The Avalanche's opening-night roster is set, and it includes a couple of surprises.
Someone had to go after defenseman
Patrik Nemeth was claimed on waivers from Dallas, and it turned out to be
Anton Lindholm, who I was all but certain would make the team.
Lindholm and forward
Gabriel Bourque were assigned to AHL San Antonio on Tuesday afternoon, joining defensemen
Duncan Siemens and
David Warsofsky, who were sent there earlier in the day.
So defenseman
Andrei Mironov, who spent the past five seasons in the KHL and has very limited experience on the smaller North American rinks, has made the team.
Defenseman
Sergei Boikov (shoulder) and forward
A.J. Greer (head) were placed on injured reserve.
Here's how the lineup is expected to look Thursday in the season opener against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden (12 players on the roster weren't in last year's opener):
FORWARDS
Sven Andrighetto -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Alex Kerfoot -- Matt Duchene -- Nail Yakupov
Gabriel Landeskog -- J.T. Compher -- Colin Wilson
Matt Nieto -- Tyson Jost -- Blake Comeau
DEFENSE
Nikita Zadorov -- Erik Johnson
Patrik Nemeth -- Tyson Barrie
Mark Barberio -- Chris Bigras
GOALIES
Semyon Varlamov
Jonathan Bernier
Scratches: Joe Colborne, Andrei Mironov, Carl Soderberg
Injured reserve: Sergei Boikov (shoulder), A.J. Greer (head)
*****
After practice but before the moves were announced, coach
Jared Bednar was complimentary of Lindholm. But he added: "He's got some developing to do, we're excited about him and his future," so that should have been a hint.
As for Nemeth, he's 25 and a big body at 6-feet-3 and 219 pounds. A Stockholm native -- he's friends with
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nemeth had three assists and 14 penalty minutes while playing in a career-high 40 games last season with the Stars.
Bednar said Nemeth will be paired with
Tyson Barrie.
"He's a guy that hopefully can play with a guy like Tyson Barrie, help solidify their defensive game, maybe give Tyson a little more freedom to get up and help us offensively," Bednar said. "Big, solid defender. Hopefully he can help stabilize our D-corps. Penalty kill guy, first pass guy, big body guy that has a good defending mentality. He should help us back there with a little experience.
"We have a chance to give him a new opportunity here. It's a good opportunity. We have a lot to prove with our D-corps especially. Young guys, so we'll be a hungry group back there."
Nemeth was Dallas' second-round pick (No. 41) in the 2010 NHL draft, but he never could crack the lineup as a regular. He played in 108 games with the Stars in parts of four seasons with no goals, 14 assists and 40 penalty minutes.
In parts of five seasons with the AHL Texas Stars, Nemeth had 28 points (five goals, 23 assists) and 82 penalty minutes in 104 games.
"We know each other really well," said Landeskog, adding that he and Nemeth were teammates at ages 10-14 while growing up in Sweden. "We see each other all the time in the summertime. Obviously the last few years he's been in Dallas' system. I'm glad he's here and getting a chance with us. I think he can be a good addition for us.
"He's real strong in his own end, a big, strong guy. He can move the puck, first outlet passes and things like that. I hope he can get a good chance here with us, come in and take advantage of the chance he's been given. Glad to have a buddy of mine and a fellow Swede, somebody that can hopefully help our hockey team."
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • 
Join the Discussion:
»