A day after witnessing the emotional Joe Sakic farewell at the Pepsi Center and making their NHL debuts, Avalanche rookies Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly were working overtime Friday.
The two 18-year-old centers, perhaps thinking of the hard work Sakic put in over his legendary 20-season career, were the last players to leave the ice, finally walking off nearly an hour after the coaches called it quits.
Duchene said the extra work wasn’t about not wanting their first NHL in-season practice to end or adhering to the rookie code of being the first group on the ice and the last one off.
“Ryan and I just like to fool around after practice, keep sharp,” said Duchene, the No. 3 overall pick in this year’s draft. “When you mess around a little bit, you can hone some finer skills. Plus, I look forward to coming to the rink every day and being on the ice all the time. The more I’m out there, the happier I am.”
The rookies could have built a snowman from all the ice chips but instead sloshed through the worn surface by working on breakaway moves, one-timers and end-to-end passes. They concluded by picking up pucks, a job typically reserved for the Zamboni guy.
“I’ll never think I’m too big to pick up pucks,” Duchene said.
Avs coach Joe Sacco met with the media while Duchene and O’Reilly were skating and acting like reserves not expected to play in today’s game against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.
Duchene, who had an assist in Thursday’s 5-2 season-opening win against the talented San Jose Sharks, will definitely play today. O’Reilly might be scratched for third-year center T.J. Hensick, who didn’t play in the opener.
At some point, Sacco said he might have to force his young rookies to get off the ice and rest on days before a game, “but they’re young; they have lots of energy.
“As rookies, it’s almost a code where they stay on late, but certainly, if they’re playing a lot of minutes, it’s something you have to monitor as a coach,” Sacco said.
Today, minus the electrifying atmosphere provided by the Sakic ceremony, Sacco hopes his team will build off the good things it did against the Sharks.
“We talk about being a team that uses our speed, a team that gets in on the forecheck to create havoc, and we want to pursue the puck when we don’t have it. That’s the best way to get it back,” Sacco said. “I thought we did a real good job in that department (Thursday) night.”
Defenseman John-Michael Liles said Sacco’s style is easy to apply when everyone gives the same amount of effort.
“Hard work — that’s what he’s preaching,” Liles said. “We’re a young team and we’re going to make mistakes, and we had our fair share (Thursday) night, but at the same time, the energy and effort the guys put forth covered up many of them.
“But yeah, he wants us to be a high-energy team, and I thought (Thursday) night was a good example of that. Hopefully, we’ll keep it up.”
Mike Chambers: 303-954-1357 or mchambers@denverpost.com
VANCOUVER AT COLORADO
1 p.m. today, ALT, KCKK 1510 AM
Spotlight on Kyle Wellwood: The 26-year- old center and power-play specialist broke into the NHL with Toronto in 2005 and played three seasons with the Maple Leafs before joining Vancouver last season and producing a career-high 18 goals. Despite being a fourth-line center last season, Wellwood tied Ryan Kesler with a team-high 10 power-play goals.
Canucks: Vancouver outshot Calgary 42-22 in Thursday’s opener but lost 5-3 at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Goalie Roberto Luongo, who recently signed a 12-year, $64 million contract extension through the 2021-22 season, gave up four goals on the first 15 shots he faced. . . . Veteran defenseman Mathieu Schneider (shoulder surgery) is out indefinitely, and forwards Pavol Demitra (shoulder) and Jannik Hansen (hand) missed the opener and are day to day.
Avalanche: Goalie Craig Anderson will start. . . . Forward Wojtek Wolski has two goals on two shots. He also has two points, two penalty minutes and a plus-2 rating. . . . Twelve players produced at least a point Thursday, and 15 of 18 forwards or defensemen had even or plus ratings. . . . Forward David Jones (bruised chest) briefly practiced Friday but remains unavailable. Defenseman Tom Preissing (knee) is out indefinitely.
Mike Chambers, The Denver Post
