Defenseman Conor Timmins missed all of last season with concussion-like symptoms and has yet to play an NHL game, but the 21-year-old has surprisingly made the Avalanche’s 23-man opening-night roster, the team announced Tuesday afternoon.
Because of his lack of experience and the Avs’ relatively small locker room at Family Sports Center, Timmins was the only member of the team to not have a locker stall after Tuesday’s practice. But he’ll have one now, after veteran defensemen Kevin Connauton and Calle Rosen were both reassigned to the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League, along with forward Jayson Megna.
The Avs also got down to 23 players by placing defenseman (double offseason hip surgeries) on injured reserve.
Colorado will begin the season with 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders. Based on Tuesday’s practice, and will start as the team’s extra forwards. They skated on a line with Megna. appears to be the extra defenseman.
The Avs released their 23-man roster after coach ‘s news conference. Bednar will discuss the team’s moves after Wednesday’s practice at the .
Colorado opens the season Thursday against the visiting .
Footnote. Standout rookie defenseman did not practice Tuesday because of a minor injury. “Maintenance day,” Bednar said of Makar, who will work with Sam Girard on the Avs’ top pairing. “He should be good to go. He’s just got a little tweak. So he’s going to take the day (off) and get fixed up.”
Avalanche opening night roster
| No. | Player | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Stick | Born |
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| 41 | Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | C | 6-0 | 198 | L | 03/06/85 |
| 95 | Andre Burakovsky | LW | 6-3 | 201 | L | 02/09/95 |
| 11 | Matt Calvert | LW | 5-11 | 186 | L | 12/24/89 |
| 37 | J.T. Compher | LW | 6-0 | 190 | R | 04/08/95 |
| 72 | Joonas Donskoi | RW | 6-0 | 190 | R | 04/13/92 |
| 17 | Tyson Jost | C | 5-11 | 187 | L | 03/14/98 |
| 91 | Nazem Kadri | C | 6-0 | 192 | L | 10/06/90 |
| 81 | Vladislav Kamenev | C | 6-2 | 194 | L | 08/12/96 |
| 92 | Gabriel Landeskog | LW | 6-1 | 215 | L | 11/23/92 |
| 29 | Nathan MacKinnon | C | 6-0 | 200 | R | 09/01/95 |
| 13 | Valeri Nichushkin | RW | 6-4 | 210 | L | 03/04/95 |
| 83 | Matt Nieto | LW | 5-11 | 185 | L | 11/05/92 |
| 96 | Mikko Rantanen | RW | 6-4 | 215 | L | 10/29/96 |
| 22 | Colin Wilson | C/LW | 6-1 | 215 | L | 10/20/89 |
| 44 | Mark Barberio | D | 6-1 | 200 | L | 03/23/90 |
| 28 | Ian Cole* | D | 6-1 | 225 | L | 02/21/89 |
| 49 | Samuel Girard | D | 5-10 | 170 | L | 05/12/98 |
| 27 | Ryan Graves | D | 6-5 | 220 | L | 05/21/95 |
| 6 | Erik Johnson | D | 6-4 | 225 | R | 03/21/88 |
| 8 | Cale Makar | D | 5-11 | 187 | R | 10/30/98 |
| 20 | Conor Timmins | D | 6-2 | 185 | R | 09/18/98 |
| 16 | Nikita Zadorov | D | 6-6 | 235 | L | 04/16/95 |
| 39 | Pavel Francouz | G | 6-0 | 179 | R | 06/03/90 |
| 31 | Philipp Grubauer | G | 6-1 | 188 | L | 11/25/91 |
* Injured Non-Roster
