Hockey Mountain High Podcast

The Avalanche are an unbelievable early season run right now, getting points in 18/19 games and on a six game winning streak after a business as usual win over the New York Islanders. With almost everyone in the lineup pulling their weight, what can look to be improved going forward? How long can we expect them to able to keep this level of success over the course of the entire season? Send questi...

The Avalanche can't stop signing extensions lately, but they keep doing great business as ink Scott Wedgewood to a one year extension as he continues to deliver for them early in the season. What does this do for the future of the Avs goaltending room? The Avalanche also took down the Buffalo Sabres with a 6-3 win, and Gavin Brindley continues to impress time and time again. Send questions to the...

Let us welcome you to the Gavin Brindley era, now officially underway as he signs a two year extension just two days after his breakout performance in Vancouver, for less money than he's currently on in his rookie contract. What is the Avs long term outlook with Brindley and so many others locked up? The Avalanche also took down the red hot Anaheim Ducks with a 4-1 win, showing the levels between...

Gavin Brindley has officially arrived for the Avalanche, and this podcast is now officially the Gavin Brindley fanclub after a 5-4 overtime in Vancouver. That comes off the back off an absolutely dominant 9-1 win over the Oilers, where the Avalanche kicked them up and down the ice at even strength all game long. This Avs team continues to impress time and time again, how high can they go? Send que...

The Avalanche have been the best team at even strength play so far throughout this early season with an excellent penalty kill to boot, which they showed with an impressive win in Vegas, but somehow they are still completely inept in overtime after another OT loss in San Jose. Also, are the Avalanche going to play in an outdoor game in 2027? Finally, answering your mailbag questions! Send question...

The saga is finally over as Martin Necas signs an 8 year extension with the Avalanche at $11.5m a season. After over a year and a half of extension and trade talks, finally we never need to talk about this again, and can focus on the team we have. How good is the value for Necas on this deal? What does he need to do to live up to the contract? Also, looking at the Avs breaking out of their powerpl...

After another overtime loss in New Jersey, the Avalanche have reached the first ten game checkpoint at the season with a 5-1-4 record, meaning they've gotten a point in 9 games but have also lost four in a row. What are the biggest positives and negatives to take away from the first ten games, and who has impressed the most? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7ytuJfsiTr1x3VDt6 K...

Through seven games the Avalanche have yet to lose in regulation even after an overtime loss to Utah on the road, complete with very strange officiating and overturned goals, but they still have plenty to clean up with a lackluster powerplay. The Avs also finally dropped their Nordiques jerseys and they're just as beautiful as we could've hoped, but did they fumble the release with a lack of inven...

The Avalanche keep up their strong start to the season with another strong road win, knocking off the Blue Jackets 4-1 as the second line finally gets going. With a five game point streak to start the season, the Avs are looking incredibly cohesive and firing on all cylinders with an early three point central lead heading into a matchup with the Bruins. With how well Wedgewood is playing, when do...

The Avalanche are off to a great start to this season with a 3-0-1 record, miles ahead of their 0-4 start from last season. Wins over the Mammoth and Sabres might not have been perfect, but the high end stars like MacKinnon and Necas have helped lead them to wins while Scott Wedgewood dominates in goal. Even the shootout loss to the Stars saw the Avs dominate most of the game, even though the resu...

The Avalanche are undefeated to the start the 2025-26 season after a dominant 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings, complete with solid performances across the board from the stars and depth players alike. Compared to how they started the season last year, it's clear the Avs are miles ahead as a team already after Game 1. Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7ytuJfsiTr1x3VDt6 Keep u...

Tonight's the night as the Avalanche open the regular season against the Los Angeles Kings, and the roster is set as Bardakov and Brindley both make the team with the potential to impress. Can the Avalanche get off to a good start with a win in LA, and are the expectations for this season warranted? Connor McDavid signed a huge two year discount contract just before the season, how will his discou...

The preseason is finally almost over with two more in the books, and a new defenseman on board after the Avalanche claimed Ilya Solovyov off waivers from the Calgary Flames. After calling it a career earlier this week, should Erik Johnson have his number retired after everything he's done for the Avalanche? What does Kirill Kaprisov signing for a record setting $17m mean for Martin Necas and the r...

The Avalanche remain undefeated in preseason with a win over the Stars, and all looks academic for how the roster will shake out for Game 1 against Los Angeles. Has Bardakov locked up the role as the fourth line center to start the season? Has Gavin Brindley forced his way into the conversation of being a day 1 roster player? Are the Florida Panthers three-pea dreams ruined with Barkov out for the...

The preseason is underway for the Avalanche,. Gabe Landeskog set the tone by not letting an elbow on Cale Makar go unanswered, sending the message loud and clear that this Avalanche team is not going to be pushed around. Some roster competitions are already starting to come together, with Bardakov and Brindley early on. Finally, it's time for the Avs to build a new practice facility. Send question...

Welcome back to another season! We've made it to training camp and the Avalanche are officially back in business with far better vibes than the last few years. We've got an early look as to how the lines are shaking out, and how the team is looking out of the offseason. Is this the deepest team the Avalanche have iced since 2022? What updates do we have with Martin Necas's contract extension? Is i...

The offseason season review/preview series finishes up with the long awaited return of Gabe Landeskog from a three year injury, after a successful return in the playoffs. What can we expect from the captain after three seasons off? What impact will he have on the locker room? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7ytuJfsiTr1x3VDt6 Keep up with everything on the site at HockeyMounta...

The offseason season review/preview series continues by looking at the new and improved goaltending duo of Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. After beginning last season with some of the worst goaltending possible, the trades for Blackwood and Wedgewood helped stablize the Avs season, but they both went through their own ebbs and flows. What could a full season of this duo look like? Could t...

The offseason season review/preview series continues by looking at the projected third defensive pair for the Avalanche. Can the addition of Brent Burns bolster the back end, even at 40 years old? Can Sam Malinski continue the growth of his game and force himself into the long-term plans of the team? What are they going to do with two right handed shots on the pairing? Send questions to the mailba...

The offseason season review/preview series continues by looking at the projected second defensive pair for the Avalanche. It should come as no surprise that Sam Girard and Josh Manson will still hold down the fort on defense together, but are they still enough to take the Avalanche to another level? With his new extension, can Manson stay healthy to keep providing good value defensively? Send ques...

The offseason season review/preview series continues by looking at the projected fourth line for the Avalanche this season. Depth has been an issue in the past, but heading into this season, Parker Kelly and Joel Kiviranta puts the Avalanche in a far better spot than they've been. Who can earn the final spot on the roster in training camp? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7ytu...

The offseason season review/preview series continues by looking at the projected third line for the Avalanche this season. Already the depth for the Avalanche looks far stronger than it did a month ago with the addition of Victor Olofsson, but the question remains about who the third line center will be. Can Jack Drury grow his game and take the role full time, or is another move still incoming. B...

The offseason season review/preview series continues with Val Nichushkin, the Avs ultimate wildcard. Once again, Val was great in the games that he played, but only played about half of the season. What could a full healthy season from Nichushkin look like? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7ytuJfsiTr1x3VDt6 Keep up with everything on the site at HockeyMountainHigh.com Follow t...

The offseason season review/preview series continues with Devon Toews, the most consistent defenseman in the league. After another season of being the perfect top pair defenseman, can Toews keep it up in the second year of his contract? Is Toews still underrated? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7ytuJfsiTr1x3VDt6 Keep up with everything on the site at HockeyMountainHigh.com Fo...

The offseason season review/preview series continues with Artturi Lehkonen, the perfect archetype of a player who can do anything on the ice. After a career high 27 goals last season, could Lehkonen finally hit 30 with a fully healthy season? Will he thrive with more consistent linemates? Send questions to the mailbag here: https://forms.gle/7ytuJfsiTr1x3VDt6 Keep up with everything on the site at...