Filip Gustavsson will replace Jesper Wallstedt in the net Tuesday night for the Wild at Ball Arena. Wallstedt allowed eight goals in a 9-6 Colorado win in Game 1.

Bednar declined to answer any lineup questions ahead of Colorado’s morning skate. Scott Wedgewood has started the first five games of this postseason run. He allowed just five goals in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, but allowed six in the Game 1 win. Wedgewood was in the “starter’s net” during the morning workout and was the first goalie off the ice, both of which are typically indicators of who will be between the pipes that night.

Defenseman Josh Manson has missed the past two games for the Avs, but has been skating for a few days now. Bednar would not say if he’s available to play in Game 2. Nick Blankenburg has played the past two games and scored his first Stanley Cup Playoffs goal in Game 1.

Another defenseman, Jack Ahcan, did not play Monday night for the Colorado Eagles in Calder Cup Playoffs action and joined the Avs this morning. Blankenburg played 12 games for the Avalanche after being acquired just before the trade deadline from Nashville. Ahcan played in 11 games for the club earlier in the year when he split time with since-departed Ilya Solovyov as the No. 7 guy on the depth chart.

In other Colorado goalie news, top prospect Ilya Nabokov posted on social media that he has played his final game for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, and Daria Tuboltseva of SportsRU reported shortly after that he will join the Avalanche on Wednesday.

Nabokov, the No. 38 pick in the 2024 NHL draft and one of Colorado’s top two prospects, signed a two-year contract with the Avs on May 30, 2025, and was loaned back to Magnitogorsk for this season. Nabokov helped his KHL club win the Gagarin Cup in 2024 and was named the postseason MVP. He had another strong season last year, but his numbers slipped across the board this year and he appeared in just seven of the team’s 15 playoff games.

Colorado has both Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood under contract for next season, along with Nabokov and both of the Eagles’ top two netminders this year, Trent Miner and Isak Posch.

Michigan and Wisconsin came to Sin City to add another title for the conference in men’s hockey. The University of Denver had other ideas.

David Carle and the Pioneers slew both Big Ten Goliaths to remind everyone that DU remains the premier men’s college hockey program. The 11 national titles are more than any other program, but this is three in five seasons, with a fourth Frozen Four in there as well.

“A lot has been made of, like, haves and have-nots coming into college athletics and college hockey,” Carle said after the Pios defeated Wisconsin, 2-1, Saturday afternoon in the title game. “To me, we’re the thing that everybody wants. You want a smaller school who doesn’t have this behemoth budget and fan base and alumni base to still be able to be successful. I think we’re the proof of concept that it’s still possible.

“Yes, do we have advantages over other places? I am not sitting up here crying poor that we don’t have things. But we are a small institution. We are very committed, though, to our hockey program and making it a great experience for our student-athletes, our fans and our alumni. You don’t have to be big in hockey to be good. You have to invest and you have to care and have the right people to do great things. In a sport landscape, in college athletics, I think a place like Denver should really be celebrated.”

Adapting and thriving

There have been drastic, sweeping changes to college athletics during this run of Pios excellence. The transfer portal, Name, Image and Likeness deals and revenue sharing have changed college sports. Hockey added an extra seismic wrinkle before this season, allowing players from Canada’s three major junior leagues to be eligible.

Carle and the Pios continue to adjust and thrive with each change. Defenseman Eric Pohlkamp led this DU team in scoring and was a Hobey Baker finalist. Two years ago, he transferred from Bemidji State.

The CHL superstars who came to college hockey this year were the talk of the sport. Gavin McKenna and Jackson Smith at Penn State, Porter Matrone and Cayden Lindstrom at Michigan State, Cole Reschny and Keaton Verhoeff at North Dakota — all are recent or future NHL first-round picks.

Two former CHL players made the biggest plays Saturday night in the championship game. Kyle Chyzowski scored the title-winning goal in the third period. Johnny Hicks was the MVP of the Frozen Four, the NCAA Regional in Loveland and the NCHC Frozen Faceoff.

Both were in the WHL last year. Both are undrafted players. Now, they are NCAA champions.

“Just the standard we have every single day in the practices and how we treat each other, how people treat us in Denver,” said senior Samu Salminen, the team’s No. 1 center and also a transfer two years ago from UConn. “It’s a very special place to be. I feel like every single person who steps in that locker room, they know what it’s all about, and that’s winning. It’s all about team-first mentality. We don’t have individuals in this team. If we do, that’s a short run for those guys. I feel like our whole team has bought into that really well the whole year.”

‘Bigness doesn’t win championships all the time’

NHL teams have come calling for Carle, a 36-year-old coach with three NCAA championships and two World Junior Championship gold medals on his resume. With a 16-3 record, he has as many NCAA titles as NCAA tournament losses. He’s won as many titles as George Gwozdecky and Jim Montgomery combined.

He’s passed on multiple NHL jobs, and signed a multi-year contract extension with the school before this season. As long as he wants to be in Denver, Carle and the Pioneers plan to remain at the top of the sport.

Pohlkamp and junior Boston Buckberger could sign NHL contracts and move on. Three seniors need to be replaced.

The biggest question is whether both goalies, Hicks and fellow fabulous freshman Quentin Miller, will be here next fall or if the latter decides to transfer. But the Pios are expected to be loaded again next season.

Defenseman Ryan Lin, a potential top-10 pick in the 2026 NHL draft, committed to the Pios earlier this month. DU is also considered a finalist for defenseman Landon DuPont, the potential No. 1 pick in the 2027 draft, who wants to play college hockey next season. They also have three players from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program committed.

The rules of engagement have changed. The Pioneers’ place in the sport has not.

“I think we’re seeing that money doesn’t buy everything,” Carle said. “Bigness doesn’t win championships all the time, at least in our sport. Maybe that’s changing. Everybody seems to think it is, could, or will. I will tell you we will do our damnedest in our conference and in Denver to make sure that it doesn’t happen that way.

“We’re really proud to represent the NCHC, the best league in college hockey. If you’re a kid that wants to win and develop, we think it’s the best place to be.”

Two years after Matthew Davis put together a legendary run to help the University of Denver claim its record 10th national title, Pioneers freshman Johnny Hicks has done the same to capture No. 11.

Hicks made 29 saves, carrying his club for more than 45 minutes before the Pios finally sprung to life in a 2-1 victory Saturday afternoon at T-Mobile Arena against Wisconsin. This came two nights after a 49-save effort to outlast No. 1 national seed Michigan in a double-overtime semifinal win.

“I feel like I’m kind of at a loss for words,” Hicks said. “I’m just so proud of this group. We worked so hard for this and now that it’s here, it’s amazing.”

Still just 5-foot-10 regardless of how tall he has stood when it mattered for the Pios, Hicks is now 16-0-1 as the DU starter. The Pioneers finished this season on a 17-game winning streak, and the last two victories were equally improbable.

DU has now won three of the past five national titles, reaching the mountaintop in 2022, 2024 and 2026. The Pioneers’ 11 titles are now two more than any other NCAA program.

“It is in the walls,” Pios defenseman Cale Ashcroft said. “It’s the people that come through this program. We’re pushing each other to be better. We all have the same goals. At the start of the year, it is said that we want to win a national championship, and we’ll do anything to do it.”

Senior forward Rieger Lorenz found a breakthrough for the Pios at 7:31 of the third period. Kristian Epperson, who set up Kent Anderson’s double-overtime winner two nights ago, sent the puck to Garrett Brown for a slapshot from near the left circle. Lorenz battled in front and found just enough space to shovel home the rebound for his 17th goal of the season.

Freshman Kyle Chyzowski scored the championship winner at 14:08. He got a piece of a Boston Buckberger shot for his 13th goal of the year — and his third straight NCAA tournament contest with a tally.

It had been all Wisconsin to that point. The shots on goal were 25-6 in favor of the Badgers before Brown’s shot. Wisconsin clearly looked like a fresher team for the first 45 minutes, dominating in both possession time and the shot clock, but Hicks continued to write his incredible story by keeping DU in this one.

“He’s the best goalie in college hockey,” Ashcroft said. “Not much else to say about it. He’s undefeated. He’s phenomenal. He works so hard, so it’s awesome to see him have this success.”

Freshman center Vasily Zelenov put Wisconsin on the board at 6:24 of the opening period. He skated into the Pios zone on the left side and wired a wrist shot through a screen to beat Hicks. A seventh-round pick by the Buffalo Sabres in the 2024 NHL draft, it was Zelenov’s sixth goal of the season.

The Pioneers reached the title game with an instant classic, a double-overtime 4-3 win on Thursday against top-seeded Michigan. Hicks made 25 of his 49 saves after Clarke Caswell scored with 2:46 remaining in regulation to even the score at 3-3. Wisconsin played in the earlier game Thursday, knocking off No. 2-seeded North Dakota with a 2-1 victory.

Wisconsin, like DU, had a mid-season swoon. The Badgers lost six straight contests at one point — weekend sweeps by Penn State, Michigan State and Minnesota. They also lost 7-1 to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament, but rebounded to win the Worcester Regional with a stunning comeback win against No. 3 seed Michigan State in the regional final.

But, just when it seemed like Wisconsin’s unlikely championship story was being written, DU just found a way.

“That’s a great question,” forward Kieran Cebrian said when asked how the Pios always seem to do that. “I think everyone in here trusts each other. We all want to play for each other and keep it going. I think the belief we have in each other is the biggest thing.”

The Pios finish the season at 29-11-3. DU was stuck in a 1-6-1 funk when starting goaltender Quentin Miller went down with an injury early in a Jan. 24 game against St. Cloud State. Hicks came in, helped the Pios to a 6-0 win, and outside of some cramping issues the next weekend, took off to become one of the great stories in college hockey this season.

When he gets a moment to start scrolling through his phone, Hicks will probably have a text massage from Davis waiting for him — one Denver hockey legend to another.

“We’ve been texting throughout the last few weeks,” Hicks said. “He’s just been wishing me the best of luck. It’s means a lot to have a relationship with a goaltender like that. Same with Magnus Chrona (the 2022 champion netminder), he’s been in touch as well.

“I’m just very grateful.”

Gavin Brindley and Cale Makar both snapped goal-scoring droughts and the Avs grinded out a 3-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks. Makar scored twice, including one into an empty net, and Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists to help Colorado win for the second time in three games since a three-week break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.

“Yeah, that was a big one,” Brindley said. “Cale had a big goal at the end of the second, just to get us going. I thought we did a great job tonight. We controlled the pace of the game. I thought we were really good and probably deserved a couple more goals.

“That’s how it goes sometimes. Good job by the boys to finish it off.”

Sam Malinski’s second try from the top of the offensive zone created a rebound near the left post, and Brindley was there to pounce on it at 7:31 of the third period. It was Brindley’s sixth goal of the season, but his first since Dec. 11.

Brindley, acquired in an offseason trade from Columbus, had a fast start to his rookie season with Colorado, but had just two assists in his past 25 contests before this game-winning goal.

“This guy comes out every day and does the ‘goalie school’ shootings with me and (Scott Wedgewood). It’s an unforgiving job,” Avs goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood, who made 14 saves, said. “He’s got to get on the ice a little extra early, but it’s paying off for him. He’s getting his reps in, and he’s going to be a good player.”

The Avs had three power-play chances in the second period, and part of a fourth that carried over from the opening period. It was more than six minutes with the man advantage, but Chicago has the top-ranked penalty kill, and Colorado remains last on the power play.

The home side did not score with the extra man in the period, but Makar’s goal with 8.3 seconds remaining in the middle frame was spiritually a tally for the top power-play unit. Oliver Moore came out of the box seven seconds before the goal, but the rest of the Blackhawks on the ice were gassed from a lengthy PK shift, and the Avs took full advantage.

MacKinnon sent the puck from near the goal line to the left of the Chicago net to Makar in the right circle. He didn’t get close to max power on his one-timer, but placed it well, and goaltender Spencer Knight was moving the wrong direction as the puck fluttered past him.

“It was good,” Makar said. “I think we still would have got it in the third. It felt like we were grinding all the way from halfway through the first period into the second and doing so many good things. We just weren’t getting the right bounces.”

That was Makar’s 16th goal of the season, but his first in nine games for the Avs. While Makar earned all-tournament honors at the Olympics in Milan, he had no goals and three points in the past eight NHL contests, which is pretty easily the least-productive stretch of his season.

“I think I was more just hoping that it would be a power-play goal for us,” Makar said.

The Avs officially went 0-for-4 with the man advantage, and are now 2-for-35 on the power play since Jan. 12. Colorado has allowed four shorthanded goals in that span, though one was into an empty net.

“We wish we could score every single power play,” Makar said. “I think that’s what the fans expect. But for us right now, we’ve just got to continue building it. I feel like there were times tonight that we did good things. We did get puck movement and generated some opportunities.”

“I think that’s just going to come the more and more we continue to work.”

Connor Bedard put Chicago on the board first with a power-play goal. Tyler Bertuzzi got behind Devon Toews on a rush, so the Avs defenseman took a penalty to prevent a scoring chance.

It only took 21 seconds for the Blackhawks to capitalize. Bertuzzi sent a cross-ice pass to Bedard in the right circle, and the lethal release that helped make him the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL draft led to his 25th goal of the season. Colorado’s penalty kill reached the Olympic break ranked No. 2 in the league, but Utah, Minnesota and Chicago have combined to score four times with the man advantage in the past three contests.

Colorado held a 14-4 advantage in shots on goal through 20 minutes, but the Avs didn’t create many great chances in the period, either. Similar to two days prior against the Wild, the Avs found some mid-range scoring chances, but not a lot close to the net or plays where Knight had to be great to keep the puck out.

Makar’s empty-netter sealed the win for Colorado. After a 31-2-7 start, the Avs have struggled to regain their league-best form. This win got them back to “hockey .500” since the historic start at 8-8-2 in the past 18 contests.

While this stretch of games did create a lifetime memory for Solovyov with his first NHL goal, his future now lies elsewhere. The Avalanche traded Solovyov on Tuesday to the Pittsburgh Penguins for forward Valtteri Puustinen and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL draft.

Solovyov, claimed on waivers four days before the season opener, had a goal and three points in 16 games for the Avs.

“We’ve got some guys down there that we really liked and have played well,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Like, Jack (Ahcan) has played really well for us. (Toews) is getting close. And I think sometimes long-term plans override just who we’re putting in for the next game or two.”

Ahcan played six games for the Avs earlier this season, replacing Solovyov in the lineup as the replacement for an injured Samuel Girard. Keaton Middleton played 41 games for the Avalanche last year, but was sent down when the club added Solovyov and hasn’t been back. Wyatt Aamodt played the final two games of last season with the Avs and could also be a consideration.

Whether or not Solovyov solidified his place as the No. 7 guy on the depth chart, the Avs were likely still to be in the market for a defenseman ahead of the March 6 trade deadline. Now, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the club tries to add two.

One player the Avs could add for nothing Wednesday morning is Vladislav Kolyachonok, who was put on waivers by the Boston Bruins. Kolyachonok is a year younger than Solovyov, but is also a 6-foot-2 left-shooting defenseman with 87 games of NHL experience.

He has played for four different NHL clubs in the past two seasons, including Boston and Dallas this year. The Avs are last in the waiver claim queue because of being first in the league standings, so they’d need every other team to pass on Kolyachonok to have a chance to claim him.

Colorado’s defense corps has been immense this season when the top-six guys are healthy. But even within those top six, four of them are right-handed, and three of them are small by NHL standards. Whether or not the Avs just try to add a defenseman or two ahead of the deadline as depth pieces, or actually take a swing at landing someone who could play every night — either pushing one of the current top six out of the lineup or onto another team in a trade — remains to be seen.

Bednar has previously identified a resolution at the No. 3 center position as the top item on his wishlist, but Ahcan, Middleton and Aamodt have combined to play in zero Stanley Cup Playoff games. A team with Cup or bust aspirations, particularly one that is considered a favorite to win this year, is very unlikely to enter the postseason this thin at that position.

As for the short-term roster situation, there was some good news Tuesday. Valeri Nichushkin, one day after being involved in a car accident en route to Ball Arena, practiced and worked out with his teammates.

“He seems to be good,” Bednar said. “He should play tomorrow.”

Toews and Joel Kiviranta were on the ice at the team’s practice facility again. Kiviranta is not expected to be ready on Wednesday to play the Anaheim Ducks at Ball Arena, but Bednar said he hopes to have the Finnish Olympian back on Friday against Philadelphia.

Puustinen, 26, has seven goals and 24 points in 66 career NHL games. He hasn’t played in the NHL this year, but does have 26 points in 35 games for Pittsburgh’s AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

He answered a bunch of questions from a horde of media members on Saturday afternoon, several more than once. He was polite and concise.

When he left Ball Arena after collecting the first NHL win and shutout in a 4-0 win for the Colorado Avalanche, he definitely had a chance to savor the moment.

“It was exciting,” Miner said. “Talking with my family and my friends and everyone reaching out. It was pretty special to hear from everyone. I’ve been here for quite a while, so to get to do this with this group … I was very fortunate to be a part of winning that game.”

It might finally be Avs’ Jared Bednar’s time to win the Jack Adams Award

Miner's first NHL win, a 29-save shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets came 26 days before his 25th birthday. It was also 2,395 days after the Avalanche selected him with the 202nd pick in the 2019 NHL draft.

Players who go 100 picks earlier than that in NHL drafts are more likely to never play in the NHL than to have their dream come true. The 202nd guy in any draft class is a significant long shot.

Scott Wedgewood went 84th in his draft, and it took him until his sixth post-draft season to reach the big leagues. Miner made it last year, but it took almost 14 months from his NHL debut before he got to celebrate backstopping his club to a win.

"It was unbelievable," Wedgewood said. "Super happy for him and everything that comes with it. When you're a kid, you're hoping for just one game in the NHL. You want to say I played one game. I made it. When you get the opportunity to play a couple and you don't win, it can hurt you mentally.

"He's had to come in in relief. He's played a couple back-to-backs. You start behind the eight ball with those opportunities. To see him get a clean start against a good team and he goes out there and wins us a hockey game does it in that fashion, it's super cool. You just couldn't be happier for him."

Wedgewood spent a large chunk of one season in the , but Miner has spent parts of three years in the league two rungs below the mountaintop. In his first three full seasons a pro, Miner played five, one and 18 games for the in the AHL.

Keeler: Avalanche’s Brent Burns has become missing piece to Colorado’s Stanley Cup puzzle

He wasn't waiting his turn in Loveland. He was desperate to prove he could play there, let alone 50 miles south in Denver.

That happened last year. Miner became the undisputed No. 1 goalie for the Eagles, leading them into the Calder Cup Playoffs. He made his NHL debut in relief and got his first NHL start, but the Avs lost 3-1 in Chicago.

Earlier this year, Miner was great in relief and helped Colorado rally from a 4-1 deficit to get a point, but lost in a shootout. His first start was solid, but not what he wanted.

Even this time up with the club, he's had to wait. Wedgewood played four straight games, including three in four nights, after Mackenzie Blackwood was injured.

"He's a relentless worker and he is a battler," Avs coach Jared Bednar said. "Goalies may be a little different, but there's a handful of players that come out of the ECHL and it takes them a while but then they're grinding in the American League. When they make their way to the NHL, you can pretty much guarantee the guys that do that, they're battlers and they're going to give it everything they've got.

"He's tried to make the most of his opportunities. When you see a player develop and you know he's putting in all that work, it's a great feeling as an organization. We are certainly really happy for his development and what he was able to accomplish (Saturday)."

Miner still didn't have an "oh-my-God-what-just-happened?" moment Saturday night after the game. He's spent a lot of time waiting for this, but this wasn't the end of the journey for him.

The battle continues. Blackwood will be back soon. Ilya Nabokov's arrival is imminent. Miner has fought and clawed his way up to No. 3 on Colorado's depth chart, and there's another bare-knuckle brawl in his near future for that spot.

Still, the kid from Brandon, Manitoba, who wanted to play one game in the NHL has not only done that, but proven he can do play at this level. He's happy, but not satisfied.

"For sure," Miner said. "When you get drafted by an organization and sign with them, and you've been with them for a couple of years, you just want to do it with that team. Everyone here has been so amazing to me that ... I'm just so lucky to be with this group and win with them (Saturday)."

That one defenseman happens to be one of the best players in program history: Zeev Buium, who spent his Friday afternoon setting up the Minnesota Wild’s first goal against the Colorado Avalanche after an incredible two-year run with the Pioneers.

Buium was the No. 12 pick in the NHL draft. He was arguably the best defenseman in college hockey for two years in a row.

That said, the Pioneers haven’t flinched this season without him.

“Really, I haven’t thought about Zeev at all. It¶¶Òõap a part of what we do,” DU coach David Carle said. “Really good players come here, really good players move on and really good players come in and replace them. Wouldn’t want to have it any other way.”

The Pioneers lost Buium, goaltender Matt Davis and a slew of essential forwards from a core group that won the 2024 national championship and wasn’t far off from a repeat a year ago. They are going to welcome the Minnesota Golden Gophers to Ball Arena on Saturday in the 2025 U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Game.

They’ll do so as the No. 4-ranked team in the nation in both major polls. The Pioneers are a national title contender again, with one of the deepest and deadliest rosters in the country. And the defense corps has been a huge part of that.

“I think we’ve built so much,” Pioneers defenseman Boston Buckberger said. “We brought in Eric Jamieson. We have a lot of guys that played a lot of games. We’re pushing each other every day. We get to practice and we learn from each other. Jameson has even taught a few things, so we’re just pushing each other every day to get better as a group collectively. And he’s so good. He’s been learning and morphing into the system that we play in. Everyone wants to step up. I think we’ve kind of shown that here throughout the first bit of the season. Hopefully, we can keep it going in the right direction.”

Jamieson is the only freshman in the group, but he’s also not a typical first-year college hockey player. A year ago, he was the captain of the Everett Silvertips, a team that won the Western Hockey League’s regular-season championship.

The rules have changed in college hockey, and Jameson is part of a wave of CHL players who are now on NCAA rosters. The 20-year-old freshman has five goals and nine points in 14 games for DU, and has been a stalwart on the club’s second defense pairing.

“(Buium) is a pretty tough guy to replace. Pretty good player, obviously,” Jamieson said. “I think everyone was really welcoming to me. All the ‘D’s have been super nice; they helped me kind of transition. That¶¶Òõap been really good. I’m not going to fill those shoes quite the same way, but I just want to try and contribute in the way that I can.”

While everyone can agree that Buium’s talent and production would be nearly impossible to replace by any one player, the Pios are collectively one of the most dangerous offensive defense corps in the nation. The top pairing is leading the way.

Junior Eric Pohlkamp has 10 goals, which is the most of any defenseman in the country. His partner, Buckberger, had the game-winning goal in both ends of a home-and-home against archrival Colorado College.

“Both of those guys are so dynamic,” Pios captain Kent Anderson said. “Whenever they are on the ice, we’ve got a good chance to score. Being able to see those guys practice every day, they’re special players and great for this team.

“We have a lot of guys that played a lot of games. We’re pushing each other every day. We get to practice and we learn from each other. Jamieson has even taught a few things, so just pushing each other every day to get better as a group collectively.”

Quentin Miller has looked like a star in the making while trying to replace Davis in net. The Pios might not have a game-breaking star up front, but they do have a deep collection of future pros at forward.

And this defense corps looks like one of the best in the country, even with an incredible talent like Buium off to the NHL.

“Not to be rude, but the media were the only people talking about it,” Carle said. “There’s no conversation around like, ‘Oh, we’ve got to replace Zeev.’ We’ve had a lot of really good defensemen come through over the last number of years, and we’ve had a lot of really good defensemen come in and replace them.

“The show goes on. That¶¶Òõap what makes this place great.”

arrived in San Jose at the start of his second season with the club, and everyone was excited to see , the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL draft. It didn’t take long for the kid to make an impression.

“First day I got there, when it was the captain’s skates, not even real training camp — I was like, ‘Damn, this kid is for real,’ ” Blackwood said. “The first day, he was scoring some crazy goals and I was like, ‘OK, maybe he’s just having a good day?’ But it was pretty impressive, and then the next day and the next day, he just kept doing it.

“He was just the best guy on the whole team at 18.”

Celebrini had a great rookie season with the , and finished third in the Calder Trophy voting. He looked like a future star in the making.

That future has arrived. Celebrini and the Sharks play Wednesday night at Ball Arena against the , and he is second in the league in scoring with 34 points. He’s helped make the young Sharks one of the early-season surprises.

After two years as the league’s worst team, the Sharks arrived in Denver in ninth place in the Western Conference, two points shy of a playoff spot.

“We had expectations coming into this year,” Celebrini said. “We wanted to have a better season, play better, make those next steps. I think we’ve done that through the first 22 games, but there’s plenty more that we need to build on and a lot we need to work on still.”

Celebrini became just the fourth teenager in NHL history to have 30 points in the first 20 games of a season, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby. He’s going to face the NHL’s leading scorer, Colorado’s , on Wednesday night.

Just as games between MacKinnon and Crosby have been appointment television for years because of their friendship and obvious connections, games between the Avs superstar and Celebrini are now as well.

And just as Crosby became a mentor for MacKinnon as their friendship grew, both of those guys have done the same for Celebrini.

“He’s great. Spent a lot of time with him at world championships and then saw him this summer too,” MacKinnon said. “Lots of golf and just hanging out. He’s an awesome guy. I think he’s super dedicated and focused.

“Obviously, having your dad show him all those things is pretty cool. He’s very mature. Seems like a great leader for that team. Just an awesome player, a guy you’d definitely want to build a team around for sure.”

Celebrini’s father, Rick, is the director of sports medicine and performance for the Golden State Warriors. Macklin grew up in Vancouver, but also spent time living in the Bay Area and played one season with the Junior Sharks youth program.

He’s earned praise as a complete player, and as being well ahead of his years without the puck. He’s drawn comparisons to MacKinnon and Crosby with his off-ice work ethic, plus his blend of world-class skill and competitive nature. He’s also about the same size as Crosby, shoots left-handed and uses his lower body to win battles for pucks in similar fashion.

“I think he plays a lot like (Nikita) Kucherov and Sid, a bit of a mix of both,” MacKinnon said. “Yeah, I get it. I get the comparison. I think Sid plays at the net a little more, but they both battle hard. The compete is second to none with both of those guys, so yeah I can see it.”

Celebrini’s incredible start to the season has made him a viable candidate to make Canada’s roster for the 2026 Winter Olympics. He went to the world championships this past summer and fit in well with three goals and six points in eight games.

Just putting up great offensive numbers does not make anyone a lock for Team Canada. The Canadians will always have offense to spare, but what could separate Celebrini from other young stars like Connor Bedard or Wyatt Johnston is how well-rounded his game is, despite still being a teenager.

“Yeah, I think he has a great chance, as good as anybody,” MacKinnon said. “He’s just one of the best players in the world at 19 years old. He’s impressive.

“Obviously, you’d have to ask (Hockey Canada general manager Doug Armstrong) about that, but it¶¶Òõap looking good for him for sure.”

Blackwood has spent time as a teammate and a foe with Celebrini. The teenager got the best of him in the first matchup of the season between these clubs, scoring San Jose’s first goal in a 3-2 overtime win at SAP Center.

He’d certainly put Celebrini on the Olympic team. It seems like MacKinnon would, if he had a say, as well. Celebrini has gone from future star to franchise superstar in a hurry, and he’ll likely see a lot of MacKinnon on the ice at Ball Arena.

“Mack is the ultimate professional,” Blackwood said. “He’s definitely like Nate and Sid. I think he’s got a lot of that in him. But at the same time, he can also be a fun, happy-go-lucky guy too. He’s a little bit of both in him, which is kind of unique, I think. He’s joking all the time, always has a smile on his face.

“But just like those guys, when it¶¶Òõap time to go, he’s locked in and he’s the ultimate competitor.”

A dozen years later, they’ve been reunited in the NHL with the New York Islanders. Roy is a different coach in his second go-round behind an NHL bench.

And Drouin is a different player than he was as a teenager terrorizing opposing defenses alongside Nathan MacKinnon for the Halifax Mooseheads.

“He’s very mature right now,” Roy said. “When he was in junior, he was a phenomenal playmaker. When he was playing with Nathan in Halifax, they were always a threat, and they were the leaders of their team. What I love about his game right now is that he is playing both sides. He makes really good plays for (Mathew Barzal), but he also defends really well. The 200-foot game that he’s playing shows me a lot of maturity in his game.

“I’m very impressed with him.”

Drouin’s evolution as a player has not happened on a linear path, but his two years with the Colorado Avalanche did wonders to rebuild his career and his value. The Avs got him on a bargain one-year deal after an up-and-down tenure with the Montreal Canadiens.

He fit in well and earned another one-year deal. Eventually, it was time to ask for more, and the Avalanche — with Gabe Landeskog coming back and Brock Nelson needing a long-term deal — could not provide it.

“It sucked. Obviously, sometimes you’ve got to do a decision for your family and for other reasons,” Drouin said. “I enjoyed my time in Colorado. I would have loved to stay here for the rest of my career, but the business side of it doesn’t allow it sometimes. You’ve got to move on and do different things.”

Drouin’s relationship with MacKinnon got him in the door with the Avs, but he became an integral member of the club for two seasons on his own. He had 19 goals and 56 points two seasons ago, then 11 goals and 37 points in just 43 games last year.

His development as a two-way player was a consistent talking point with Avs coach Jared Bednar. That was something Roy echoed. Drouin had 14 points in his first 17 games with the Islanders.

“He’s been a great addition for us,” Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri said. “I think he’s a guy you can put with anybody, and he elevates that line. He’s done a great job so far, and hopefully he continues to get better and more comfortable. It¶¶Òõap awesome to have a guy like that in your room and your lineup.”

When last season ended, it was pretty clear there wouldn’t be room for Drouin in Denver unless he was willing to take a discount again. Asking a player to do that multiple times in the prime of their career just isn’t feasible. Drouin said there were plenty of talks with the Avalanche, but he also knew before the free-agent market opened that a return wasn’t going to happen.

So on July 1, Drouin went back to the Eastern Conference, signing a two-year, $8 million deal with the Islanders. That meant parting ways with MacKinnon.

“It was tough,” Drouin said. “Obviously, he brought me here. He was one of the main reasons I came here. It¶¶Òõap a very close group over there. It sucked to leave. Some of those happen as part of the business, I guess.”

Landing with the Islanders has meant a few reunions. Drouin and Anthony Duclair have been friends going back even before his Halifax days with MacKinnon. He knew Roy well, but he’s also played for assistant coach Ray Bennett with the Avs.

And he’s now in a position to be a veteran mentor for the other guy making his return Sunday night to Ball Arena. When the Avs traded for Nelson, one of the key parts of the deal going the other way was Calum Ritchie.

Colorado selected him in the first round of the 2023 NHL draft, and he became the club’s top prospect at one point. He played seven games for the Avs at the start of last season before returning to juniors.

Ritchie started this season in the AHL, but has played eight games for the Islanders without a point.

“I’m trying to help him as much as I can, honestly,” Drouin said. “I knew him from Colorado, a couple of games before he got sent down last year. He’s been great with us. He’s a kid that wants to learn, wants to get better. That¶¶Òõap always cool to see.”

That’s the weirdest part for him now. When he tunes in to check out his old pals or catches Islanders highlights, that’s not him when No. 29 makes something happen.

It’s going to be an interesting weekend for Nelson and a different kind of Sunday night at Ball Arena. The guy who used to wear No. 29 for the Islanders will play against them for the first time since being traded to the Avalanche. The guy who used to play here, Jonathan Drouin, is now the guy wearing No. 29 for his old club.

“Yeah, (Drouin) texted me just to see if it was OK,” Nelson said. “It is funny — there’s a couple times where I watch their games and that just looks funny. Anytime I watched video for 12 years, I was just so programmed to be like, ‘OK, there I am.’ It¶¶Òõap weird to see somebody else out there.

“He’s a great guy, great player and it¶¶Òõap just a number. I told him I’d never tell him not to wear the number. I’m not there. Go ahead. But I appreciate him even thinking that he had to reach out.”

Nelson was a marquee addition ahead of the 2025 NHL trade deadline for the Avs. He became the biggest move of the offseason as well, when the club kept him in Denver with a three-year, $22.5 million contract ahead of him reaching the free-agent market.

It’s been a pretty seamless fit with the Avalanche. He was already friends with Devon Toews from their days together on Long Island. He had an off-ice workout connection with Nathan MacKinnon.

Now Nelson will get the first of two reminders of his previous life in rapid succession. The Avs play Sunday at home against the Islanders and then travel to Long Island for the return match in less than three weeks.

“It will be fun to see those guys,” Nelson said. “There’s a lot of them I haven’t seen since the trade. I’ve talked to a lot of them. It will be weird. It will be different. Hopefully, I’ll see a few of them the day before and catch up a little bit. But I’m glad it’s here first and I get to see them before going there.”

The last time Nelson played at UBS Arena, he was named the No. 1 star of the game. His on-the-bench postgame interview was an emotional one — for him and Islanders fans. Everyone involved knew a trade was imminent.

“I’ve never really gone through anything like that,” Nelson said. “You see guys going back after long stints, and it can be emotional. So, yeah, I think it would be tough if we were going back first. It will be nice to get through this one, just to kind of see them.

“I’m sure there will be a couple of laughs, a couple funny chirps going back and forth. Just some good banter.”

Toews wasn’t with the Islanders for as long, but it was the organization that drafted him. He went through a similar situation — getting traded to Colorado, trying to find his place on a team with high expectations and settling into a completely new NHL environment for the first time.

Through Toews’ eyes, Nelson’s transition is going well.

“He’s playing great,” Toews said. “He’s not a guy that¶¶Òõap ever going to dwell on stats and things like that. He’s been a positive contributor to our team. That¶¶Òõap what he needs to be. Points will come when they come. He’s been a great addition to our penalty kill. He’s a great faceoff guy, which I knew from my time with him in New York. He’s finding ways to contribute in different ways.

“When you bring in guys like that, it raises your standard for your structure and your detail in your game. That¶¶Òõap sometimes lacking with younger guys, guys that are still learning and finding their way. Those (veteran) guys help with those details and then help the young guys as well, making sure they’re doing the right things and are in the right places instead of just being hyper focused on producing offense.”

Nelson has been the No. 2 center since the day he arrived. There was no question about the role he would play, which helps. Having guys like Toews and MacKinnon in his corner from day one also helped.

The offensive numbers have not matched his days on Long Island to this point. He had a mid-career renaissance from 2021-24, scoring at least 34 goals and 59 points in each of those three seasons.

In 37 games with the Avs, he has 10 goals and 20 points. This year, it’s four goals and seven points in 18 games.

The one part of his role that is different is the offensive expectations. The Avs don’t need Nelson to score 30-plus goals and drive the offense on a consistent basis to be successful.

New York needed him to raise the team’s ceiling. In Denver, he has helped raise the Avs’ floor.

“If you look at his analytics and underlying numbers, they’re all good,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “He’s a really smart, really well-rounded 200-foot player. From my tally, he’s fourth on the team in scoring chances. He hasn’t scored easily so far, but he’s right there tied with Val and his defensive metrics have been good. It¶¶Òõap just about trying to give him more shooting opportunities.

“Part of it is just the steadiness of his game and doing the right thing all the time.”

Nelson was a fixture in the Islanders’ core for years, but life changes quickly in the NHL. Calum Ritchie, who was part of the Avs’ package to get Nelson, will be on the other side and could be a key part of the Isles’ future. Trading Nelson was part of a reset, which was turbo-boosted when the Islanders won the draft lottery and landed defensive wunderkind Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL draft.

Drouin is helping to replace some of the offense the club lost when it traded Nelson. Schaefer looks like a runaway Calder Trophy winner and has changed the long-term outlook for the franchise.

Nelson was part of the group that helped the Islanders reach back-to-back conference finals, the best stretch of success the franchise has had since the early 1980s when it ruled the NHL. He expects to have a chance to reminisce about those days Saturday night with his old friends, and then try and beat them Sunday night.

He’s also looking forward to the game back there in a couple of weeks. His wife and kids are going to make the trip. They’ve got a couple of old stomping grounds spots lined up and plenty of friends to catch up with.

“Sometimes I think back to my routine there and how programmed I was, how I knew everything about the surroundings,” Nelson said. “There are times where it feels like you’re still kind of feeling it out here, settling in. But there are also times where it feels like I’ve been here forever. Crazy to think it was 12 years there. It feels like it went by in a blink of an eye.

“But the more you think about it and you expand the picture, you think about the life things that happened — kids, family, all that stuff, just the friends we met there — and I feel fortunate for the time I had there.”