These 5 Avalanche Summer Pick-Ups Are Thriving

The Colorado Avalanche have been a high priority threat this season and there are 5 new-comers from this season that they have to thank. Of course, players such as Nate MacKinnon or Mikko Rantanen have been leading as well but these guys are ones that just started fresh on this team and have been killing it lately.

Note: Cale Makar has been on fire but he doesn’t count even though he’s a rookie. These are all guys that have just been signed or traded over.

Andre Burakovsky

I’ve mentioned a few times (for example here and here) how happy I am to see this winger fly on the Avs team. Last season in Washington, Andre Burakovsky had 25 points (12G 13A) in 76 games played while averaging 11:08 on the ice per game.

Now, Burakovsky has 14 goals and 19 assists for 33 points in 46 games. He’s been averaging 14:54 on the ice per game, a big step up from last season. You can see from his playing that Burakovsky has grown some confidence in Colorado.

NHL Standard career statistics
				Scor	Scor	Scor			Shot	Shot	Shot	Ice	Ice
Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS ▼	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TSA	TOI	ATOI	FO%	BLK	HIT	TK	GV
2015-16	20	WSH	79	17	21	38	4	12	126	13.5	238	1029	13:01	45.9	24	37	34	30
2016-17	21	WSH	64	12	23	35	13	14	111	10.8	222	849	13:16	28.6	25	31	33	33
2019-20	24	COL	45	14	17	31	2	14	85	16.5	141	671	14:54	45.5	28	16	23	25
2017-18	22	WSH	56	12	13	25	3	27	84	14.3	170	775	13:50	54.5	26	40	23	34
2018-19	23	WSH	76	12	13	25	2	14	100	12.0	178	846	11:08	35.0	29	35	28	29
2014-15	19	WSH	53	9	13	22	12	10	65	13.8	142	685	12:55	44.3	18	22	18	17
5 yrs		WSH	328	62	83	145	34	77	486	12.8	950	4183	12:45	44.7	122	165	136	143
1 yr		COL	45	14	17	31	2	14	85	16.5	141	671	14:54	45.5	28	16	23	25
Career		6 yrs	373	76	100	176	36	91	571	13.3	1091	4854	13:01	44.7	150	181	159	168

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/20/2020.

Not only have his points increased along with his ice time but you can see an increase in his shot percentage. Through his 5 seasons with Washington, Burakovsky had averaged a 12.8% Shot Percentage but now he’s up to 16.5%. He’s taking more shots and chances because he’s confident on this team.

He is without a doubt going to pass his career-high point total of 38 points, I’d put money on him getting at least 50 points before the post-season.

Nazem Kadri

Nazem Kadri came over to the Avs as a part of the trade that sent Tyson Barrie to Toronto (I’m still not okay) BUT what Kadri has been doing for the Avalanche is amazing. Last season, he had 16 goals and 28 assists (44 points) in 73 games with an average of 16:11 on the ice per game.

Now with the Avalanche, Naz has 31 points (17G 14A) in 46 games so far while averaging 17:40 on the ice per game. Much like Burakovsky, Kadri is also been up on his shot percentage and time on ice.

NHL Standard career statistics
				Scor	Scor	Scor			Shot	Shot	Shot	Ice	Ice
Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TSA	TOI	ATOI	FO%	BLK	HIT	TK	GV
2009-10	19	TOR	1	0	0	0	-1	0	0		1	17	17:26	15.4	1	1	0	2
2010-11	20	TOR	29	3	9	12	-3	8	51	5.9	94	457	15:47	40.5	6	16	15	26
2011-12	21	TOR	21	5	2	7	2	8	28	17.9	58	297	14:10	26.7	5	25	8	9
2012-13	22	TOR	48	18	26	44	15	23	107	16.8	206	771	16:03	44.2	22	62	23	30
2013-14	23	TOR	78	20	30	50	-11	67	148	13.5	310	1356	17:23	45.3	34	141	44	57
2014-15	24	TOR	73	18	21	39	-7	28	176	10.2	327	1285	17:36	46.2	23	118	44	43
2015-16	25	TOR	76	17	28	45	-15	73	260	6.5	483	1389	18:16	49.2	43	148	47	41
2016-17	26	TOR	82	32	29	61	-7	95	236	13.6	430	1360	16:35	48.1	31	124	58	59
2017-18	27	TOR	80	32	23	55	2	42	211	15.2	367	1341	16:46	50.0	26	94	42	48
2018-19	28	TOR	73	16	28	44	-2	43	184	8.7	366	1182	16:11	55.2	13	85	42	47
2019-20	29	COL	45	15	13	28	1	89	120	12.5	204	795	17:40	56.6	8	59	18	24
10 yrs		TOR	561	161	196	357	-27	387	1401	11.5	2642	9455	16:51	48.0	204	814	323	362
1 yr		COL	45	15	13	28	1	89	120	12.5	204	795	17:40	56.6	8	59	18	24
Career		11 yrs	606	176	209	385	-26	476	1521	11.6	2846	10250	16:55	48.7	212	873	341	386

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/20/2020.

Kadri’s shot percentage does have a higher jump, going from 8.7% last season to 12.5% as of right now. He’s also playing a big role as a veteran of the league, seeing as he’s on his 11th season. The Avs are a younger team with 18 players at least 25 or younger, meanwhile, Kadri is a bit on the older side at 29.

He fits well into a leadership position, seeing as he’s seen the ups and downs that it came to playing in Toronto. Given his time in the league and undeniable skill, he’s going to be a big part of the Avalanche’s race to the Cup.

Joonas Donskoi

Joonas Donskoi came over to Colorado from the San Jose Sharks ready to prove his worth to the team. In his last season with San Jose, the winger had 14 goals and 23 assists for 37 points in 80 games. Donskoi was playing around 13:25 per game then.

Fast forward to now where he has 29 points (14G 15A) in his first 44 games and averaging 16:52 per game. Much like the other 2, Donskoi has seen a rise in his ice time as well as shot percentage.

NHL Standard career statistics
				Scor	Scor	Scor			Shot	Shot	Shot	Ice	Ice
Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TSA	TOI	ATOI	FO%	BLK	HIT	TK	GV
2015-16	23	SJS	76	11	25	36	4	20	107	10.3	189	1076	14:09	66.7	46	31	33	37
2016-17	24	SJS	61	6	11	17	-5	10	95	6.3	168	842	13:49	50.0	27	27	31	35
2017-18	25	SJS	66	14	18	32	10	26	129	10.9	201	988	14:58	41.7	28	28	46	33
2018-19	26	SJS	80	14	23	37	10	10	115	12.2	187	1074	13:25	10.0	36	36	24	38
2019-20	27	COL	44	14	15	29	0	18	84	16.7	129	742	16:52	46.7	25	14	20	16
4 yrs		SJS	283	45	77	122	19	66	446	10.1	745	3980	14:04	39.0	137	122	134	143
1 yr		COL	44	14	15	29	0	18	84	16.7	129	742	16:52	46.7	25	14	20	16
Career		5 yrs	327	59	92	151	19	84	530	11.1	874	4722	14:26	41.1	162	136	154	159

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/20/2020.

Donskoi has been sidelined the last 2 games with a concussion but skated with a full-contact jersey today. The Avalanche don’t have another game until February 1st due to the All-Star game and bye week. It wouldn’t be a surprise if that was his first game back with the team.

Donskoi had a career-high of 37 points last season so I anticipate him passing that in the remaining games of this season.

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Transitioning from the hot deserts of Vegas to the mountains of Denver, seemed to come easy to Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. In his last season with Vegas, Bellemare had 6 goals and 9 assists (15 points) in 76 games while averaging 12:26 on the ice per game.

Cut to now with the Avalanche, Bellemare has 7 goals and 11 assists (18 points) in just 47 games. He’s also up’d his minutes to about 13:23 on the ice. 18 points is a career-high for the 34-year-old.

NHL Standard career statistics
				Scor	Scor	Scor			Shot	Shot	Shot	Ice	Ice
Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TSA	TOI	ATOI	FO%	BLK	HIT	TK	GV
2014-15	29	PHI	81	6	6	12	-3	18	113	5.3	204	1039	12:50	47.7	61	121	32	19
2015-16	30	PHI	74	7	7	14	-8	27	102	6.9	199	1004	13:34	47.0	61	65	37	23
2016-17	31	PHI	82	4	4	8	-1	20	90	4.4	172	1064	12:58	48.3	70	73	24	14
2017-18	32	VEG	72	6	10	16	5	14	92	6.5	164	888	12:20	51.2	63	41	49	25
2018-19	33	VEG	76	6	9	15	2	6	108	5.6	186	945	12:26	54.7	51	71	37	23
2019-20	34	COL	47	7	11	18	8	10	55	12.7	85	629	13:23	50.6	29	30	37	13
3 yrs		PHI	237	17	17	34	-12	65	305	5.6	575	3107	13:07	47.7	192	259	93	56
2 yrs		VEG	148	12	19	31	7	20	200	6.0	350	1832	12:23	52.9	114	112	86	48
1 yr		COL	47	7	11	18	8	10	55	12.7	85	629	13:23	50.6	29	30	37	13
Career		6 yrs	432	36	47	83	3	95	560	6.4	1010	5568	12:53	49.9	335	401	216	117

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/20/2020.

Once again, the trend is coming to an increase in shot percentage and time on the ice. He’s up almost a full minute and his shot percentage has gone from 5.6% to 12.7%.

Bellemare has fit in well with Matt Calvert and JT Compher on the 3rd line. He’s got the personality and the skill to keep up with the Avs. The team and fans have taken a liking to him and I can see him sticking around for a long time.

Valeri Nichushkin

Last but not least is Val Nichushkin.

Last season, Nichushkin had 10 assists in 57 games played with 11:55 average time on the ice. This season, he’s already got 8 goals with 9 assists for 17 points in 44 games played with an average of 13:32 on the ice per game.

NHL Standard career statistics
				Scor	Scor	Scor			Shot	Shot	Shot	Ice	Ice
Season	Age	Tm	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	S	S%	TSA	TOI	ATOI	FO%	BLK	HIT	TK	GV
2013-14	18	DAL	79	14	20	34	20	8	128	10.9	218	1183	14:58	0.0	27	85	25	58
2014-15	19	DAL	8	0	1	1	-5	2	6	0.0	19	110	13:46		1	7	5	6
2015-16	20	DAL	79	9	20	29	2	12	139	6.5	246	1101	13:56	0.0	33	68	33	46
2018-19	23	DAL	57	0	10	10	-4	0	65	0.0	109	679	11:55	50.0	32	71	24	30
2019-20	24	COL	43	8	9	17	18	12	72	11.1	111	582	13:32	33.3	14	50	26	11
4 yrs		DAL	223	23	51	74	13	22	338	6.8	592	3073	13:47	37.5	93	231	87	140
1 yr		COL	43	8	9	17	18	12	72	11.1	111	582	13:32	33.3	14	50	26	11
Career		5 yrs	266	31	60	91	31	34	410	7.6	703	3654	13:44	36.4	107	281	113	151

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 1/20/2020.

Per our trend here, his shooting percentage jumped from 0% last season to 11.1%. I’m counting it. Nichushkin spent last season in Dallas where he didn’t have the warmest welcome back to the NHL. Fans kinda gave up on Val when he struggled to get a goal, and in turn, can you blame Val for saying he started to give up when in Dallas?

I’m happy he’s gotten a new start with the Avs and that things are going well for him. He’s really found a place on the ice with other newcomers Kadri and Burakovsky. We’ve seen it time and time again that a fresh start goes a long way.

That can be said about any of the 5 players I just talked about. All of them have been trending up since joining the Avs. It’s something you really do love to see. TheAvs are now 2nd in the Central with 62 points and a 28-15-6 record. They just finished game 49 of 82 and I can see them going deep into playoffs this year. I’d put my money on them going past the 2nd round and in my heart, I’d even say they could win the Cup.