And then there were three: three defensemen competing for two places on the Avalanche's 23-man opening night roster.

The Avalanche today assigned Stefan Elliott to the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League, leaving Matt Hunwick and free-agent signees Nick Holden and Nate Guenin to battle it out for those extra spots.

In somewhat of a surprise move, coach Patrick Roy has decided to keep just one extra forward and two additional defensemen, though I guess everything is subject to change.

Locks on defense are Tyson Barrie, Andre Benoit, Jan Hejda, Erik Johnson, Cory Sarich and Ryan Wilson. Wilson has been nursing the knee injury he sustained in the Burgundy and White Game and has yet to play in a preseason game, but he was expected to miss two weeks, so he might be available for the Oct. 2 opener against Anaheim.

This training camp has been full of surprises with the claiming of forward Marc-Andre Cliche off waivers from Los Angeles -- he's played one NHL game in six seasons as a pro -- and the fact that a guy who already has cleared waivers (Hunwick) is competing for a place on the blue line with two others (Holden and Guenin) who were signed to give the AHL club some depth and veteran presence.

(Roy had said that Cliche would be the 13th forward, so I don't know where that leaves Brad Malone, who has played so well in the preseason. I guess that could change, too, depending on what happens in the next two games, Thursday in Dallas and Saturday in Las Vegas against Los Angeles.)

Anyway, back to the defense.

Elliott sure has been a disappointment since being named Western Hockey League Defenseman of the Year in 2010-11 when he had 31 goals, 50 assists and a plus-62 plus/minus rating in 71 games with Saskatoon. No one expected him to come close to putting up those kinds of numbers as a pro, but he seems to have lost a lot of confidence along the way.

Elliott is only 22, so time is on his side and maybe he'll get it together with Lake Erie this year.

As for the trio still in the hunt for places on the blue line:

Hunwick has the most NHL experience, having played in 291 games with Boston and the Avalanche. He's 28 and a lot smaller than Holden and Guenin at 5-feet-11, 190 pounds. He played in 43 of 48 games last year, had six assists and 16 penalty minutes. It might surprise you to learn that he finished with a plus-4 plus/minus rating, considering his defensive deficiencies. Hunwick is more mobile than Holden and Guenin, but the Avalanche could use more size and grit.

Holden, who was born in St. Albert, Alberta, is 26 years old, 6-4 and 207 pounds. He's coming off a nice season with Springfield in the AHL. Yeah, it's the minors, but he had nine goals, 30 assists, 58 penalty minutes and set a franchise record with a plus-24 rating while playing in 73 games. He played two games with the Columbus Blue Jackets, who signed him as a free agent in March 2008.

Guenin has been even more of a surprise, taking into account the fact he's 30, is in his eighth season as a pro and has bounced around since graduating in 2006 from Ohio State, where he played four years.

The Pennsylvania native was a fourth-round pick of the New York Rangers in 2002 after he played two seasons with Green Bay in the United States Hockey League. He probably needed an atlas after he signed with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2006; he managed to play in 12 games with the Flyers over the ensuing three seasons, the rest of the time with the AHL Philly Phantoms.

Guenin signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins in August 2009 and played 41 games with Wilkes-Barre in the AHL. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues in February 2010 and spent the rest of the year with Peoria in the AHL. He signed with Columbus in July 2010 and was traded to Anaheim in January 2011, so he split time between Springfield and Syracuse in the AHL. He played in 27 games with Syracuse and 15 games with the Ducks in 2011-12. Last year, in 66 games with Norfolk in the AHL, Guenin had four goals, 20 assists and 38 penalty minutes.

In all, Guenin has two goals, two assists and 14 penalty minutes in 32 games with the Flyers, Penguins, Blue Jackets and Ducks. You have to give the guy plenty of props for refusing to give up on an NHL career, whether or not he makes it this time.

*****

First overall draft pick Nathan MacKinnon took part in the Avalanche's practice this morning at the Pepsi Center and is scheduled to play Thursday night in Dallas.

MacKinnon had skated a couple of times, but he hasn't played since the preseason opener Sept. 18 against Anaheim because of a hip flexor ailment. He had two shots on goal, two takeaways and one blocked shot in that game. He logged 14:59 in ice time and won seven of 14 faceoffs.

MacKinnon is also supposed to play in the preseason finale Saturday in Las Vegas against the Kings. (I covered that annual game at the MGM Grand Arena for the Rocky Mountain News but, alas, those days ended when the paper shut down in February 2009.)

*****

Twitter @RickS7

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