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For now, Dries, Toninato on roster |
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Rick Sadowski
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Sheldon Dries had something to prove this training camp, that being 5-feet-9 is no reason to prevent him from playing in the NHL.
Not that a permanent place on the Avalanche has been guaranteed, but for now Dries is one of 13 forwards on the 22-man roster -- along with seven defensemen and two goalies -- for Thursday’s regular-season opener against Minnesota at the Pepsi Center.
“It’s exciting, for sure,” he said after practice Tuesday. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to stay here all year. I’m going to keep working, keep striving forward and take it day by day.
“I’m only 5-9, so I tend to get looked over quite a bit,” said the 185-pound Dries, who is from Macomb Township, Wisc. “I kind of embrace that. When people say I can’t do something … making it to the NHL, people said I couldn’t do it, so it’s another stride forward."
Forward Dominic Toninato was also on the roster after the Avalanche made the following transactions:
Defensemen Mark Alt and David Warsofsky were assigned to the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, along with forward Logan O’Connor.
Forwards Sven Andrighetto and Vladislav Kamenev, and defenseman Anton Lindholm were placed on injured reserve.
Defenseman Conor Timmins was designated as injured, non roster.
(The Eagles late Tuesday assigned defenseman Josh Anderson to the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL.)
Coach Jared Bednar said the roster could change before Thursday, depending on how the injured players progress, though Andrighetto is expected to miss 2-4 weeks with a foot/ankle injury.
Semyon Varlamov will start in goal Thursday. No decision has been made for Saturday against Philadelphia, but Philipp Grubauer is expected to start one of the first three games.
Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Zadorov and J.T. Compher all practiced Tuesday. They didn’t take part in Fan Fest on Saturday or play in Dallas on Sunday. Monday was an off day.
Dries, 24, signed with the Avalanche as an unrestricted free agent on July 2 after collecting 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists) in 70 games last season with the Texas Stars of the AHL.
He wasn’t drafted after playing four years at Western Michigan University that followed two seasons with the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.
“I thank the Dallas Stars organization, the Texas Stars, for bringing me into pro hockey, giving me that chance," Dries said. "Nothing but respect for them. (Signing with Colorado) was just a good opportunity for me and I took it.”
Bednar said he “didn’t know anything” about Dries when he signed, but he impressed him throughout training camp.
“I like his work ethic, No. 1,” Bednar said. “I think he brings an element of speed, has a nose for the net and he’s not afraid to play in traffic. He found a way to score two goals from the front of the net, he hit a post in Vegas. Left shot, adds some skill to our bottom six, especially now with some of the injuries that we have.”
Dries skated on right wing Tuesday with left wing Matt Calvert and Compher.
“If you’re not going to bring the size, you got to bring the speed, you got to bring different aspects to your game,” he said. “That speed aspect, I fully embrace it, the penalty kill aspect I fully embrace and shooting. Every guy likes to score goals and I’m no different.
“Even going back to last year I didn’t know if I would make the Texas Stars and end up in the ECHL or anywhere else. As soon as I left college I took that day-by-day mentality of getting better and trying to make the lineup every day. You can’t take your foot off the gas.
“It’s exciting. I obviously was given an opportunity to sign here, I wanted to make an impression right away, and I felt like I put my best foot forward. Still a lot of work to be done.”
Toninato, 24, and Dries played against each other in college and became friends in camp.
Toninato signed with Colorado as a free agent on Aug. 16, 2017 after playing in his hometown at Minnesota-Duluth. He had two assists in 37 games with the Avalanche last season after getting 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 31 games at San Antonio of the AHL.
Except for his size (6-2, 200), Toninato is similar to Dries in style of play and the role they bring.
“We’re teammates right now and the main focus is just trying to get some wins for the team,” Toninato said of competition for playing time.
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