Oliver Kylington was excited about a new opportunity, but he did not have spending more than two weeks in a Canadian hotel room on his offseason preparation bingo card.
Kylington signed a one-year contract on Aug. 5 with the Colorado Avalanche. The 27-year-old is one of several new defensemen with the organization who, along with Sam Malinski, are competing for one of two openings on the blue line in the Avs’ lineup.
When training camp started Thursday, Kylington had to wait. His gear had not arrived because of immigration issues. He almost didn’t make it in time, either — waiting to be cleared while stuck in a hotel north of the border.
“I think I’ve learned a lot about patience,” Kylington said. “It’s been a crazy couple of weeks, but just trying to make the best of everything. Immigration took a while. I’m just happy to be here.”
Sean Walker signed with the Carolina Hurricanes, Jack Johnson left for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and Caleb Jones is in Los Angeles with the Kings. That trio composed the Nos. 5-7 defensemen for Colorado at the end of last season.
The day before free agency began this offseason, Malinski, who played 23 NHL games last year, was the No. 5 guy on the depth chart. Then the Avalanche added Calvin de Haan, Erik Brannstrom and Kylington, all guys with more NHL experience, not to mention Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen as well.
“There’s always going to be competition and guys fighting for spots, so it’s really no different,” Malinski said. “I mean, competition can be fun, too.”
The Avs do not have a clear-cut No. 5 guy, like Bo Byram or Walker. Or a clear No. 6 like Johnson.
What they do have is a collection of intriguing players who are all potential bargains. Walker signed a five-year contract in Carolina with an average annual value of $3.6 million. If Kylington, Brannstrom, de Haan and Malinski all make the opening-night roster, their combined cap hit will be … $3.6 million.
“I’m excited. I felt like we brought in some really good players with our hands tied quite a bit with the cap,” Avs star Cale Makar said. “I feel like management did an incredible job. All three are really good lefties. I’m excited at the prospect of playing with those guys and seeing how they can adapt to our system.”
All four guys could very well make the team. The Avs can carry eight defensemen with no cap issues, at least until one of Gabe Landeskog (injury) or Valeri Nichushkin (suspension) returns.
But who gets to be in the lineup on Oct. 9 in Las Vegas for opening night, and how the playing time shakes out from there, could be a continuous competition. Malinski’s advantages are that he’s been in the system longer, is under team control for at least one year beyond this and he’s righthanded.
The three new guys are all lefties, which doesn’t have to be an issue. Head coach Jared Bednar has played two left-handed defensemen together on many occasions. Malinski, Kylington and Brannstrom are all offensive-minded guys, while de Haan is more in the Johnson mold of a defense-first player.
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Kylington did not skate with the team on day one but was out there in new gear for the second day while still waiting on his normal equipment to arrive. He and Brannstrom skated together, while de Haan and Malinski were a pairing.
It’s fair to say that the Avs might not have the best No. 5 defenseman in the NHL, which was an argument they could make last season when either Byram or Walker was in that role. But the Avs are certainly deeper overall and could even go 10 deep with guys who can fill in assuming MacDonald and Rosen clear waivers.
And any of Kylington, Brannstrom or Malinski could take a big step forward this season if things go well.
“They’re all capable of playing for us,” Bednar said. “It’s a matter of who we’re playing and what matchups they’re going to see on any given night. Like if they’re hitting the ice against big, heavy third and fourth lines every shift, you know you’re going to see a guy like de Haan. He’s a great penalty killer, shot blocker. He has strengths that I don’t know if some of these other guys have yet, but we’ll work with them on all the same stuff.”
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