Colorado Avalanche: Rating the 3 Aspects of the Avs Roster

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Colorado Avalanche (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

The Avalanche have one of the better top lines in division.

We know that Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen are productive and solid. They are the top power play unit, they carried the Avalanche at times last season.

What’s murkier is Colorado’s depth beyond that top line. A second line of Tyson Jost centering second-year phenom Alexander Kerfoot and Sven Andrighetto remains a solid line, particularly if Kerfoot breaks out in his second season but there is a substantial production dropoff from 93 goals to 39 from the top line.

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Colorado’s third line, we assume, will consist of J.T. Compher, Colin Wilson and Vladisav Kamenev. Kamenev will be making his first real appearance with the Avalanche since a broken arm sidelined him for nearly all of the 2017 season. The big (6’2″, 195) forward will be a boost to a line centered by Compher who notched 13 goals and 23 points as a third-line wing last year. Colin Wilson, added on July 1st last year via trade from the Nashville Predators has yet to make a full impression on us as an Avs forward but in his time in Colorado he did produce six goals and 12 assists. Also big at 6’1″and 225lbs, he rounds out a solid forechecking third line with above-average productivity.

We’re projecting the fourth line to be Carl Soderberg centering Matthew Nieto and Matt Calvert. The trio combined for 40 goals last season and rate as one of the better fourth line combinations in the West. Soderberg had a solid campaign for the Avalanche last season with 37 points, he also scored three big game-winning goals.

Colorado is solid up front and should be able to roll four lines effectively most nights. Offense is not a concern for Colorado but how does the defense stack up?

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