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Compher out with lower-body injury; Cole practices again

October 9, 2019, 4:21 PM ET [0 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
J.T. Compher didn’t practice Wednesday because of a lower-body injury and won’t play Thursday against Boston at the Pepsi Center.

“I was kind of expecting him to skate this morning, then he came in not feeling as good as what we hoped,” coach Jared Bednar said. “We kept him off the ice today and he won’t play tomorrow. I don’t know the extend of it or how long he’s going to be (out). We’re just evaluating day by day, and that’s four days now (since Saturday’s game against Minnesota) and he hasn’t skated.”

The Avalanche adjusted their lines without Compher, moving Tyson Jost from left wing on the second line to center on the third line with Matt Nieto and Colin Wilson, who will make his season debut.

Second-line center Nazem Kadri returned after missing practice Monday because of a sore foot. He'll be with Joonas Donskoi on the left and Andre Burakovsky on the right. The first and fourth lines stay the same.

Defenseman Ian Cole practiced again and “is available,” Bednar said, adding he hasn’t made a final decision on the lineup.

Cole, who had offseason surgery on both hips, was originally expected to be out until December. He was paired in practice with Kevin Connauton, who was recalled from the AHL Colorado Eagles after playing two games with them.

Connauton continues to wear a bubble face mask to protect a broken cheekbone, an injury he sustained when hit with a puck a week before training camp.

“I had some great people working with me,” Cole said. “Our trainers have been fantastic and I have some good genes from my parents, apparently. The motivation was certainly there. My job this summer since March 20 when I got the first (surgery) … it wasn’t a long vacation, it wasn’t go to the beach and enjoy the summer. It was to rehab and get back as quickly as possible. That was my whole goal this summer, and you’re seeing the results of that.”

Cole said hip issues bothered him last season, that the problem was slowly getting worse. Surgery, he said, was the only recourse.

“(I have) way more range of motion,” he said. “Way better and hopefully way better for a long period of time. Today I practiced and felt pretty good. We’re going to keep trying to iron out some of the finer details of the skating and hip mobility. Hopefully that’ll come sooner than later. I’m not going to speculate on the timeline.”

Connauton said being assigned to the Eagles was difficult, along with the fact he had to go through waivers first.

“That’s part of the business,” said Connauton, who was acquired with a 2020 third-round draft pick from Arizona on June 25 for Carl Soderberg. “If you can’t handle it, you’re not going to last very long. It’s about staying in the right mindset. It doesn’t matter where you’re playing, you have to bring your best effort every night. I’m happy I’m back.”

Connauton said he’ll need to wear the extra facial protection for another two months.

“I’ve got to wear this stupid visor for a while, so that sucks,” he said. “The whole cheekbone is super fragile. It’s got the plates in there and needs time to heal. It’s more protecting it from a direct blow.”

Mark Barberio, a healthy scratch the first two games, was paired with Ryan Graves, replacing rookie Conor Timmins, who was assigned to the Eagles on Monday. It’s an indication Barberio will play against the Bruins.

“I’ll find out in the morning, that’s when the lineups come out,” said Barberio, who missed 41 games last season with various injuries. “I was just told to be ready to play.”



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