Both locker rooms were more crowded than usual after the Avs’ and Islanders’ morning skates on Sunday. The heightened media attention focused on the connections between the teams.
“Lots of Avs connections and Islanders connections. You got Taser (Devon Toews), you got Brock (Nelson), you got, on the other side, Patty (Patrick Roy) and (Bob) Boughner were both here. Ray (Bennett) was here, and we had Cal Richie, Drew (Jonathan Drouin) — should be a fun game to play. You got two teams that are playing pretty well,” head coach Jared Bednar said.
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|
Player/Coach |
Time with Islanders |
Time with Avalanche |
|
Patrick Roy |
Coach (Since Jan. 20, 2024) |
Coach (2013-16) |
|
Ray Bennett |
Current assistant coach |
Asst. coach (2017-25) |
|
Bob Boughner |
Current assistant coach |
Player (2003-04, 2005-06) |
|
Devon Toews |
Player (Drafted 2014, played 2018-20) |
Player (Acquired in trade Oct. 12, 2020) |
|
Brock Nelson |
Player (Drafted 2010, played 2013-25) |
Player (Acquired in trade on March 6) |
|
Calum Ritchie |
Player (Acquired in trade on March 6) |
Player (Drafted 2023, played seven games in 2024-25 season) |
|
Jonathan Drouin |
Player (Signed as free agent in 2025 offseason) |
Player (Signed as free agent July 1, 2023, upped another year on July 1, 2024; 2023-25) |
|
Semyon Varlamov |
Player (since 2019) |
Player (2011-19) |
It is Nelson’s first time facing his former team, where he spent his entire professional career before joining the Avs.
“Been fortunate to be in one spot for so long and not have to move. But then obviously, the show still goes on and can’t play forever. So it’s going to come a time where you move on, and it happened.
“It’ll be weird. It’ll be interesting just to see those guys from a different side, a different perspective. And it’ll be funny (to) line up against a couple of guys that I kind of grew up with and (am) great friends with,” Nelson said.
Nelson signed a three-year contract with the Avs on June 4. He and his family have settled in the Denver area, and he has gotten comfortable in burgundy and blue.
Jonathan Drouin’s time with Colorado was not long, but it was memorable. His connection with Nathan MacKinnon and their time playing together in juniors was a major focus when he came to the Mile High City.
“He (MacKinnon) brought me here. One of the main reasons why I came here was him. It felt it was a very close group over there, kind of sucked to leave, but some of those things happen,” Drouin said.
Although his time with the Avs was short, he made an impression on the team and Bednar.
“His identity as a player prior to getting here — highly skilled offensive guy, can play with top players. He has good speed and good vision. He likes the give-and-go game, but then soon after joining us, he really dug in on the defensive side of things. He was a highly regarded defensive player for us, too,” Bednar said.
Drouin said he would have liked to stay in Colorado. His agent and he tried to work it out so he could, but were unable to make it happen.
“We did, for sure. But again, you look at your options, you look at different things, and you got to make decisions sometimes for yourself a little bit more, and for my family as well …,” Drouin said. “Those decisions are not easy. They’re not fun talks with teammates and telling them you’re going to be leaving, but it’s part of the business we’re in and it’s part of the game we’re playing.”
He was able to catch up with a few of the players and staff after getting into town and said he will probably spend some time with more after the game.
While it is nice for everyone to reconnect, when the puck drops, it is all about the win.