The Colorado Avalanche have completed just over one-eighth of their season and still have a winning record. While that’s not exactly an impressive feat, they are nevertheless exceeding the expectations of many NHL commentators and analysts.
The Avalanche have had some impressive wins and some disappointing losses, but within the dressing room, there is a lots-of-work-to-do mentality in hopes of continuing to prove the multitude of pessimists wrong.
“I think if you told the so-called pundits or experts that we would be here, many wouldn’t believe it, but it’s still really early and we haven’t accomplished anything yet,” Avalanche alternate-captain Erik Johnson commented on his team’s start. “I think we should be happy where we’re at, but not satisfied.”
Perhaps the “experts” may not believe the start the Avs are having, but it comes as no surprise to the players. The youth movement brought self-confidence throughout the team and a mindset of not settling for simply being better than last year’s woeful squad.
“I think we knew we would be better,” Johnson stated. “The turnover to the youth movement we’ve been having; we are a much younger team this year… There has been a hungry mentality from our group. We are so fast at reloading out of the zone when we lose the puck; our forwards are coming back so hard, and giving us a chance to set good gaps.”
Johnson cites his team’s ability to quickly forget a recent result and only worry about improving; stressing that mindset will be a focus this season. “Whether it’s a win or a loss, treat it the same way — but learn from the things you can do better, and learn from the things you did well. Try to have a short memory and an attitude where you stay even-keeled. After either a win or a loss, it doesn’t matter — you just have to reset and come to the rink looking to get better.”
