Morning Skate Report: Newcomers Set To Make Preseason Debuts

It might just be a preseason contest, but it will be the first in the NHL for five players on the Colorado Avalanche's training camp roster.
Forwards Josh Dickinson, Nick Henry, Logan O'Connor and Brandon Saigeon and defenseman Josh Anderson will all suit up for the first time on NHL ice this evening when the Avs begin exhibition play against the defending Western Conference-champion Vegas Golden Knights at Pepsi Center.
"Really looking forward to it," O'Connor said. "It's a good opportunity in front of us. It will be nice to sort of get training camp done with. Obviously there is still a lot ahead of us, but to get a real exhibition game in tonight will be a lot of fun."

O'Connor and Dickinson are entering their first pro seasons after signing as undrafted free agents, while Henry and Saigeon are recent draft picks of Colorado but have not signed contracts. Henry was selected 94th overall in the fourth round of the 2017 draft but missed last season's training camp due to offseason shoulder surgery. Saigeon, 20, is at his first NHL camp after being chosen at No. 140 this past summer following four years with the Hamilton Bulldogs organization of the Ontario Hockey League.
Anderson was drafted in the third round by the Avalanche in 2016 and is preparing for his first professional campaign after inking a three-year, entry-level contract on March 29.
All five of them played for Colorado at the Vegas Rookie Faceoff in Las Vegas on Sept. 8-11, where they competed against other prospects from the Golden Knights, Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. The exhibition was a good warmup for the Avs' NHL hopefuls to get familiar with the club's style of play and help them prepare for training camp.
"That was sort of a good stepping stone going into training camp. Sort of let us go from there and see what the intensity will be like," O'Connor said of the rookie tournament. "Obviously it's going to be ramped up now that it is real exhibition games, but going from the rookie Vegas camp definitely helped [us] to have a good exhibition series here."

Tonight's preseason contest is just another step in the process for the players to play in the NHL.
The game against the Golden Knights will be tougher than the ones the prospects played a week ago, and when the regular season begins, the intensity and pace will again be greater than what the players experienced in the preseason or at American Hockey League level.
"Each step is just a little more intense and there is a little more on the line," O'Connor said of the process. "Right now we're obviously all fighting for jobs here, so it's sort of nice to have that exhibition game in front of us to give us the opportunity to see what we got."
The Avalanche has five more preseason games after tonight's affair. The team will play every other night starting on Saturday at the Minnesota Wild.

VETS IN ACTION

Tuesday's preseason contest against Vegas will be an old hat for several players on the Avalanche's roster, including the team's top line from a year ago in center Nathan MacKinnon, left wing Gabriel Landeskog and right wing Mikko Rantanen.
"We got to get back in our routines. You can practice all you want, but we got to get into game situations to be successful," said MacKinnon. "I like the preseason. It's good to get a feel. The three of us as a line, it will be good to get some touches in and some chemistry going again. The Knights have some good players and they're going to bring some good players, so it's going to be tough."

Defensemen Tyson Barrie and Erik Johnson and forward J.T. Compher are also expected to be in the lineup. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov will get the start in net and will likely play two periods before Spencer Martin enters the crease.
It will also be the first in-game look at two of the veteran players the team signed as free agents in the offseason, as forward Matt Calvert and defenseman Ian Cole will make their debuts in burgundy and blue.

LOOKING AT VEGAS

While the Vegas Golden Knights are bringing their fair share of rookies and prospects to Denver, there will still be several veterans that will dress.
Paul Stastny might be the biggest name on the team's 20-man roster after the former Avalanche forward signed in Vegas as a free agent on July 1. Other players on the Knights' roster that have NHL experience include Brayden McNabb, Cody Eakin, Erik Haula and Alex Tuch.
Vegas goalie Zach Fucale will also travel to Colorado, but it's unknown at this time if he will see any action. If he does, it will likely be the first time that Fucale and former Halifax Mooseheads teammate and Avs forward Nathan MacKinnon will be on the same ice in a game, even if it's in the preseason. MacKinnon and Fucale won the Memorial Cup together with Halifax in 2013 before each getting drafted later that summer.

Colorado Avalanche Game Roster

Preseason vs. Vegas Golden Knights - Sept. 18, 2018
| 1 | Semyon Varlamov | G | | --- | --- | --- | | 30 | Spencer Martin | G | | 2 | Mason Geertsen | D | | 4 | Tyson Barrie | D | | 6 | Erik Johnson | D | | 11 | Matt Calvert | LW | | 25 | Logan O'Connor | RW | | 27 | Ryan Graves | D | | 28 | Ian Cole | D | | 29 | Nathan MacKinnon | C | | 37 | J.T. Compher | LW | | 38 | Julien Nantel | C | | 40 | Josh Dickinson | C | | 46 | J.C. Beaudin | C | | 70 | Nick Henry | RW | | 73 | Travis Barron | LW | | 76 | Josh Anderson | D | | 80 | Brandon Saigeon | C | | 92 | Gabriel Landeskog | LW | | 96 | Mikko Rantanen | RW |