The Avalanche on Monday signed 18-year-old center Ryan O’Reilly to a three-year, NHL entry-level contract.
O’Reilly, the 33rd overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft, will earn $900,000 in each year of the contract, but that does not mean he will make that much this season.
O’Reilly still has to make the Avalanche roster in order to be paid the $900,000 this season, otherwise he will make junior hockey wages should the team send him back to the Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League.
Under NHL bylaws, the Avs can keep O’Reilly on the roster for up to the first 10 regular-season games, at which point they either must keep him on their roster the rest of the season or send him back to junior, where he would not be eligible to be recalled until the NHL playoffs.
O’Reilly received an unspecified bonus payment upon signing the contract. That bonus is part of his $900,000 possible salary for this season, and he gets to keep the bonus whether he plays for the Avs or at Erie.
O’Reilly is now one of 27 players remaining on the Avs’ training camp roster. The team must get down to 23 players by Oct. 1.
Roster cuts
The Avs reduced their preseason roster to 27 players with cuts on Monday.
Colorado reassigned center Ryan Stoa and defenseman Ryan Wilson to Lake Erie of the American Hockey League.
Stoa seemeed to be having trouble adjusting to the pace of NHL play, and will get a chance to ease into the pro game at the AHL level.
Stoa is a 6-foot-3 center who led the University of Minnesota in scoring last season. He gave the Avs a 2-1 lead midway through the second period Thursday.
Avs coach Joe Sacco said Stoa “certainly showed a lot of poise for a young player.”
Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com
