Next week, the Colorado Avalanche will take part in the annual Rookie Faceoff. This year will be a little different from the previous years. Instead of all six or seven teams gathering in one place to play, the tournament organizers split it in two. Three teams will play in California, and three teams will play in Colorado. The Avalanche announced their roster for the two games they will play on September 12 and 14 at the South Suburban Sports Complex in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. The roster comprises 25 players, mostly of familiar names to Avalanche fans, six of them as invites.

Familiar faces

Some of the familiar faces include Taylor Makar, who is skating in practices but will not play in the games. Makar is recovering from an upper-body injury, and the team has not defined his timetable yet. Sean Behrens will make his return to the ice after injuring his knee and could not play the entire 2024–25 season. This will be Behrens’ first game action since April 2024. Gavin Brindley, who was part of the Miles Wood and Charlie Coyle trade to Columbus, will make his “Avalanche debut”. Nikita Prishchepov, who worked to earn himself a contract last summer, will play as well as recent draft pick Linus Funck.

Print your own rosters here! Numerical Alphabetical 

Invites

Being invited to the Rookie Faceoff or Development Camp can launch some player’s careers. Logan O’Connor received an invite and eventually a professional contract. The most recent player that this happened to was Cooper Gay. His hard work during camps earned him a spot, and he will be with the Colorado Eagles this season. One invite that was also at Development Camp is Vincent Desjardins. He is a defensive forward who will play for the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada of the QMJHL and then attend the University of Nebraska-Omaha the following year. Two out of three of the goalies are invited and will play in the CHL.

The Rookie Faceoff is a tremendous opportunity for both the players and the fans. The players get some playing time in front of the NHL organization that they normally would not have. For the fans, it is a nice warmup to training camp the following week when the NHL squad is back in full force.