The Colorado Avalanche on Monday confirmed that it plans to keep 18-year-old rookie centers Matt Duchene and Ryan O’Reilly on the roster through Friday’s 10th game of the season, against Carolina at home.
That move would all but commit the Avalanche to keeping the two young players through the rest of the season rather than return them to their major junior teams: the Brampton Battalion (Duchene) and the Erie Otters (O’Reilly).
Colorado could send them back at some point, but once they have been on the roster for 10 games, their contracts kick in for such matters as free agency cutoffs, and it’s very rare for teams to return players to major junior once that happens.
Also, the NHL announced that Colorado goaltender Craig Anderson was named the league’s second star for the week ending Oct. 18. Phoenix goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was the No. 1 star, Washington winger Alex Ovechkin was No. 3. Anderson was the winning goalie in four consecutive road games for the Avalanche last week, with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .928 saves percentage. It represents Anderson’s second No. 2 star selection this season.
