Hockey Mountain High Podcast

The Avalanche have hit the quarter mark of the season following wins over the Calgary Flames and Tampa Bay Lightning, so it's time to look at where this team stands 25% of the way through the year. Is this team living up to expectations? Who's outperformed those expectations, and who's dissapointed? What can improve? Finally looking around the league as Dean Evason is fired in Minnesota, Patrick K...

Kurtis MacDermid is the hero the Avalanche needed to close the show in Minnesota, their second win a row after taking down Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks. In other news, Sam Girard enters the NHL player assistance program, and we wish him nothing but the best during his recovery. Can Bo Byram step up in the meantime in his absence? Is Tatar long for this team after being healthy scratched...

What was that? The Avalanche suffered a historic collapse in the final minute against the Nashville Predators, losing 4-3 in regulation when they held the lead with under a minute to play. Off the heels of a phenomenal 6-3 comeback victory in Dallas over the Stars after being down 3-0, it just makes this result all the more frustrating and confusing. What is up with these incredibly stylistic loss...

Less than a week after the 8-2 loss to St. Louis, the Avalanche picked up an 8-2 victory of their own over the Anaheim Ducks, picking up right where they left off against the Kraken. The depth came through, with Joel Kiviranta picking up his first three points with the team and potentially cementing himself on the fourth line. With a massive matchup against the Dallas Stars coming up over the week...

It's been a roller coaster of a few days for the Avalanche. Friday bore witness to the most embarrassing loss in the history of this core, an 8-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on home ice that saw them completely give up, and Coach Bednar question their effort. However, the Avalanche had the perfect get right game in their season finale against the Seattle Kraken, ending their road slump and getting...

The Avalanche dropped a heartbreaker to the Seattle Kraken on home ice, losing 4-3 and giving up the game winning goal with 32 seconds to go in regulation. However, it was the first time the Avs didn't look completely hapless in a loss this season, and the result is feels far worse than what it should've been. The Avalanche started out the week with a 6-3 win over the shorthanded New Jersey Devils...

The Avalanche got humiliated in Vegas, losing 7-0 to the Golden Knights for their third loss in four games and their third consecutive road shutout. After a string of poor performances, it gut check time for the Avalanche . However, with a 7-3-0 record at the 10 game mark of the season, things could be much worse. Can they turn it around against New Jersey and Seattle at home this week? How is the...

The Avalanche got right against the St. Louis Blues with a 4-1 win on home ice, getting much needed depth goals and dominant performances from their star players. Ivan Prosvetov made his first start as an Av, and delivered a solid performance, but is he ready for a full time backup role? Some lineup changes were made following the two straight shutout loses, will Tomas Tatar and Jonathan Drouin be...

In theme with the Halloween spirit, the Avs have put forth their scariest performances of the season, getting shutout for the second straight game with a 4-0 loss to the Buffalo Sabres, ending October at 6-2-0 but on a concerningly low note. With the inconsistent St. Louis Blues on the horizon, can the Avs snap this scoring slump and get in the win column before a heavyweight tilt againt Vegas nex...

The Avalanche got humbled in Pittsburgh for their first loss of the season, getting shutout 4-0. In a game where nothing went right, the only thing you can do is move on to the next one in Buffalo. However, the Avalanche set an NHL record with 15 straight road wins dating back to last season with a 7-4 win over the New York Islanders, outscoring their problems and proving Mikko Rantanen's status a...

The Avalanche took down the Stanley Cup favorite Carolina Hurricanes with far from their best performance, but still pushing through with a 6-4 win on home ice. Even without their best performances to start the season, the Avalanche are still undefeated with three games to go in October, all on the road. How will they fare in upcoming matchups with New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins? How w...

The Avalanche are taking care of business as the season gets underway, starting at an undefeated 4-0 after getting revenge in their first rematch with the Seattle Kraken after a 4-1 win, and smothering the Chicago Blackhawks and Connor Bedard in their first of many matchups with a 4-0 shutout. The win over the Kraken showed a lot of maturity and growth from the Avs, and how they learned their less...

The wait is over, the Avalanche have locked up Devon Toews to a seven year contract extension, and locked him at a discounted price as well. How perfect is this deal for the team, and how can we expect this deal to age? In game action, the Avs survive the performance of a lifetime from MacKenzie Blackwood and defeat the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in a shootout, in a game they dominated from start to fini...

The Avalanche start the 2023-24 season with a strong message, beating the Los Angeles Kings 5-2 on the road on the back of their superstars picking up where they left off. Mikko Rantanen had a four point night, MacKinnon had three, and Makar was involved in everything, as expected. But how did the new guys look? What are the main things the Avs will have to fix as the season gets underway? Finally...

The rosters are set, and the regular season is finally here for the Avalanche. Frederik Olofsson and Kurtis MacDermid make the forward group, and Riley Tufte clears waivers, meaning the Avs lose no players on the waiver wire. The Avalanche also claimed goalie Ivan Prosvetov from the Arizona Coyotes, and sent Justus Annunen down to the AHL, setting their goaltending tandem for now. Finally, how do...

The division previews concludes with the one we care about the most, but maybe also the weakest division, the Central Division. With the Avalanche and Stars set to battle it out at the top of the Central division, who will end up coming out on top to win the division? After Colorado and Dallas, is the Central division the weakest in the NHL with Nashville and St. Louis taking steps back? Could the...

The division previews for the 2023-24 season move to the Western Conference and continue with the Pacific division. With a lot of apparent seperation in the Pacific with some really good teams at the top, and some really bad at the bottom, the middle of the pack has a lot of competition. Is this the year the Oilers can take over the division with a consistent regular season? How will Vegas avoid a...

The division previews continue with the toughest division to predict in hockey in recent memory, the Atlantic division. Can the Buffalo Sabres and/or the Ottawa Senators finally snap their long playoff droughts? Could this be the end of the road for the Bruins or Lightning? Can the Maple Leafs finally win the division? Is this the most competitive division in hockey this season? Welcome to The Tel...

The Preseason is over at last, and the roster has become much clearer with the regular season less than week from getting underway. The Avalanche blew a 3-0 lead to the Vegas Golden Knights, but what're the positives to take away as we move into the regular season and the main roster players start getting reps? Is this defensive depth going to get by in the regular season? Additionally, beginning...

The preseason nears it's conclusion and the regular season is just a week away. Who impressed the most in a surprisingly fun preseason game against the Stars? Has another preseason game cleared up the competition for the final forward spots any further? Have Ben Meyers or Sam Malinski done enough for a roster spot, or should they spend some time with Eagles to begin the season? Finally, opening th...

The preseason is halfway over, and this training camp has gone just about as well as the Avalanche could've hoped for at this point. After two more preseason games, the new acquisitions already look strong, and fierce battles have emerged for the final roster spots on the offense, along with several younger players making a name for themselves in the organization. Who's impressed the most after th...

The Avalanche lose their first preseason 4-3 to the Minnesota Wild, but have several bright spots shine through that are going to make roster decisions for this team very difficult. The former Dallas Stars of Riley Tufte, Frederik Olofson, and Joel Kiviratna all impressed, along with notable newcomers like Ross Colton and Miles Wood. What else can we expect as the preseason marches on? Welcome to...

Avalanche Training Camp has begun, and the 2023-24 season is officially underway. It wouldn't be Avs hockey without an extensive injury list, and that's exactly what we've got precisely two days into training camp. Val Nichushkin speaks for the first time since the playoffs, and it went about as expected. Devon Toews reiterated his desire to remain in Colorado, will a deal get done in the near fut...

Training camp begins Tuesday, and the Avalanche finish the rookie tournament with a perfect 3-0 record. Who impressed the most in the Rookie Tournament? What are the most important stories to watch as we head into training camp? Are there any roster spots to be earned for the younger players? Also, Mike Babcock doesn't even last until training camp after being forced to resign in Columbus, how did...

The Avalanches signed Tomas Tatar to a one year deal earlier in the week, finally filling that hole on the wing in their top six and finally making this team look like a finished product as training camp is just around the corner. For the first time since the Stanley Cup, the Avalanche look like they have solid depth again, so where will Tatar fit into the lineup? How big of a concern are Tatar's...