The Colorado Avalanche opened their preseason with a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars. Here are the studs and duds from the game.

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Matthew Phillips/TJ Tynan

I tweeted about these two during training camp and said they would be a revelation for the Colorado Eagles this year. They fit together beautifully in their first game together and were two of Colorado’s best and most active forwards. They combined a beautiful passing game on the first Avs goal of the game, completed by Phillips.

The unfortunate reality here is that both players are limited by their small stature, which will prevent them from using their high skill level to earn significant NHL ice time. However, they were great last night and I expect them to stick together going forward.

Nikita Prishchepov

Prishchepov was drafted 217th overall in last summer’s NHL Draft and is currently the rare late-round draft pick pushing for a pro career. That’s because he’s already 20 years old and will potentially return to the QMJHL for an overage season.

This route hasn’t worked out well for previous Avalanche draft picks, but Ivan Ivan’s success last season on an AHL contract that became the ELC in March could be what the Avs should try to do with Prishchepov repeat.

I say all this because he was very good last night. He attacked on the forecheck, showed great hockey sense and his work rate was among the highest in the Avalanche game. It was his advance that caused the loss of possession that led to Phillips’ goal, and he created several more chances throughout the game.

It was just one game, of course, but it was the kind of performance that caught your eye. An AHL deal wouldn’t count against Colorado’s 50 contract limit, which they’re currently at 42 anyway. I hope we see Prishchepov in the second pre-season game and if we have a similar performance then this conversation needs to get louder.

Erik Brannstrom

There were a lot of differences in Brannstrom’s game, but the good was great. His lateral mobility is excellent and gives him the ability to maintain an aggressive edge, especially on the blueline where the Avalanche like to suppress the play. We saw that and the good play on the Brannstrom boards throughout the night.

What we didn’t see was a player who was comfortable on the power play. Given his reputation for moving the puck, it was striking how bad it was when he tried to move the puck with the man advantage. This part of his game was disappointing, but there was much to like elsewhere.

Pierre Edouard Bellemare

After arguably the strongest camp performance by a PTO since Jack Skille, Bellemare just needed to avoid a disastrous performance in a real game to secure his contract.

Keep in mind that this box is checked because Bellemare was the best player on his line (with Joel Kiviranta and Jason Polin). He won faceoffs, played well defensively and kept his game simple. All of this is Bellemare’s bread and butter and he did exactly what you want to see.

Combine his on-ice successes with the intangibles (he wore an “A” on his chest), and it’s clear that this leads to Bellemare getting a contract and becoming a fourth-line center again. For the 39-year-old, this is an impressive and emphatic answer to the questions that forced him to take the PTO in the first place.

Cal Ritchie

I didn’t like Ritchie’s play, but I did like that he seemed to get better when the game ended in a tie in the third period. We’ve seen the speed issues that he’ll certainly struggle with until his skating improves a bit, but we’ve also seen all of the things that make Ritchie Colorado the top candidate.

His hockey sense was on full display as he was a creative and willing playmaker for his linemates, sometimes making mistakes. He had more opportunities to shoot and literally missed them to make a play, but in the end he scored a lucky goal when a pass across the goal crease was deflected into the net by a Stars defender.

Ritchie also won faceoffs and took over defensive duties at the pivot, which he did well. Assuming Bellemare gets a contract, the Avs do have the center field spot filled, but injuries are always a thing and if Ritchie can prove enough to get a look at the wing, he could be a backup option if something arises.

It was a solid start for Ritchie. He still has more to prove, but he continues to pass the tests given to him to earn another chance.

Duds

Oliver Kylington

I mentioned this on the postgame podcast, but Kylington’s recovery was great. The problem was that his recovery was all too often due to mistakes he had made in the first place. Combined with the complete willingness to give up his own blueline, I came away from this game assuming that Kylington had lost the first direct battle for playing time with Brannstrom.

On the other side of the ice, his puck movement wasn’t particularly impressive and he failed to get pucks deep on several occasions, and that created opportunities for the Stars the other way. I know there’s been a lot of chaos off the ice at Kylington lately, so I won’t bash him too much in the first game, but with an “every day counts” attitude, this wasn’t a great outing.

The other defenders

Jacob MacDonald and Calle Rosen struggled with turnovers, most notably an absolutely brutal turnover by MacDonald in the middle of the ice that could have easily been a free goal for the Stars.

Keaton Middleton’s limitations were easy for everyone to see. He’s too slow for NHL hockey and his puck-moving ability is far too limited to be relied upon. The physicality, which is supposed to be his calling card, played no role.

The only other defenseman in the game was Sean Behrens and I thought he was decent, so I’m not counting him as either a stud or a dud.

Unsung hero

Matt StienburG

I loved Stenburg’s playing. He was lively, physical and engaging all over the ice. For me, the skill level just isn’t up to par in a fight for the NHL because he’s clearly not as good with the puck as Jason Polin, but he’s very good at a lot of the little things.

He’s always been a pest, and that was the appeal when the Avs drafted him in 2019. A hard-nosed player who attacks with reckless abandon, Stienburg also contributes to the penalty kill.

Again, I don’t think he’s fighting for the NHL, but I wanted to give him flowers for an eventful evening.