After losing three juniors and a sophomore to NHL contracts in April, new Denver hockey coach David Carle will depend on nine incoming freshmen to replace the elite talent they lost.
The biggest new name is defenseman Stanislav “Slava” Demin. A sure bet to be selected in this weekend’s NHL draft — the first round is Friday night in Dallas — Demin was born in northern California and moved to Orange County when he was 8.
“Born in the U.S. but I have Russian parents,” Demin said. “I grew up speaking Russian and I still know it.”
Demin’s parents didn’t grow up playing sports but they learned their son was very athletic at an early age. He starred for the midget triple-A Anaheim Junior Ducks before beginning a two-year stint with the Wenatchee Wild of the junior-A British Columbia Hockey League. The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder helped lead the Wild to the BCHL championship in May and is now training and taking summer classes at DU.
He is ranked 40th among draft-eligible North American forwards or defensemen. He competed at the recent NHL combine in Buffalo just weeks after winning the BCHL title and is trying to get settled in at DU so he’ll watch the draft on television.
“I’m going to stay in Denver and focus on my classes and working out, and nutrition,” Demin said. “I was offered to go but I haven’t had much time to relax and stay in one spot and train.”
Demin visited with the majority of NHL teams and said the ones that showed the most interest were the three California clubs, Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers. His meeting with the Avalanche was one of his longest, he said.
DU could have as many as five incoming freshmen drafted by NHL teams. Goalie Filip Larsson was selected by the Detroit Red Wings last year. Larsson, 19, went on to become the United States Hockey League’s goalie of the year after producing a .941 save percentage and 1.65 goals-against average for the Tri-City Storm. The incoming class also includes forwards Brett Stapley, Cole Guttman, Emilio Petersen and Tyler Ward, plus defensemen Sean Comrie and Kyle Mayhew. Comrie is ranked 108th and Stapley 177th.
In addition, forwards Ryan O’Reilly and Brendan Budy — who both are pegged to join DU for 2019-20 — are ranked 58th and 125th, respectively. They will play another year of junior-A before going to college.
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