Originally published in Eishockey News in 2007 By Lucas Aykroyd It’s no wonder Ryan Smyth feels so comfortable with the Colorado Avalanche. After all, during his 11 seasons with the Edmonton Oilers, the gritty left winger scored more points against Colorado than any other NHL club (41). Make no mistake, Smyth still has strong ties […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008 By Lucas Aykroyd How often does a team’s leading goal-scorer have four times as many goals as assists? It’s a bizarre statistic, but Marek Svatos of the Colorado Avalanche is pulling it off. The 25-year-old Slovak winger entered a February 9 game versus the Vancouver Canucks with 22 […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2008 By Lucas Aykroyd After the NHL trade deadline on February 26, there was a lot of history to be found in the roster of the Colorado Avalanche. If you wanted to go back to the franchise’s Quebec Nordiques era, you could look at Paul Stastny, the second-year center […]

Originally published on HockeyCanada.ca in 2005 By Lucas Aykroyd Without David Aebischer, Switzerland would have nothing to brag about in World Junior hockey history. That’s a strong statement, but considering the Fribourg-born goalie led the Swiss to their only medal ever in 1998 (the bronze) with a stunning 1.58 GAA, it holds true. The intensely […]

Originally published on IIHF.com in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd With just 2 million citizens and just over 1000 hockey players, Latvia is thrilled every time one of its native sons cracks the big time. And defenseman Karlis Skrastins of the Colorado Avalanche is one of the best contemporary examples. Of course, there are others. Helmut […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2000 By Lucas Aykroyd One of the luxuries of being a young defenseman on a top NHL club is that you don’t have to be the “go-to guy.” Martin Skoula of the Colorado Avalanche is getting the opportunity to learn from some of the best, including Ray Bourque and Adam […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 1999 By Lucas Aykroyd He admits to a weakness for glazed doughnuts and claims he’d be shelving boxes in his mother’s stores in Latvia if he wasn’t in the NHL. He is Sandis Ozolinsh, the top offensive defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche, and his blithe off-ice demeanor fits in with […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd His taste in entertainment, ranging from WWF wrestling to the movie “Road Trip,” may not be the most intellectual, but Ville Nieminen shows plenty of smarts on the ice. The 23-year-old rookie left wing from Tampere, Finland was recently called up from the Hershey Bears of […]

Originally published in Eishockey News in 2006 By Lucas Aykroyd The 2003-04 edition of the Colorado Avalanche was stacked with big NHL stars like Peter Forsberg, Alex Tanguay, Rob Blake, Adam Foote, Teemu Selanne, and Paul Kariya. Yet after the lockout, the league’s new salary cap environment forced the Avs to let go of those […]

Originally published on EuroReport.com in 2001 By Lucas Aykroyd When Milan Hejduk fired home two goals in the opening period of a 30 November clash with the Vancouver Canucks, it must have felt like he’d gotten the Rocky Mountains off his shoulders. The fourth-year Colorado Avalanche sniper had gone 15 games without scoring, a shocking […]