deal so it’s not as an immediate thing but like if this goes well yep we could be talk about multiple contracts here again melinsky not a knock on I like them yeah brom’s younger than him yeah I’m just saying people tend to forget you know what I mean so it’s let’s all slow down here let’s all let’s go eat your green vegetables and be ready for Camp I love that go fight for it vegetables are gross but okay I don’t like vegetables sometimes you got to eat your vegetables they’re in the spot though yeah just look at our pot very a lot of vegetable eaters on this anti vegetable stances going on I’m actually I’m allergic to green vegetables I’ve tried to make this argument too it’s just it’s just Green in general send that for years now to my mom and wife poor Megan I’m allergic I don’t know I’ve seen her eat pizza oh I love both I love both can’t go wrong with veggies on Pizza I guess you definitely can what you definitely can W okay I I’d eat just about anything on a pizza to be honest I’m back in I’m back in I’m back in uh anyway we can we can move on and get into the first day of avalanche Dev Camp here and before we dive in blanket statement for everything that we’re about to talk about we’re going to analyze some of these guys we’re going to talk about some of the things they did well some of the things they did poorly this is a development Camp y there is no game situations we’re talking about guys did between 6 to 10 drills today and stuff like walking in alone on an empty net and he shot it pretty hard or whatever so don’t take anything as the gospel here when it comes to our analysis of these guys based on one day of practice essentially it’s extremely granular yep we’re looking at what we have to look at but bigger picture stuff if we liked the guy’s day it doesn’t mean he’s going to be a superstar if we didn’t like a guy’s day doesn’t mean that he’s a bum yep corre it might mean he’s a bum in your mind at least of course development Camp I rocket guys out of there immediately eject I’m it’s a it’s a good thing I don’t run a team cuz I would be pulling plugs on dudes after days like that don’t even come back for day two yeah no I would be like you have an [Laughter] injury that’s cold works for Vegas man uh I I guess we should start there I know we’ve already talked about it but no Williams Ellers he was injured and and unable to come onto the ice today also no Tory pittner and uh no Jake fiser both of them had academic things to do today that they were already promised so they weren’t skating on the ice today you also had Oscar o laon in a no contact Jersey and uh who was the other guy gay was also yeah Cooper gay was also in a no contact Jersey they are no never again allowed to invite dudes with the same name right cuz there’s a Cooper as a last name there’s a Riley Cooper and a Cooper gay they’re never allowed to do this again illegal straight to jail at least there weren’t that many names that were hard to pronounce this time true the only one I really struggled with was a goalie oh God the one from Michigan yeah Bruce wesy Bruce Bruce he’s American too yeah yeah but the name isn’t American European it’s a lot of letters that I don’t know how to pronounce in conjunction it’s like that s like skit remember when he talks about Brady Jay he’s like oh yeah yep whatever s that’s a k that’s a j is there a J in there yeah this was a very much let’s do that hockey type of day so that that that applies quite well I’m here for that the other side of that is we’re not going to talk about the goalies at all uh I know we already talked about this too but there is genuinely nothing you can even really take from this Dev Camp about the goalies we’ll probably talk about them when they do the scrimmage because then you can say hey look this is how he looked in a game situation but for today nothing to really say about the go tenders today was go tenders getting hung out the dry yep just over and over and over so if you’re trying to take anything meaningful out of it it’s just like come on yeah it’s just mean it’s def cam so yeah don’t worry too much about that uh next up we are going to get into some of the main guys including Cal Richie but before we do that I’m going to tell you about the best way to get a job or rather the best way to recruit someone for a job that is indeed if you need to hire you need indeed indeed is matching and hiring is the best matching and hiring platform in fact with over 30 50 million Global monthly visitors according to inde data and a matching engine that helps you find quality candidates fast you can ditch all the busy work with indeed for scheduling screening and messaging so you can connect with candidates even faster and indeed doesn’t just help you higher faster 93% of employers agree indeed delivers the highest quality matches compared to other job sites according to a recent indeed survey so make sure you’re getting over with indeed especially if you’re looking to hire they get you out there in front of everybody you get tons of responses so go get with them if you haven’t gotten with them today listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility at indeed.com allity just go to indeed.com allity right now and support our show by saying you heard about it on this podcast again that’s indeed.com allity terms and conditions apply need to hire you need indeed once you’ve got your uh person all hired up maybe you hired somebody to gamble for you maybe you’re running a whole racket there make sure they’re gambling on bet 365 with the code of dnvr 365 uh jump on it when you use that code you can get a $5 bet in and get $150 in bonus bets or if you would prefer you can also get a first bet safety net of up to $1,000 so that’d be $1,000 in bonus bets paid back if you’re bet does not hit either one is yours to choose with the dnvr 365 code over at bet 365 my personal favorite BET right now is betting the over on Rockies games especially in the late Innings Jesus did you see that Fiasco last night I I did not see the Fiasco I did see the stat dude Rocky pitchers from the seventh to the ninth inning have a 6.26 ER this year it was it was a creative way to lose a game sounds like the Rockies it was creative well maybe next time Nolan Jones can just throw everybody out just rely on that can you bet on assists in baseball I don’t know I haven’t looked that closely you might be able to uh whatever it is you’re betting on it do it with bet 365 and the dnvr 365 code of course you must be 21 or older and physically located in Colorado please gamble responsibly if you are someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help caller text 1800 Gambler second period of the dnvr Avalanche podcast Let’s uh let’s start this segment by doing this let’s each pick one guy who you thought stood out today at Dev Camp I already asked AJ this earlier are you sticking with the same guy well I don’t want to take Cal Richie right off the top and then have everybody else scramble so that’s all right I have a different pick so we’re good as far as I’m concerned perfect I’m taking Cal Richie they’re I think pretty unequivocally Cal Richie was the best guy on the ice today yeah it’s just a matter of that was kind of the expectation for him yeah but not much to uh give him a markdown on yeah he is the only what Top 40 pick yeah Baron was what like 52 something like that yeah so that would be closest yeah uh that was that was there um it looked like it yep he had really good size but I wonder if the size stood out because it’s a small group they brought to death C Small Stars playing in that group with him and so I do wonder how much of that was playing a role where it was just like relative to the guys he looked kind of ginormous yep um but the the skill level is it’s all there it was every everything that they asked him to do he was really good at the the skating the the the physical stuff when they barely got into it anything with the hands all of it all of it just seemed to click and I really liked you one of my favorite things to do with these types of camps where they’re not in hockey situations you watch how guys interact you watch how they talk to coaches you watch how they talk to teammates y he asks a lot of questions he wants to know little details he had a lot of conversations with Brian wiy in the session that we saw the full practice session he’s talking to wizy a lot and following up on Tiny details like that that’s a guy trying to get it trying to get trying to get better understands all right they’re giving this information to me for a reason I’m trying to maximize it and uh Taylor Mard did a lot of this too by the way um and I really like that about Richie I like and I like that interacts with the guys that he’s in groups with he’ll talk to him there’s he looks like he’s having fun uh I’m not sure any had more fun than uh Boston buckberg he was just a kind of a goofball out there at times to everybody yeah dudes moment he was just he was just like that was a guy that was just like loving the moment he was in y and I you appreciate that and he leaned on the coaching staff a lot too he’s talking to Kim Weiss a lot which I really respected by the way some pointers best defender at this Camp Kim so cool Kim white there was one drill where they were Kim Weiss was having defend guys and I I I cannot remember who it was but rudo and I were watching it early on and we were like she’s erasing people they just aren’t getting around her so Cal Richie Cal Richie Joe like he was supposed to be the best looking guy here he was he just was and I I want to see him in a game situation but this is our first live look at him and I was like oh it’s good I want to see him in open Ice I want to see him in a skill situation but looking at the individual tools on a granular level as uh as we did today oh man overreaction is he’s going to be an All-Star I I’m going to give the NIT pickiest of nitpicks here just to have something on the other end of the argument because Cal Richie scored like 40 goals today dude and he was launching bombs his release is a little slow okay he at times he likes to load up on it a little bit too much yeah and again I’m nitpicking is deep as you can nitpick on this one but sometimes at the NHL level that quarter of a second is the difference between a stick in the lane and not y there were there were three guys whose shots jumped off the ice to me today and Cal Richie wasn’t one of them hillbrand y that dude has a bomb it was hillbrand it was Riley Cooper and it was Christian humph those three guys were wiring pucks where I was like oh okay anyway Cal Richie I got to steal the easy one anything to add on Richie liked Richie too I liked the way he moved with his size like there is a size separation between hillbrand Ma and Richie y they’re clearly the bigger guys in this camp and often were in similar clusters so the size maybe wasn’t as obvious in those clusters but the way that Richie moves along his edges um the mobility that he possesses possesses gives him a speed that I think is necessary at 6’2 um but there is some power in his stride as well here’s what I’ll say about a guy like that so you look at the profile right first rounder here’s what you need fair or not fair or not you got to look above everybody else at development Camp because you’re better than them today that’s why you’re a first rounder right so you got nothing to gain you know meaning like perception you know what I mean of course you got a lot to gain you got to learn and meet the staff and you know eating and all that kind of stuff that that that’s what it’s about but as far as looking out there like he better look as the best guy out there CU then as a staff you look like a [ __ ] you’re like oh God our first rounder looks like [ __ ] you know what I mean so he looks good I agree with you nothing more to add except we talked about Linsky last year in remember in rookie cber like he’s got nothing to gain he’s can only hurt himself you know but he did what he had to do then it was on to the next step so for Cal Richie got injured last year wasn’t a death C he didn’t get a did he no no he was on a death camp a rookie face off obviously exactly of it see at anything then go to train Camp then he has a good year right he has a good year so now now he’s into the the train tracks right so he’s got to do a good impression yep which is expected at development Camp then it’s rookie face off next you know so yeah easy pick for you that’s you you like the easy picks that’s why I I will add I wasn’t counting Oscar olison in my this is he was the highest guy here he was rehabing he wor no contact he wore no contact he didn’t participate in everything he was kind of in and out of like I’m obviously not yeah counting him in that list on a day where you watched Cal Richie take a bunch of dudes lunch money in corner battles and Puck protection battles olon didn’t participate in those things so little squirly with the puck yeah it looked like he looked really rusty he looked like he hadn’t really played with a puck in a while yeah for sure given that he had what was it I think shoulder surgery yeah I wanted I shoulder would be willing to bet that he probably has not yep summer get out of here my freaking ha all right who wants to pick next go ahead Sean Baron let’s go you know you could tell among the defensemen too that he was sort of leading them in a little bit of that there’s a familiarity too with these camps too that you kind of count on him to emerge as a leader but in the way that melinsky or see at the Rickie tournament last year I could see them eyeing sha Barons for a very similar role just based on the leadership he showed in some of these drills but beyond that how he looked in the drills the puck protection drill very aggressive and just kind of smothering on his guy but within reason obviously this is still Dev camp they’re not out there to hand shoving guys either but there were some shoves um I appreciated that from them it was very tactful and then the puck uh the drill along the blue line where they’re looking for their spot and then they add two little tires in the front he looked to be the most seamless in doing it head up the whole time smooth handling and the shot could stand to be more powerful itself you like the behind it and how easy and effortlessly that comes to him so just a couple of things that stood out about him I do think he separated from his peers just in the small sample that we got from day one every year in in Dev camp we have a guy where polish is the word we talk about and I think that’s the word for Shawn Barons at this thing I particularly liked the puck retrieval drills along the wall for him he had a couple of nice keeps along that blue line in that drill and maybe more impressively on the far side on his backhand side just so consistent being able to pick that puck Off the Wall Eric will tell you how hard that really is in the NHL it is he he looks like a guy that can handle the puck when it comes to those types of situations at a high caliber level there was one drill in particular where um they were along the wall and they were sending out pucks out high and they were trying to get into the middle of the ice and baren kept grinding it to a halt because he wouldn’t let the guy get off the wall with the puck just said nope which was like the basic beginning of the drill and baron was like he was just erasing him now he’s going against other defensemen and this is not a very talented Puck moving group of Defenders that was that that that is at this Camp so it’s like important caveats here but watching when we talk about polish you just see the maturity you see where his game is already so much more advanced than the other guys where what is he learning in this where he’s just ER faing the guy like like if you’re playing a real game the drill never gets done because he takes the puck away you’re going the other direction and and watching his stick work he’s never going to be physical yep like he plays physically for a guy his size but he’s never going to be like you know he’s not a merer he’s a little fella like he’ll stand a guy up at the Blue Line AB he’s not going to send a guy into the first row Y unless it’s Alex to BR cat I I would like the organizational him and Sam Gerard going to tag team at the smalls the disdain for Alex De brincat needs to hit the Next Generation can hit the elbow on him too exactly perfect let’s let let’s let the mighty mes fight this out but with with Baron polish was there defensively I I’m dying to see the kid in a in a game situation cuz he was so smooth in everything he did today where you’re just like good good good good sorry go ahead just going to keep talking about him he looks so good in his Pro debut so confident obviously still a lot of adjustment to happen there but I think the confidence that carried over from college was really important in a young defenseman and pouring into the defensive side of his game the area that AJ’s really excited to see in game action is something that earned him you know recognition within the team for the defensive defenseman award within the team um it’s cited as the biggest area of improvement for him based on DC’s point of view and to hear Sean talk about it too the reason it was so important for him to make that Improvement is because he knew his path to the NHL required it and we talk about the forward thinking that we see in these young players and he knew coming into college that he was the puck moving guy with offensive upside but he knew he had to be more than that and he still finished out his junior year with a career high in points so he didn’t abandon that instinct of his he just got better defensively and I think to point about him not being the most physical guy that is all still true but ever since he got his body right in the off season he has been more physically engaged and I think that is a s a part of his game uh that we’ll see at the next level a little bit more we’ll get Eric’s thoughts on Barons in just a second as well as jump into one of the standout Camp invites of today but before we do that I want to focus on Shawn Baron’s not being a merer another time you don’t want to be a mer is when you’re taking care of your man part it feels like this is the read every day I’ve got a different it changes up a little bit every time go get yourself some manscaped every door is a side door with this thing exactly use code AVS to gets 20% off and free shipping over at manscaped.com get their Ultra performance package 5.0 of course it has the lawn mower trimmer that won’t Maul you but it has tons of other tools as well whether it be their toner they’ve got deodorant they’ve got soap they’ve got a nose hair trimmer you name it from beard to balls they’ve got you fully covered over at manscaped with whatever grooming you might need to do so get over there with manscaped use that ABS code to get 20% off and free shipping today and once you’ve taken care of your manscaping and I highly recommend you take care of your manscaping first then go get yourself a Kors light yeah the order of operations is important here matters there don’t do that one for you drink too to many cores they get into the manscaping it’s an adventure you don’t want to have when you’re manscaping you don’t want to be chilling you want to chill after you’re done manscaping and Coors is the beer made to [Laughter] chill honestly excellent the mountains turn blue right on the can for you so you know when it’s ice cold brewed right here in Golden Colorado it’s the beer that I reach for when I want to chill so go grab yourself a Coors Light today or better yet get it delivered right to your front door with light.com dnvr thanks to instacart you barely even have to get up off the couch to get your Kors light go get with them please party responsibly Kors Brewing Company Golden Colorado but please don’t manscape on manscape on the couch yeah no do that in the bathroom there’s a time and a place for everything the couch is where you do the course the man the bathroom is where you do the manscaping third period of the dnvr Avalanche podcast Eric did you want to add anything on Barons yeah I’m going to say the same thing I said tone down a little bit from uh Richie you know what I mean like hey this is two or three development camps right what is it for him I feel like it’s got to be three was he healthy at last year’s but I mean he’s been around G uh you know part of a good program ad deal they win the national championship so those are Little Steps right now that he’s taking I mean you got to look good if you don’t look good then they were wrong about you you know I mean and then we wouldn’t be talking about them I think if you ask people rudo is walking around today who’s the top three prospects and you know Barons is in there from everybody’s Point L of people said Barons you know what I mean so it’s like those are the steps you got to do and then you’re taking it this week he looks good he should look good and he should look better than a 17 or 18y old that just come and got drafted a few days ago it’s raw and you’re nervous and you know what I mean and that’s part of development that’s why it’s called development Camp right so you go in there you go and breathe a little bit so it’s the only thing I’m going to add about him looking forward to seeing him in real games when I say real games is he is now a pro So Pro you don’t play against you know guys your age or below your age or whatever not you’re playing against physical specimen you’re playing against and I’m not worried about him I’m I’m not I’m not saying that I’m saying but he’s he and he was smart enough to figure out his game in college because we talk about identity all the time he knows he’s not going to be Quin use or Gil marar I’m gonna have to be Mr XOM I don’t know I’m using examples right I’ve always said Tory Krug Tory Krug perfect there you go yeah if he absolutely maxed out he could be a aome like a Tory crew a proba more of a poor man’s Tory crew yeah Charlie mcy Poor Man’s I would take either of those honestly I mean if he turns him adding five more inches to him cuz I would buy that absolutely the the thing with Barons and Richie at this thing is to be honest with you the expectations were for them to look good and they did yeah but I’m way more excited to see them in a couple of months at the rookie face as compared to this as we’ve said as Eric mentioned recently there’s usually only something for these guys to lose y these are the big guns they’re we want them to look good they look good we will probably spend less time talking about them as this goes on yep because we want to see what the other guys have to offer we expect these guys are rad guess what they’re rad all right then I’ll pick a guy is it my turn yep you’re up I’ll stick with the goalies you know I it’s the year of the goalies the year of the drafting goalies we’re not going to talk about goalies no no he said I’m going to I’m going to use cluch you know why cuz I talked to him and you could see cuz he’s French the nervousness in his voice and just kind of like overwhelmed a little bit um great humble kid you know what I mean like I I thought it was so fun to was refreshing to talk and then by the end of the 3 four minutes that I was talking with them in our native tongue you know you could tell he’s more relaxed and now you could see the real him you know like the true self that he is and not so like and talking and then you could tell he was just like okay A little familiarity here you know which is some stupid it just happens to be the language right you know I mean where it’s like he’s like oh my God like you know and it’s and I’m not going to tell you he didn’t play in the USHL he doesn’t know English it’s not what I said but this is the NHL it’s nerve-wracking it’s been a whirlwind he went to Vegas he gets drafted comes straight here you’re like it’s a lot it’s a lot for those kids and that’s where I say Richie to a certain extent even though he wasn’t there you know what I mean he went through the media stuff last year he went through that you know what I mean like being a first rounder and same thing with Shawn uh but you can see the ronus I’m about Baron like same thing last few years he’s he’s is he the highest drafted guy here today who cluch well hold on for well one guy zers is heard well cuz yes naov not there yeah nabokov’s not here Z is here fish wasn’t here either Fisher and Kanan I don’t know where did he go after cler though I think he did yeah Karan did go after but I he he didn’t skate either it didn’t matter yeah so yes the highest from this year’s draft at least for today right now he’s going through right he’s going through the trenches and it’s we got our sights on him I I’ll tell you one thing you I don’t care it’s development camp or not like you put on an NHL jersey it’s overwhelming it is because you’re like oh my God this that’s why I say and you guys know my take on development Camp I hate it for the the fact of the the the the management you know what I mean like it’s kind of like you know what I mean like you hate it and you hate it for the trainers and you hat it for the equipment guys and you hat it for you know it is Fourth of July and you know but for a kid standpoint it’s awesome right because that’s I mean you’re learning you’re it’s important part of your development and look how excited Max is in LA that’s what I’m saying yeah that’s why I say I take it for granted but then I see this cluch guy you put a jersey you’re on the ice this is you know this is a French kid like you know for him Pat you’re you know Patty W for sure is a big deal you know I mean and obviously coached the Avalanche play for the Avalanche you know he’s it’s a big name so it’s like oh I’m on the same ice that bash used to skate with every day you know what I mean or Craig Billington no I’m kidding Viller I love you it’s all good um Jes but you know what I’m saying that’s a s s no it’s a joke God I respect everyone that’s played but I’m saying as a goalie it’s overwhelming or as a player it’s overwhelming it’s your first time around and you don’t know anyone and and you know I always say Europeans it takes them you know a little bit of time in the NHL same thing that’s why I like when they have somebody from their own country with them it’s just he just makes you feel better look at the fins how good they get along on this NHL team they do you know what I mean so there’s a big part to that so it’s you’re walking around and you’re going to dinners and you have a roommate and you know you got to you know it’s a little bit like college you walk in and then oh hi you know I’m AJ and you’re my new roommate you know so it’s there’s a lot of emotions for those kids so that’s why I’m picking this guy today it’s the draft of the goalies we always go back and say this is when they picked three guys in the draft right and then we’ll we’ll have a beer together in 10 years and and talk about you know who panned out the best and and we’ll be able to say like oh I remember his first day at the B man he was so nervous and you know so it’s not necessarily a non- ice play like rudo said because we’re going to stay away from goalies yeah me it was more nothing to this exactly no what I’m saying is it was more about the rawness of being a kid and going on the ice and so different than Barons or you know what I mean like where you’ve been around you know what I mean big difference all right there’s your goalie I am going to take Merrick haduk as what I think is probably not only the best invite guy here but maybe one of the best forwards on the nice today not the Cal Richie levels in fact directly got owned by Cal Richie once or twice but yeah he got beat up a little at the end but outside of that the kid just did everything right today and he looked good in every single drill that he did he has clearly a level of talent there he was rifling pucks into the net he looks good on his feet you know I get it this is just drills we’ll we’ll see on come Friday what he looks like in a game situation but I don’t know that he could have done a lot more for himself than he did today thought he was one of the best skaters yeah any other thoughts I agree okay I agree with both of that I thought he looked uh I thought he looked polished he looked good yep I love little edgy right little edgy big edgy little edgy uh twin brother David got an internship at town right now he’s working hard downtown Denver um Mom was in the stands mom was in the stands I think Dad was nowhere near in sight didn’t want to take away from probably his son which is great you know um I love the kid a great kid obviously grew up with my son and um they’re two weeks apart so it’s it great like I’ve always he’s a great SK he’s a good shooter you know it’s just a matter of putting it all together you you know he’s ndtp kid uh you know going to be a junior at Harvard went in there early in college you know what I mean like not wasn’t the 20-year-old freshman that that a lot of guys are so you know it’s just a matter of putting it together and this should be a big season for him you know after two relatively quiet season you know Hey listen the NCAA is a good freaking League we talked about that today people think it’s like oh it’s a good League especially if you’re not you’re kind of underage a little bit like it’s it can eat you up a little bit so you know I think it’s a it’s a development and progress for America and then it’s going to be a big junior year for him and but you’re right like he’s a good skin he’s a good sh he’s a good person got the hockey Bloodlines I mean let’s be real it’s a long path to professional hockey for that kid but having a good day one of Dev Camp is a pretty good start absolutely I love the pick AB it has to start somewhere right I love the pick I love it so I’m going with your pick I love it one of the guys I like today uh are there other names that we want to touch on I know I have one but I’ll let you guys go first if you have any names you want to talk about or shout out yeah we’ve been here for a couple years now but Kobe Ambrosio continues to look at these camps really good skater really good hands really natural feel for the game yep really small yep just I just don’t know that he’s going to be good enough to make up the size the things he needs to do in order to be successful in Pro Hockey but for a Dev Camp once again I really liked him I I have really liked him um it’s been hard for him in college to find his role too it’s been really competitive down the middle and I think that has made it hard he’s he hit the transfer portal and is going to use that Co year eligibility uh to maybe fight for a I think it’s huge for him cuz I think that’s what’s held him back from standing out um in college with BC but I liked Sage Weinstein um particularly in the very similar drill to the one that I also liked baren the one where they’re walking the Blue Line another one whose head was up and it just looked pretty seamless um and similarly I liked Boston buckberg he is an intriguing player too I mean obviously he was very joval on the ice but I thought that his first three strides are kind of explosive and I want to see then how that translates to the game does he play with Pace decent amount of speed it looks like he has that kind of power to do as much obviously there’s some familiarity he was on the second pair a de with Z’s brother so a little familiar there but I thought he looked pretty good in this Camp too among the defenseman that are there he got the best name in Camp that’s for really good name too Boston better than all these dudes with two first names Bucky Bergie Boston Beantown I mean it’s not it’s endless his name is endless you can just triple call whatever you want you know what I mean that’s actually a great question for him like what are his nicknames God I’d call him beant for sure probably got a lot boss Burger boss proba wanted to and it better not be FY that’ be terrible you can’t have a dope name like Boston buckberg and be nicknamed Bucky that’s that’s not good enough that’s a war crime wanted to go to BU got shut down so settle for du safety schoolship the the one guy I would shout out is Nikita P pris chopov I can say it I swear wow uh seventh round guy didn’t really know a lot about him he comes in today did everything pretty well has a pretty good shot the skating I think was the biggest thing for me I was concerned about it and it was good enough dare I even say good against his peers today and that’s encouraging it it looked like a guy who could play against this level of competition yeah there were there were things that to like he certainly was one of the big Mysteries walking in yep and I think has uh made keeping a closer eye on him viable for the rest of this week and then but you know beyond but obviously a long way to go still yeah but it it was an intriguing day for him yep I my take on I got to be careful what I say um because no I agree with rudo like you got to start somewhere right I agree with that I’m saying working for a team forget about working for a team for me I never really gave a craps but like about development Camp because of hey you know what hopefully the guys are doing their job the scouts and everything and you know if you’re on the pro side there’s three guys worth watching at the no that but exactly no but even even management side like I’m talking about highend management or the ABS and it’s like okay I can’t wait I I’ll see them in rookie camp or I’ll see them in you know where the valin camp for me for me and you guys know my expressions like what I gave a crap about was interact with kids at dinner interact with kids at to golf interact with kids in the locker room see how guys treat the equipment guys see how guys treat the medical guys see how guys treat the the stuff at at Family Sports like you know what I mean like there’s a piece of trash on the ground you walk by how you take it you put it on the trash do who’s a sausage who’s a [ __ ] like who’s a dingleberry you know for me that’s what I look for and then you hope that you’ve actually invited or picked all Great Character kids right cuz you can say you’re B character and you can be a b character so yeah you know for me my thing was always that I enjoyed cuz it is laidback and it is it is fun and it is to go it is fun to go to majanos or whatever it is that they go to team dinner and then they play uh I don’t know Chase the ace or you know what I mean like play a little card game with the fellas and just to see how they are you know what I mean and that’s kind of what I took a lot out of development camp and I and I’m not downplaying the it’s all about skates and sticks this isn’t a development camp this is an extended combine interview exactly this is what you’re doing out here yeah I mean that’s you spend time with them you get to know them and that’s you know again I Peter budai became one of my all-time favorites why because he was so freaking bad at golf and it was the first development camp and he showed up with his flipflops and it’s like we’re at the rich golf course and he’s never swor a freaking Golf Club in his life and like I said he’s in freaking flipflops and then but you spend 18 holes with him and you’re like all right he’s a great kid you know what I mean look’s still working still playing you know and it goes a long way CU if you are a sausage you’re not lasting okay be sausage on top of this I’ve already seen people ask about it in chat pavl franos now has a new role with the the Colorado Avalanche Megan you talked to him with his uh interview at the podium or the table or whatever we’re calling it today uh let’s roll that footage of Frankie talking it’s all good fire away yes has fans are pretty excited you’re back how did all this kind of come to be to of come back and help out um I mean it goes all the way to where to the point where I was retiring not retiring officially but knew I’m not going to play this year and I had this discussion with craigg Bellington he he told me about uh what they’re trying to you know accomplish trying to get the depth in the in the goalie position and he offered me I can help help out with the scouting and that’s how it all started so that’s uh yeah this uh this cooperation lasted the whole season we were preparing the list for a for a draft and uh you know when this development Camp was getting closer uh they I mean you know uh Peter budai was leaving the organization and uh Craig just offered me that I can come and be around the young goalies which I was really happy about hard is it to shift from player mentality to a scouting mentality uh yeah it’s a different you know it’s a bit different life and different perspective but uh also you know even when I was on the bench like I would look at other goalies and I feel like that kind of trained my eye and uh that kind of makes things easier for you because you know what the goalie does uh what What’s his strength and uh you’re trying to predict their future so uh yeah I think that’s big part of uh you know being able to kind of put the goalie somewhere in the list and uh it’s it’s fun I mean we had this group uh called go department where was me and Craig Billington Peter budai and uh couple more guys from the staff from the organization and we all we did was you know watching goalies and talk about them so with some of the goalies taken in this draft are there any that you in particular watched really closely and what should we be excited about some these young players yeah we watched Luca very well uh he’s the only guy who’s who was drafted and he’s able to be on on this Camp so I’ve seen tons of video on him and feel like I know him better than his parents but uh uh he him uh specifically he’s a really young goalie the the basics he has in his game are already really strong and he has a good good pathway going you know to the to the college so we think if he keeps developing the way he is he can be really good goal in the future you productive in your last season with the ABS I think about that 46 save night Carolina some those other wins at what point did you realize though that maybe some of the health stuff was was a problem long term and talk us through kind of the ultimately the retirement decision yeah you know uh uh I feel like the injuries were were kind of creeping on me you know slowly it was the the hips and then the groin my bag was bothering me for a while too so I feel like I was kind of like falling apart but the main you know the main cause was was my knee you know it was something I was dealing with long longer time and it just got into the point where it would every time I would do something it would get swollen or uh really painful and nothing was helping so we we knew that you know it’s a carage damage there’s not much you can do about it and uh I just realized that this time I I’m going to listen to the body and just what’s need to be done how do you reflect on your your time with the ads it seems like you really grew here as a player you won a cup it seems like You’ accomplished a lot it was the best time to be honest like you know I feel like my career was kind of like taking small steps I I I established myself in the Czech League then I went to KHL kind of start over and same thing happened here in North America and but you know I would never dream about playing with such a good players and winning Snelly cups so it was the ultimate dream of advice do you hope to give these just enjoy it because uh yeah I I just mentioned I feel like I just started playing and all of a sudden I’m retired so I don’t even know how how quickly it happened and looking back you’re looking at the moments when you’re like I wish I enjoyed more and stuff so I’m just trying to pass this message to them spent three years in the KHL the have top pick was one of the best goalies in the KHL you look at the NHL top goalies a lot of them are Russian and from that League what is it about that League that is developing such great goal you know yeah I mean uh they have some good coaches there for sure they’re they have a lot of uh young hockey players in their system so they have a lot of to you know take from but uh I feel like the more goalies they have in NHL the starting goalies like vasileski VAR Sorokin shorin you know it brings the young players to to be a they have a good role model so they want to be the goalie too and it just adding up you know so yeah they have some really good goalies lately and I think it’s going to be even bigger number in the future what kind of support did you receive from teammates when you’re land about your decision to retire only the best one you know I I spent a fall here in Colorado and I was going to the locker room regularly so they were really supportive supportive you know I felt I still felt like a part of the team even though I wasn’t playing so that was really nice and even when I went back to check I kept watching games and cheating for the guys so that really helped for sure what was it like to be in summer it was awesome uh I I worked on a t National TV in the studio as an expert so it was brand new experience and I couldn’t have picked better tournament for Czech because we wenton after what 14 years and the whole country was upside down so it was a it was huge event for us as you moveed forward as a scout with the organization what do you see next for you do you think about coaching do you think about other roles you could have just in in this kind of hockey world no I’m just enjoying the where I am now you know it’s it’s it’s just special to come back to this place to this state and see familiar faces and friends so uh I’m I’m really happy I can still be in touch with Colorado and with avalan so uh I’m I’m enjoying this this role now and I don’t know F Too Tall so there you go pavl franos on his new role with the ABS and uh transitioning into the coaching side of the game uh as we are winding down here we do have a bunch of super chats to get to so let’s hit those starting off with $2 from bagle sober who says what’s Frankie’s officially role with the team well now you know [Laughter] sounds like more Scout than coach more Scout yeah a lot of teams have gone to what do we call the word there a goalie uh department or whatever you know what I mean like they got a bunch of dudes I have to say I I want to say Florida was one of the first one a few years back with xabs goalie coach Fran not J Fran and then Roberto Luongo and then they go and get like I don’t even know who the guy on the ice is for for Florida but then so they got everything covered from goalie scouting from goalie oh let’s have a chat or let’s go to dinner together and guys working on the I on so it’s a whole goalie Department the ABS are doing this right now with with biller that I was not jabbing earlier um you know so biller kind of gone into that role and you can see that start at the draft right you know obviously like it or not that’s what they concentrated on this year and have a little Department around it and sounds like Frankie was at the right time of his career to you know jump into that side and a sense that obviously his career was over as a player and you know was able to jump in and now that they got you know a Russian guy in the fold and it sounds like you spent a lot of time with cluch this year right but so I mean he’ll be able to even go to to places like Russia and go from there $20 from Berkeley who says thanks for all the pods AJ you’re welcome uh $5 from Melanie says much love AJ best of luck to you thanks for all that you do much love to you $20 from from Sean who says AJ you’ve been amazing to watch over the years I’ve been watching since the days of BSN and you’ve helped grow this pod and dmvr as a whole to one of the best in the biz best of luck on your next adventures and Connecticut all love thank you I’m very excited and 28 from the incredible Drew who says can’t stay for the live show but I just wanted to thank AJ for everything he’s done for the Pod and we’ll continue to do for dnvr going to miss you on the dailies but good luck on your next adventure take care guys thank you it’s been a lot of love over the last uh 24 hours and I appreciate all of it and it’s been great and uh you know I’m excited to see what uh what all y’all do with the Pod and just know that I’ll be I’ll be listening while I drive no parents no exactly we’re burning it down while AJ leaves oh no I as sad as I am to see AJ we do have a lot of exciting stuff planned for the Pod and you’ll still see plenty of AJ’s stuff over on the website he’s already writing a ton over there so you haven’t become a Die Hard yet now is the the best time to do it you can get access to all sorts of content over there you can also check out all of our other videos on YouTube I just posted a couple on the ABS free agents that were signed over the last couple of days so you can check those out lots and lots of stuff heading your way I’m sure we’ll have another round table up pretty soon yep after Dev Camp there you go so more content there we will be back on the Pod tomorrow with another Dev Camp day and then Friday show will be in the evening because the ab scrimmage is at 400 p.m. mountain for their Dev Camp guys so we’ll bring you some actual game feedback from the uh the dev Camp kids we’ll talk about some game situations and things like that so it should be a a fun rest of the week while you guys enjoy Fourth of July we’ll be here doing podcast maybe we will be able to talk about goldendent look have something to give them I wanted to end the show with one rapid fire question don’t think just say a team who’s at the best free agency so far Nashville I have to second that two Nashville’s not Vegas yeah they the anti free agency aged I want to pick someone other than Nashville but it’s really hard to you know I’ll give Edmonton some love assuming they sort out their cap situation yeah they have too many forwards right now they need to make some decisions intrigu though yeah for sure when they dump a Vander Kane on somebody it’ll be great yeah basically that’s that’s what it’s Ling up to be uh I’m going to say not Nashville because I don’t think they’re good enough to win a cup and they’re going to regret those contracts in two years so that’s why I’m a little nervous to say Nashville team AJ there you go we are out of here for today we appreciate y’all we’ll be back tomorrow with more Dev Camp [Music] news we all like the mayor