Morning Skate Report: Veteran Avs Making Preseason Debuts

Even though the Colorado Avalanche is set to play its fourth outing of the 2018-19 preseason tonight, three veteran Avs players will be wearing a game jersey for the first time since the spring.
Forward Sven Andrighetto and defensemen Mark Barberio and Nikita Zadorov will skate in their first exhibition games of the campaign in Colorado's matchup against the Dallas Stars at Pepsi Center.

"I am very excited, it's been a long time," Andrighetto said of getting back into game action. "The last game I played was in May at the World Championship, and now to finally get some games in after the long summer and hard trainings and stuff like that, to get the games going, it's about time."
Zadorov started training camp as a non-contact skater after he had offseason shoulder surgery, but he has been a full participant in practice since Thursday.
The Avs, who are 1-2-0 through the first half of its six-game exhibition slate, are viewing the preseason games as opportunities to get back into a rhythm before the regular season begins on Oct. 4.
"In the game, there are always things that happen that you can't really practice and you got to react and just be always on your toes and be ready to do the right play," said Andrighetto. "When you practice, everything is structured, you train the tactics. In games now in the preseason, we get to try our tactics out, get comfortable with it and get adjusted to it as well."
Ten players will also be dressing for their second preseason matchup, including forwards Matt Calvert, Tyson Jost, Carl Soderberg, Colin Wilson, Ty Lewis, Igor Shvyrev and Cody Bass, defensemen Patrik Nemeth and Sergei Boikov and goaltender Semyon Varlamov.
Lewis is entering his first professional season after spending the last four years with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. The exhibition outings are an opportunity for the young left wing to adjust to the speed and physicality of the NHL.
"I think the biggest thing for me is just trying to get used to the pace, it's a big jump from junior," he said. "Everything here is just a little bit faster, a little quicker and guys are just a little bit bigger and stronger. It takes some getting used to, I think I am starting to find my way a little bit. Hopefully just come with the right mindset tonight and get off to a good start."
Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. MT and the game can be heard on Altitude Sports Radio FM 92.5 in the Denver metropolitan area and online at ColoradoAvalanche.com.

FRANCOUZ IN NORTH AMERICA

Goaltender Pavel Francouz made his first-ever start in North America on Monday in Colorado's preseason game at the Vegas Golden Knights and picked up the win after making 29 saves. The Avs won the contest 5-3 after getting an early goal from J.T. Compher.
"Amazing, the crowd in Vegas was awesome and the whole game was pretty good," Francouz said of the outing. "We got the lead pretty early and we won the game, so it was an amazing experience."
Francouz and Semyon Varlamov will be the goaltenders for Colorado against Dallas. It is unknown how much each netminder will play but Varlamov is expected to start in net.

Colorado Game Roster

Preseason vs. Dallas Stars - Sept. 26, 2018
| 1 | Semyon Varlamov | G | | 39 | Pavel Francouz | G | | | | | | 7 | Mark Alt | D | | 10 | Sven Andrighetto | RW | | 11 | Matt Calvert | LW | | 12 | Patrik Nemeth | D | | 15 | Sheldon Dries | C | | 16 | Nikita Zadorov | D | | 17 | Tyson Jost | C | | 22 | Colin Wilson | C/LW | | 25 | Logan O'Connor | RW | | 27 | Ryan Graves | D | | 34 | Carl Soderberg | C | | 42 | Sergei Boikov | D | | 43 | Igor Shvyrev | C | | 44 | Mark Barberio | D | | 45 | Cody Bass | C/RW | | 61 | Martin Kaut | RW | | 65 | Ty Lewis | LW | | 91 | Vladislav Kamenev | C | | No. | Name | Pos. | | --- | --- | --- |

QUOTABLES

Right Wing Sven Andrighetto on playing in the preseason:"I am excited to finally get to play a little bit, practice isn't the same as playing games so its important to get a couple good games in to get the rhythm back, the timing and the chemistry."

Left Wing Ty Lewis on his second NHL training camp:"It's nice, everybody here has been great to me. All the veteran guys are really good to the younger guys here, its been a great experience. Coming into the second year, I kind of know what to expect a little more. It's fun playing fast hockey and with the caliber of guys we have here, just looking forward to tonight and hopefully off to a good start."

Goaltender Pavel Francouz on adjusting to a smaller ice surface in North America:"I started skating here since summer, so I had a lot of time to get used to it and I think right now I don't even remember how is it playing on a big ice surface, so I think its been pretty good."