|
Same 5 remain unfit to practice |
|
|
Rick Sadowski
 Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSS
• Archive
• CONTACT
|
|
|
The situation didn’t change Tuesday for the same five Avalanche players who were deemed unfit to practice on Monday, coach Jared Bednar said.
Bednar isn’t permitted to disclose any details regarding Gabriel Landeskog, Erik Johnson, Philipp Grubauer, Brandon Saad and Keaton Middleton (AHL contract), other than to say they are permitted to work out on their own.
Mike Vecchione, signed as a free agent after scoring 21 goals for San Antoinio last year, left halfway through the second practice “to get stitched up” after getting hit in the face with a puck, Bednar said.
Bednar said return times are different for the five players unable to practice.
“I can’t comment on it,” he said. “All I can say is, they were unfit to practice again today because they all meet different protocols, I guess.”
Asked if any of the five might return this week, Bednar said: “I have to check the calendar.”
All but Middleton will play significant roles with the team and Bednar said it’s “not ideal” starting camp without them.
“It’s also not the end of the world,” he said.
Bednar said he isn’t concerned “at this point” that the players won’t be available for the Jan. 13 season opener against St. Louis.
“I’m confident that we’ll get some of these guys back here and hopefully we can get a full roster for the 13th, but I’m not 100 percent sure."
It is a disadvantage for Saad, the only new member of the group, having been acquired from Chicago in October. He was penciled in to play right wing on the second line with Landeskog and Nazem Kadri.
“With Saad out, he’s the one guy we’ll approach a little bit different,” Bednar said. “Grubi, Landeskog, Johnson, those guys are in tune with the way we play and have been doing it for years.
“I’m just making sure that Saad has the same information that we’re sharing with the group, that’s all I’ll tell you. He’s a new player (and) if he’s missing meetings or is not able to be here, I want to make sure he’s up to speed, but I can’t give you the details.”
********************
Best of luck to Colin Wilson, who on Tuesday announced his decision to retire. A good guy and especially productive playoff performer, his career was derailed by injuries. He also detailed a lifelong struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder in a first-person story that appeared in The Players’ Tribune in October.
Join the Discussion:
»