The Colorado Avalanche hosted the first day of their first-ever Rookie Showcase on Saturday to a nice crowd at northwest metro’s Westminster Promenade. Avalanche prospects played three periods of real live spirited hockey against the top prospects of the San Jose Sharks and walked away with a solid, if not completely clean, 4-1 victory.
Colorado definitely wasn’t messing around with their roster, suiting up three young players that saw NHL time last season in Nikita Zadorov, Chris Bigras, and the AHL’s co-Rookie-of-the-Year Mikko Rantanen. The Baby Avs (Snowflakes?) far exceeded the San Jose squad in both raw talent and development level, and had it not been for a rash of 2nd and 3rd period penalties, this score might have been even more lopsided.