Guerilla Sports | Guerilla Hockey with JJ and Jesse | What has been working for the Avs | Evan Rawal

Guerilla Sports | Guerilla Hockey with JJ and Jesse | What has been working for the Avs | Evan Rawal

Hello everybody welcome into gorilla hockey with Jesse and JJ Jesse of course on the road again he just finished his Serious XM hit uh that he was doing that we kind of publicized a little bit that was fun to listen to him big stuff for gorilla Sports there Jesse good job on

That Evan Rell joining me of course today Colorado hockey now Evan how you doing I know today’s a little later of a podcast than we’re used to doing so I know you got a chance to catch up on your KHL watching KHL hockey baby it’s so much more entertaining than like the

AHL or something like that just chaos I love it I guess in what sense it’s just skill like the AHL there’s like it’s just grinded out like the skill players kind of get pushed to the side I feel like but and now that doesn’t mean KL players like could translate to the NHL

It’s just more fun to watch I think I remember when zadorov I forget at what point in his tenure here in Colorado but he brought up that he for the first time in his career he was asked to dump the puck here in Colorado right and so that

Just kind kind of right there tells you what the the Russian mindset the KHL mindset is constant regrouping there’s like no dumping there’s like oh we’ll just regroup if you know we’ll try to get in the zone if we can we’re just going to keep going just constant Nathan

McKinnon slingshots over and over a lot of that yeah speaking of which Nathan McKinnon hits 100 points uh last night against the Chicago Blackhawks um I guess yeah let’s just get let’s start with that obviously a fun season from Nathan McKinnon it’s fun watching him Nikita karov four points ahead of him so

As magn as Nathan McKinnon is doing COV doing just a little bit more but um yeah I guess what’s your biggest takeaway from Nathan McKinnon reaching the 100 point mark so early here in the season like at this point last year we were like man is he ever going to hit

100 points CU he had it it was a couple years where he’s like oh he’s going to get there he gets hurt he gets hurt and now it almost feels like you know when will he never not hit 100 points again because it seems like he’s Unstoppable

Right now so it’s crazy and then you have McDavid coming up behind both these guys the scoring race and the MVP race is just going to be out of control this year but yeah I mean McKinnon fantastic that goal was sweet it’s the end of the

Game I think everyone kind of tuned out by them but awesome goal I mean he’s doing everything for this team this year and you you were there you heard bner the other night Just Praise Him in that Dallas game not for the offense but for what he was doing defensively which I

Feel like there was a little bit of a dip for him um in the recent weeks which could have been said for a lot of the team actually but um that’s kind of what we you know the points are going to come but if the ABS are going to win in the

Playoffs we saw it in 2022 when if McKinnon is playing great in Def in the defensive alone the as are very difficult to beat yeah it that’s it that’s exactly it is he’s not he hasn’t been hurt that much this year if at all and we’ve heard so much about the

Attention he’s paid to his body over the years and how he’s somehow elevated this year it’s obviously paying dividends already I think that’s fascinating also look at the the assists to goals ratio right he’s got 64 assists with 36 uh goals that’s all pretty close to two to

One and I think that’s insanely balanced right that’s that’s just a a a player that knows how to bury the puck but also is finding ways to make amazing plays and just be a playmaker out there so I think that’s a real Testament to his game this year we know he’s worked on

The assist part of of the game we know how much he loves shooting and scoring goals so that addition of assists and really being at the top of the League what is he I think third in the NHL assists um I think that that’s something

To look into and Evan you and I both play hockey what does it take for a hockey player to kind of be that well balanced as far as goals and assists because you look at Austin Matthews what he’s doing this year is awesome but he’s

Not at the top of the NHL in points because of how few assists he has so well it speaks to the talent around him one that he can have people that can finish some plays that he’s setting up like Amo Rand in but um I just remember

Early in his career there was always the question those first four years where it’s like and does he have the I guess everyone knows he can skate but is the brain going to keep up with it and then eventually something clicked and you can just see the growth in his game over the

Last five years it’s been out of control whereas I mean the first four years it was there was very much still a question of like is this guy is he just going to be a really good player or is he going to be a great player now it’s he’s an

All World player so it’s it speaks to his I guess everything about him it’s just his discipline on and off ice that um that he’s constantly getting better um because a lot of people feel like peaks in NHL careers now are maybe starting a little bit earlier and now

He’s entering his late 20s and seemingly getting better and better and it’s at the point where just because of how he takes care of his body that you see Crosby Going at late late into his career that he’s still Elite that you think McKinnon could be doing this for a

Long time and he could be just Elite for a long time which is why they pay in the big bucks yeah as long as that body holds up right I look across at Patrick Kane M just 35 years old and uh it seems like he’s really on the way out of his

Career right and made me think man what’s Nathan McKinnon gonna be like at age 35 because I don’t see him being on a decline that that soon right I mean that’s that’s relatively around the corner I’ve often thought about that like what is he going to look like at 35

Cuz eventually he’s got a like his speed will right go away at some point but that’s I mean yeah that that is a mystery that I guess we’ll find out obviously in in time but the way he takes care of his body I have no doubt

That he’s just going to be a great player for another decade I would say yeah and to the other point I remember early in his career because he was drafted with Shawn Monahan right and I remember early in his career comparing the two and being like man the avalan

Really missed they should have gotten Shawn Monahan well I’m glad I’m glad that that wasn’t true um because they definitely hit it on Nathan McKinnon but um yeah I guess let’s let’s just move well I guess the other thing I wanted to touch on is this is where you’re kind of

You like seeing COV doing COV things but you’re like slow down a little bit because I feel like Nathan McKinnon deserves a heart trophy on his trophy case right this this heart trophy race is going to be there’s going to be at least one person who doesn’t even make

The top three that you’re like yeah I could have seen him winning like mcdavid’s coming Edmonton’s on the roll Austin Matthews I you know maybe controversial but I did say if if he scores 70 goals like I have a feeling he’s gonna get the MVP because that just

Hasn’t happened in 30 plus years and then you have COV going um the only thing that I think could hurt COV is that Tampa Bay is kind of flailing a little bit so if they were to drop out of the playoff race I think that would there’s nothing in the heart trophy that

Says you have to make the playoffs but it’s always like in the back of people’s minds so um yeah it’s going to be fascinating to watch and he’s the one guy who doesn’t have one that you know you think at some point voters are going

To give him that you know oh it’s his time he’s gonna get one here so if he keeps going he’s got as good a chances as anyone and DEP obviously if the ABS win the division I think that’s going to help him a lot yeah yeah I agree with

All that so the Avalanche obviously feels like they’ve kind of corrected everything they needed to correct from that ugly road trip um things are looking good a couple fiveg goal games we’ve seen most recently but I think right now what’s really setting the Avalanche apart is that second period I

Don’t know what they’re doing if if anything at all differently during the second period but that’s where they’re grabbing control of games or possibly even losing them so I I don’t know what what is your analysis of the importance of the second period for this team the

Second period is always the swing period because it’s the long long shift so if you get stuck out there that’s tough to kind of get the momentum back things like that because at the start of the year it was a I remember it was a nightmare for the Avalanche in the

Second period and that was something we talked to bedar about and he’s like I don’t really know how to answer that because we’re not doing anything differently we’re not telling them to do anything differently it just it happen so saw in the Toronto game it wasn’t

That the ABS were bad in the second period I think they they had a ton of chances like Logan oconor had the puck behind Sam sonov like three times um it was just that mistakes in their own end kind of led to goals for Toronto but

Then the Dallas game um you get some big saves from gor at the start of the second period and then the offense just really gets rolling and we’ve seen in the last five years once this offense gets rolling they’re feeling something it comes in in waves and that’s what

That second period was and then you know same with Chicago and that was the fs kind of stepping on the throat of a a bad team yeah I mentioned after the Dallas win in Jesse and I’s little postgame video about how I liked the line combinations that night and you

Sawart T leenan get placed with Miko ranton and Nathan McKinnon again who they throw Devon Taves and kale marar out there with as well so when that five that group of five is on the ice I mean it it starts to look like a power play

Even at five on five situations so you had that line you had the the they’re calling it The Roaring 20s line now miles wood Logan o Conor Ross Colton line in the second line slot leaving Zack periz Ryan Johansson and Jonathan Jonathan drwan in that third line spot I

I kind of really like this combination setup I like the way it feels right now at least until you’re waiting for Val thein to get back in the lineup then I’m not sure how how it kind of unfolds yeah what they’re going to do there is is interesting because I almost feel like

Ryan Johansson’s game has turned around he had that four game Run where he was good and then I think he dipped again last night might have been his best game of the year um again that was not a good team they’re playing so I don’t know

What to if we can take a ton from that but is it the Zack pzi Factor you got a veteran on there who demands a lot of you and that’s you know maybe that’s playing into it um and I I like the question when you signed Jan was was

Will he work away from Nathan McKinnon and I’ve actually liked him when he’s had to play with like Ross Colton and Miles wood I’ve liked him with then because he brings a little bit of skill there um and now he does that here because you know those guys aren’t

Burners pie and Johansson are not fast skaters but he can skate and he adds a little bit more skill to that line so um it’s an interesting combination I still think Val probably slides in on that line somewhere but yeah the if if pre they hadn’t taken away

That goal last night it would have been the first time that they had Colton and Johansson scoring the same game in like three months which is what they’ve been desperate for for the last few months so it’s uh the line combinations are good right now um and when Val gets back this

There’s competition that’s the big thing there’s going to be competition and that’s what a coaching staff wants yeah Jesse almost ripped my head off last week because I said Ryan joh Hansson has been playing better so I’m glad he’s not here to yell at you today he I know and

I’m the guy who said he’s a complete failure on since he wrote that piece it feels like he maybe he read it he laying in bed laying in bed and and just scrolling through and he found it um well it’s interesting because when bedner talks about him it’s not like

Glowing praise it’s just like yeah the compete like he said something about his compete level is starting to get there and it’s like that’s kind of telling about what was what they felt like was plaguing him but I do think he deserves credit he does look better of L yeah and

I think putting Jonathan drwan with him is a huge help I remember in the preseason seeing those two guys together and saying wow this is a really good fit I’d like to see where this goes more and we haven’t really seen them together since so um and you saw that play with

Drewan yesterday right that little backhand sauce he gave to to Joe Hansen as he kind of sucked in all five Chicago it’s just that that was such a testament to who drewan is and what we’ve seen from him this year right just really good at passing great vision and just a

Great hockey IQ and it it works well with Ryan Johansson which is nice but um yeah I think I I want to take a second to really pump Jonathan Drew an tires because I I love what I’ve seen from him and it took him a while to really kind

Of gain momentum but it seems like he’s consistent and we we now know exactly who Jonathan drwan is and and where he benefits and struggles yeah he hasn’t scored a goal in a while he had the one taken away but he’s still producing points like the pass in that Dallas game

On the leenan goal where leenan was just not ready for the puck at all but he still scored because the net was so wide open because it was just a OneTouch pass where just right on his stick so he’s still a great great passer we see it all

The time um his effort on the back check has been probably the biggest surprise to me like I did not know that was what we were going to get um and I think that is kind of the Avalanche way that they’ve got that in him that he’s kind

Of figured hey this is how I need to play to stay in the lineup so he deserves credit and then yeah the play last night like he just drew everyone into him um bet they like ESPN Point like every Chicago player was watching him that’s kind of an issue with a bad

Team but that’s what what you do you take advantage of bad teams and you you know create space for your Lin mates yeah I think we could kind of transition nicely in the conversation I want to have about usus anonin right because obviously Chicago being a bad team sure

It’s a great opportunity to play your backup but with all of us kind of feeling a little uneasy about the backups lately there’s still that thought in your mind like oh if ananin is here there’s still that chance it’s still Chicago who somehow gives the Avalanche fits every now and again but I

Think the Avalanche have corrected the way they need to play and they they’re playing with an effort that they need to right now to move kind of build that momentum down the stretch that I was confident from the start like yeah play an and in here I think the

Avalanche are going to have a great game and they did just that they got the E they had their effort in check and just seems like they’re playing the way they want to despite it being a bad team they kind of kick the [ __ ] out of them right

Do you think some of that comes from Anon and has given them I feel like he’s been pretty good the two starts before this like maybe they’re starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in front of him yeah I I think for sure he’s had

Three solid games in a row I think of course they’re they’re protecting him with the opponents they’re putting up actually no they put him in against Tampa Bay right so Detroit those are two playoff teams yeah absolutely so I he’s earning it right I I I’ve been the first

One to kind of talk down on eustus anan’s game but I think he’s shown a little bit of something that I’m not quite ready to say this is the group I’m comfortable with heading into the playoffs there’s still if there’s a deal to be made at the deadline I think they

Have to make it um but worst case scenario if you were forced to stick with these goldendent about it if I’m being honest you know I wrote this morning if I had to go with my gut I would say that they’re probably still going to trade

For a goalie um kappo kakan is the guy we talked about I think he’s a good good Target but um it’s kind of the whole picture right now that where you’re looking at it like Okay yorg evan his last 11 Stars going back to like right

Before the break I looked at up he’s at 9 914 save percentage so he’s kind of stabilized things and I think a big reason why is because he’s been getting some nights off like he had the All-Star Break um andin has started four games since the

Break um so he’s getting a little bit of rest he’s not having to start eight games in a row where you you know you mentally start to wear down andon has come in he’s played pretty well then you have Prav who’s gone to the AHL and he’s

Been the best goal in the AHL so I asked J bedar the other day you know do you feel better about your goalies now than you did a month ago he’s like yeah I do because there’s just so much unknowns like we liked Prav but we just didn’t

Know what he was and you know every time we felt like we were thrown in here is it was just a must-win game so when they when they lost they felt bad and they had kind of had to protect him so um it’s just been it’s it’s they’re going

To have a tough decision to make in the next week you know because I think that really comes down to because I think no matter what gor gives the starter do we want to give up an asset just to get a backup that’s gonna play insurance policy right yeah just to play five

Games down the stretch do you want to backup because the reality is if pav franos was the exception he wasn’t the rule if you go to your backup in the playoffs you’re probably in trouble yeah so that’s kind of what they have to weigh here down the stretch um and and

Is making them think about it that’s the thing yeah and so is proav right and and so I guess where do you think they go from here because yeah I think still just like us the team still isn’t fully bought into both these guys they are

Playing well I don’t know how you make a decision between one or the other right now one’s killing it in the AHL one’s doing adequately in the NHL um so yeah I think they they have kind of a little puzzle to un puzzle to solve here yeah

It could almost also also be some like okay well eus you’ve shown well maybe you’re showing us next year you can be the backup but we maybe want a little bit more protection going in the playoffs you know we’ll find out in a week yeah I I guess I’m curious as to I

Really wish I knew where where they were at in the goalie Market who they’re talking to who they’re eyeing who they’re making offers on because um you know I think I saw in today’s Evans daily that the Avalanche were even on in on tanev right and um yeah they’ve

They’re they’re often surround ing any available player and lately it’s been a thing where they’re not really Landing any of these available players so I think they have to be careful to balance the goalie that they’re going after and that they actually want and a goalie that they’re just going after just to

Get another goalie I found the tan of one really interesting because you know I’d kind of heard it thrown around but when Pierre LeBron says it he’s somebody that has shown in the past that he is connected to the app so I was like okay I think we do need to take that

Seriously um and basically what kind of what he says is that he thinks the ABS were one of the teams that actually offered a first but they said you got to take a Johansson’s contract back to make it work um which makes sense contract wise but um with tanev like defense is

Probably the last thing we’ve talked about as far as what they need yeah I was shocked to see that honestly that’s interesting in the way that you’re thinking in your head like okay are they saying we can’t find a center that’s maybe going to push us over the top so

We’re just going to load up on Def defense cuz if you think about that defense with tanv you got three righties three lefties they’re stacked and then you can kind of roll through the game you can protect your goal tender and just say okay maybe Nate’s going to win

Us games and we’ll win defensively um on the flip side you’re thinking okay well if that tan of deal went through are they trading a defens for yeah is there another um deal out there that’s that’s that’s waiting on that one yeah so my my initial my initial thought when all that

Came out was like like okay McFarland he’s he’s probably got a lot of things going where he’s trying to do whatever he can to help the team and I’m sure every GM is doing that but it’s like okay maybe he’s you know if he would have done that that would have been a

Very creative thing to do and I would have been very interested to see how it worked out and you know we’ll see what happens I they might still go out and get defenseman but it’s not going to be a tan of quality type player yeah yeah and we’ll see kind of

How they play the goalie cards as well and the other thing is flurry’s not on the I guess he’s not going to get trade anymore so that’s that kind of takes that one B option I guess there’s still Jay gallon out there but it’s essentially just backups out there now

And it’s that’s kind of where it gets tricky of do you just want to trade for a backup right that you’re probably just gonna let walk right so we’ll see how they juggle it I think that it’s a challenging trade deadline for the Avalanche this year and um I’m confident that they’re going

To make moves that are going to make the team better it’s just about how much better they can really make the team but um I want to look at that Dallas game again a little bit and yeah they the Avalanche were able to beat a team on

The second night of a back toback like they’ve been doing for years I mean such an easy bet for all my betters out there that definitely look at those back teams coming in on a backto back to altitude and to face a team like Colorado but I

Want to look at the way they won it right we talked about that second period how dominant they were and how they really took over so I guess what I’m asking here is yes the Avalanche beat a team on the second night of a back

Toback take it with a grain of salt but is there something to be looked into as to the 5-1 Victory and the the I guess just the strangle hold that the Avalanche had on that game throughout the whole night I think all of their wins against Dallas this year have been

Impressive in different ways just because we’ve talked about how much they’ve struggled on the road well two of their best road wins have come in Dallas which might matter in a month and a half um and then you go to this game on W or whatever that was Tuesday um

Yeah it’s a back toback back game but Dallas didn’t look bad like for the first 25 minutes I thought it was a pretty even game um but the ABS just kind of took over they played their game and they stepped on their throats and it’s kind of showing to me that like

Maybe this isn’t that bad of a matchup for them um whereas years past I thought Dallas was kind of give him issues don’t you think yeah absolutely I think the where the discrepancy is is just the the offensive production from the forward group I don’t think the Dallas Stars

Have anything near what the Avalanche have even as far as if you look at the stats you can draw a clear gap between the Avalanche forward group and the Dallas forward group so I think that’s really where the the discrepancy lies um yeah you asked me a question and now I

Forgot where where I was Dallas has given him issues in the past I mean it’s oh what I was goingon to say sorry uh is yeah they they played the night before but they had Wedgewood and net yeah and it really felt like they were saving up

Everything they had to throw at the Avalanche and then they they did they they scored first that night and it felt like okay the the stars are going to give the Avalanche a bit of push back so far tonight the avalan just took over so I think that that’s really something

That builds confidence and that’s my other thing with Dallas is yeah like they’re a very good team I think Winnipeg’s a good team um I’m actually I think I might be more afraid of Winnipeg because of Conor hellu Jake ottinger hasn’t been very good this year and I

Don’t I mean he has the potential he can obviously turn on whenever he wants but um Conor huk I think is he he’s going to be the goalie in the west that scares pretty much every team well and just it’s call a spade of spade Winnipeg is significantly better than they have been

In years past that trade they made with LA really bolstered their group they got rid of Pierre Luke du which was kind of you know a toxic player for them for a while um so yeah I feel like the the additions they made combined with Conor

Hug I think Winnipeg is the big threat to the Avalanche this year well in the central I guess you know in the west I was saying I would I would have to think about like Vegas and those teams but um just thinking the first round because

They’re going to have to get through one of these both these teams actually to make it to the finals I would think um but I’d love a Stars ABS mat um the thing about Winnipeg is their coach is the guy who used to coach the Stars when the when they gave the fs

Trouble it’s just the way they play like they play the almost the exact opposite of Colorado they want to slow it down and the ABS don’t want to do that so that’s I think that’s kind of why they give the ABS some problems and then you have huk there whenever something breaks

Down he’s going to stop it so you also have Pete dor in Dallas also kind of in Vegas gave they have some issues exactly so yeah I mean I think there’s a lot I think it’s very encouraging that win on Tuesday obviously back toback but um I

Think I I would say I feel especially after that one I just feel better about how they have match up against Dallas right now just and that was a big statement game for them coming off some especially coming off a game that they felt like they it was it was a close

Game against Toronto but they felt like they should have won because they Jared talked about how they gave the the Leafs their goals essentially so yeah I guess I’ll start by saying the the power play you kind of saw it really kind of revitalizing itself there against Dallas

Without Val in it so you throw Val nushin back into that power play it’s going to be significantly more dangerous and then to move to the Toronto point in the Toronto game I mean that was just a game it’s it’s a team you’re not as familiar with as you would like to be

Right yes they have a lot of talent you have a lot of talent you went into their Barn earlier this year and kind of embarrassed them so I think they had a little bit of a chip on their shoulder so for it to be pretty even balanced

Game I thought showed kind of the form the Avalanche are in yes they lost it late but that that was just the the epitome of a fun hockey game right that was must C TV if you’re a hockey fan of course they had it on Hockey Night in

Canada so probably the entire nation of Canada watch that one um but yeah that that was just a fun game all in all you’re not going to win every game that was a good hockey game to watch and that Toronto team was coming in on fire I think what did they won like

Seven in a row on the road at that point so um it was just a great game it was two even team two teams that played an evenly matched game and one team came out on top just because of mistake that the Avalanche made at the end where you

Know rant just throws it over the glass he’s not meaning to do that it just happens and it burns the ABS because their penalty kill just could not contain that power play at all so yeah I mean it’s a tough game to lose it’s a

Tough I would say it’s a tough game to not get at least a point out of when it’s tied in the last five minutes but it was still a good game they didn’t necessarily play bad but um they battled and sometimes you lose I feel like a lot

Of people on the east a lot of media members a lot of Toronto Maple Leaves fans really draw a lot of parallels between the Avalanche and the Toronto Maple Leaves seeing them face off against each other do you really feel like Toronto’s up there in the same Echelon as Colorado or does Colorado

Still have that extra step that we saw in Toronto I mean offensively I would say yes where the difference is going to be who the ABS can put out on defense a kale mcar and a Devon whereas Morgan Riley is a good player he’s not a kale

Mar so um and then they they don’t know who their goalie is like the ABS obviously have you know gor hasn’t played his best this year but Toronto is carrying three goalies right now because they don’t know who they’re going to play in the playoffs so that’s kind of

The big difference and it’s always been the issue with Toronto just you can’t trust them to kind of get past the first second round I guess at this point so um I can see the parallels in the way they play but the difference I think would be

That ABS when they’re at their best that they’ve shown in the past that they can defend at a high level Toronto when it when the going gets tough I would say they haven’t done that in the regular season they’re a pretty good defensive team yeah no I hear you got a

Four check and back check right and some some Leafs guys aren’t into the whole back check thing I probably think the Leafs are better than most people do I I picked them to win the I think I I didn’t pick them to win the cup I think

I said it would be a Toronto ABS final before the season um and I was I don’t know how I feel about that right now but I think that Toronto is still a really good team that could easily come out of the East before the deadline if the playoffs started

Tomorrow who do you think you would pick as your two final teams I I’ve been thinking about this lately and I really I don’t know because the team I always go to every year is Carolina and then they break my heart every single year they’re like let’s get more

Forwards in here let’s just let’s get more good forwards but we don’t have an elite forward that’s going to push us over the top so man I just don’t know because actually you know what I do know who in the East it’s Florida MH I should have just figured like Florida like that

Team is nasty they’re skilled and bossk’s kind of turned back into a little bit of the bosski was in the past so I think that’s the east team nasty in terms of like sandpaper hard they play hard and they play a little dirty but like within the rules how sometimes

That’s how you got to play I love that style of hockey I think Matt kachuck is my favorite player in the NH for that reason he’s got the skill but he also got that nastiness to him so yeah I’m with you I think Florida is the team I

Would pick out of the East and I’d take Winnipeg honestly out of the West just because I I do think they are that dangerous the Avalanche obviously are going to you know put up a a really good fight in that conversation that goes on

In my mind who who I think is going to come out of the West if the playoffs started today but again it’s completely hypothetical we still got a whole trade deadline to get through and see what teams improve where I know you know Vegas is going to add somebody and then

Mark Stone’s going to be good to go in the playoffs and that just is a whole another Factor but yeah Florida just has an attitude about them that is just like I I think they’re the clear to me they’re the clear clear favorites in the East I think that’s why the Avalanche

Love a guy like Chris Wagner yeah I think that’s why they add a guy like Ross Colton miles wood because they do have that little bit of snarl to them right they’re not going to back down to anybody and and they’re going to kind of

You know they want to muck it up Around the Net so um yeah let’s get into that a little bit that this past week since our last podcast the Avalanche have inserted Chris Wagner into the lineup of that of course there has to be casualties Frederick Olson gets sent to the AHL you

Don’t love to see it you know he spent the whole year with the team really um you know made a name for him at the NHL level but just if you got a better option you got to take it and I think Chris Wagner is that better option not

Only from an ex’s no standpoint but exactly what we’re saying the intangibles the the getting in your face and not back down and obviously great at the center position as well um yeah I mean I think it comes down to a few things one um you know people will you

Know talk about faceoffs how much they matter Freddy Olsen was not a good Faceoff guy like I think he was at like 38% through the entire year um and what bedar talked about the other is they wanted a face off guy on the penalty kill that they could trust and Wagner is

Starting to become that guy over the last two games um so I think they trust him more as a natural Center than Olaf who was kind of a wing that was moved to Center um that they were trying to you know make him work there uh but then the

Other big thing is just the difference type of player like you saw Wagner’s thrown a couple big hits this week that’s just how he’s always played he’s a little bit more of an energy guy and I think that’s kind of what they wanted in their bottom six to you know kind of

Reel things in here because they haven’t really been able to find that fourth line Center that really that fourth line that they trust um and I think it’s it’s just a different look for them right right now and I think that’s what they wanted to go for yeah I’ve told this

Story a few times on podcasts throughout the years so bear with me this is the play not the Playboy no no we’re we’re on from The Voice I brought that up to Jesse last week and he’s like what what are you talking about like was good

Story be there yeah if he would have only listened to the show that he’s a part of maybe he would have known or the other show you told it on um but I remember when Chris Wagner first was on the Avalanche what eight years ago when

They picked him up off waivers and um the first conversation I had with him I remember I was it was at a morning skate I was hanging out in the vom and one of the opponents came into the vom right because they were getting ready for their morning skate after and he looks

On the ice and goes oh is that Chris Wagner that guy’s such a prick M and I went into the locker room and I actually asked him I was like hey the other team’s saying that you play like a bit of a prick like is that part of your

Game that you really take pride into right and he’s like yeah absolutely that’s that’s my game fast forward to last night he gets in a fight right and it’s it’s I like it because there’s no instigator right it’s a fight where it’s like hey you want to fight yeah sure

Let’s do it that’s Chris Wagner that’s who he is right he’s not going to back down he’s not very big he’s like my height no he’s not big guy at all yeah he’s he’s he’s muscular and and he’s fit he’s definitely a professional athlete but coming off some injuries you know a

Pretty serious injury at that and and not being afraid to back down I think you’re just seeing exactly who Chris Wagner is just that little bit of snarl that that the Avalanche love Jared bedar loves right he refers to the game so frequently as war or you know makes War

Metaphors um so you know that’s that’s that’s the type of player he was too he loves that style of of just grit and sandpaper I know and you know when that Morgan Ry Crush check thing happened people were kind of like caught off guard when jar was like yeah I liked it

It’s like why were you caught off guard by have you ever like look at his history in the in Pocky he was a he was a fighter like that’s just kind of and that’s his mentality yeah he he wants the skill players on his team but he wants a

Little bit of grit and that’s something the ABS have gone after this summer with Colton with wood um kog they’re bringing cogliano back he’s a different type of guy but he still plays that way Wagner and I got to bring him up that’s why I think kovalenko is going to become a big

Favorite of Coach because he’s got an attitude he plays with an attitude OK Conor so this is something that the ABS needed um when they when they won the cup in that in 2022 was Helm who was s just turned into a machine in the playoffs like a h he hit everything in

Sight and maybe that’s what they’re kind of hoping Wagner can be um I don’t know if he can be that but it’s just that they want an attitude in their bottom six and it gives them a different look and that’s what you need maybe in the playoffs you might be pleased to know

It’s actually kovalenko is actually the last thing I have on our things to discuss today I didn’t tell you that pre show because I wanted it to be a surprise but we’ll get to it we’ll get to it in a second but I think the LA the

Last thing I really want to touch on is just the the ability to score goals out of this team right you you’re seeing the depth guys score goals you’re seeing a handful of different goal scorers over the last stretch of games something’s obviously going right within that depth

We’ve already touched on perhaps it’s the the line combinations right now are just really working well but this is the version of the Avalanche that they need to be to really find success right that depth scoring’s got to be there and then you can have a Nathan McKinnon two-point

Knight scattered in there as well so um just wanted to touch on that because I think the goal scoring I’ve been saying it all season long if you’ve been listening to this podcast this season you’ve heard me say it too many times probably getting sick of me but the goal

Scoring is cleaning up and I like it it’s uh well I mean they’re healthy right now outside of Val they are pretty much healthy so this is kind of what the team is obviously they’ll probably make a move in the next week but they’re healthy they got everyone going to see

Every everyone kind of starting to roll at the same time is great um Jarrett he has options now he has a fourth line that he can maybe trust a little bit more than he would have a month ago and that makes a big difference because he

Has if you if you look at the ice time recently he hasn’t had to play mckin in 25 minutes as much recently so that goes a long way and they they need to and we’ve seen it with gorgi they’re trying to give those big guys maybe a little

Bit more of rest um they’re not playing Mar as much on the penalty kill it’s just little things like that that they’re trying to tweak down the stretch that you know when those depth guys are actually playing well they can do it a little bit more because they can trust

Him more I guess with that what what do you expect Valen hushin to just step back into the lineup and kind of pick up where he left off because you do I see I feel like the version of the the hockey he was playing when we last saw him

Maybe it’s a little more ramped up now and obviously having been out as long as he have I think there’s some probably conditioning he’s got to get to a little bit of touch he’s got to get back so it might be a game or two but then yeah I

Think he’s going to be a force and and man you and I were talking the other day at morning skate just how big he is and how much ice he takes up when he really spreads that wingspan sends his stick out and he covers up literally half of

The ice so um yeah it’s we saw with Gerard like he came back and all of a sudden like a week of practice he’s good like he he may be playing the best hockey of his career so um I think the the time off hopefully he’s you know

We’re hope we’re hoping he’s doing good he’s gotten everything taken care of um and then the other part is you know he’s always dealing with some sort of injury he even mentioned earlier he’s like I’m not fully like I’m not 100% so even that time off it could have give him time to

Heal up there so um just getting him it might take a game or two but he’s just such a like he’s a he’s a monster out there I think he’s going to be just completely fine once he gets back yep well we were told that we should be

Seeing him Monday when the Blackhawks come into town um and the Avalanche have a nice little home stretch for him to really kind of get comfortable and get back in the swing of things I was wondering if he’d be m I was wondering if it’d be Wednesday CU they’re probably

Not going to practice Sunday but they might just be like Val just get out there and go play yeah I mean I think you you’d rather throw them out against the Blackhawks on Wednesday you play the Red Wings a little bit tougher of a matchup way better to get your feet wet

Again with the black box game there the Chicago media is really going after that what you think of the Manson slash did you see that on Bard yeah I did I I think nothing of it I mean yeah sure it’s a slash but is it something that

Needs to be looked into more no like it’s it’s just I don’t it doesn’t need to be looked into but they’re making it seem like it’s going to be World War II on Monday oh yeah they think they’re going to they’re going to retaliate who do they even have really that’s a tough

Guy Felino is all I I it probably end up being Felino that sucks for Felino yeah sorry eat that right hand of Manson yeah exactly I mean I was I was reminiscing on the Dallas game of Manson uh fighting Jamie Ben right remember there was even a second where Jamie Ben

Was throwing his little Jamie Ben fits out there on the ice and I thought oh Manson’s going to go get in his face and he didn’t but yeah Manson much like nushin on the four check Manson is a force to be reckon with when it comes to fighting not somebody I want to

See um yeah so let’s get to kovalenko as we started the show today you got to watch some KHL one of one of the players you got to see today was kovalenko how do you like what he’s doing so far I mean obviously you You’ brought up that

It’s a completely different League do you see him seam seamlessly transitioning over to the NH and I know he’s taking some faceoffs playing a little bit of Center just cuz I follow Colorado hockey now I know that um is it uh something that you see him

Doing here in Colorado uh well I’d be surprised if he played center over here um well I I I thought if we talked about him today I thought we’d be coming in talking about how they’re down one nothing because they’re playing just a Powerhouse team that wins every year

They go far U I think it’s one of Putin’s teams so everyone’s like it’s a little rigged yeah uh but his team went in there uh they they were awful down the stretch but they went in there they played defensive hockey which is kind of

What he talked about um and he was kind of the leader of that he W he he said something like they play me at Center but only to win faceoffs otherwise I just play the wing and I’m like that is like that doesn’t make a whole lot of

Sense because there’s not a center on his line he basically looked like he was playing center today and he was fine he was basically he was the defensive conscience on his line um he looked more like the guy that was at the start of the year who was probably one of the

Best if not the best player in the KHL so that’s very encouraging I know ABS fans want them to lose right away so he can come over but you know he he is a very like I said he’s a he’s got an attitude he’s a very competitive guy um

He’s he’s going to keep battling and that team’s we’ll see I’m not convinced they’re going to beat this team but you know it seems like they’re going to put up a fight and then the other gu gu have their first round pick and whatever he’s as an 18-year-old I think he surpassed

Every expectation I had in the KHL because they don’t play Young Players young defenseman over there so he’s playing big minutes on a very good KHL team and he had a goal and assist in his first KHL game and looked great so lot of encouraging things happening over in

The KHL which is a lot more fun to watch no that’s promising I like the fact that you’re saying kovalenko has a lot of defensive responsibility in him along with being you know kind of that offensive guy and and you know almost if it correct me if I’m wrong it seems like

He’s got this real almost Superstar vibe to him he hasn’t done anything yet to to Warrant that but he kind of well that was actually something I talked to you remember Brandon Coen training camp he played with kovalenko when he was a younger guy over in the KHL and I asked

Him I was like what’s he like he said he’s not short on confidence which is you know I think if you’re an if you want to play in the NHL that’s kind of how you have to be anyway um and he’s ALS I mean Larry onov has got on the

Record saying he’s gonna I think he could play in the top six in Colorado I don’t know we’ll see about that but um I definitely don’t think that would happen down the stretch here when he whenever he comes over but he seems like a very confident guy he plays with an

Attitude you know I think expecting him to be a top six forward at some point I think is maybe a little bit too much I think his best case scenario is like a guy like linan because he’s kind of a similar Guy where he’s going to battle he’s a smaller guy

Um smart player who plays he plays all situations over there but I think if you get like a Logan oconor type out of him I can’t remember the last time the hit on like a he he was a sixth round pick I can’t remember the last time they hit on

A late round draft pick so you’re just you’re extremely happy if this if he becomes an NHL player at all really in my opinion oh all right I guess that adjusts my expectations I think you just have to he’s not care Capri off I think some

People had that in their mind early in the year he’s not that guy there’s very few of those guys around the world um but he’s very much the one thing they say about him in the KHL is he’s the most NHL player NHL style player in that

League because of the way he plays um he is a bowl in a china shop and that’s kind of why I like watching him play because he’s just chaos he’s a little bit of Miles wood he’s a lot of chaos that’s exciting I I’m ready for his insert insertion into the lineup yeah

Sounds like a just an ENT whenever it happens and I’m um the ABS are going to get back to me on like his Visa status because that’s something everyone has to go through but he was born in North America or he’s born in the US so I’m

Wonder that’s why I was asking him is like is that an easier process so yeah he should have an American passport right exactly that’s the thing so I’m waiting to hear back from them stay tuned yeah well I assume Jesse will be back with us next week Evan but uh

Thanks for filling in for him the next few weeks and of course we’re going to find ways to keep getting these podcast in with you I’d like to get one with all three of us here in the near future chairs yeah we got a lot of chairs I

Don’t know if they’re in the the camera shot and you definitely can’t see them on the podcast um but there are two Empty Chairs here we got to start filling them um so yeah I any closing thoughts for today anything you’re looking forward to in the next week or

So I’m ready for the trade deadline to be gone I don’t know about you I have to write about it I’m kind of sick of writing about it I I don’t have to I’m not I’m not very good at trade deadline stuff or you know cap hits or offseason

Mumbo jumbo I like the X’s and O’s of hockey so that’s where I try to focus so it’s not any W off my back but for me March is here I’ve been saying for weeks March is very juicy this is the time the avalan are going to pull ahead in the

Central so I’m just excited to see that come to fruition and I can say I was right to all of you I’m the same way I don’t like talking about like the rumors and stuff like that I’d rather just talk about the game and you know they’re

Going to make trades I’d rather talk whatever trade they make I’ll analyze but I don’t you watch hours of film I know that I don’t want to talk about like oh I heard this juicy rumor because everybody talks like it’s not like and only some things come out right I mean

There’s been a million conversations had and we’ve heard about 0.1% of them probably exactly so it’s like yeah I mean I’d rather just talk about hockey and this is once the trade done line passes that’s when AI really cranks up best time of the year if they do end up

Getting goalie let’s film room that together yeah because I don’t know he made a save I saw some saves oh that one was not a save no that one leaked through him yeah we’ll do that on Colorado hockey now of course check out Colorado hockey now if you haven’t

That’s why Evan’s here Evan 10 for the promo code what does that give you gives you 10 bucks off for a whole year nice no ads it’s a hell of a deal too it’s really not a dent in the pocket at all to subscribe for the year and support

Evan and not only that you get in my opinion the best written content that’s out there thank you um surrounding the Avalanche so yeah thanks everybody for hanging out with us Evan thanks again we’ll see you guys next week this has been gorilla hockey with JJ and Jesse

JJ Jerez us joined in-studio once again by ColoradoHockeyNow’s Evan Rawal to dive deeper into how the Avs have rebounded since their nightmare roadtrip to start the season, and they unpack the depth players’ role in that, Plus much more.