What will the undermanned Avalanche roster look like to start the season?

If the Colorado Avalanche ever get a full group of healthy forwards in the 2024-25 season, they could become the best group in the NHL.

So far, the word “if” is doing a lot of work in this sentence.

The Avs open training camp Thursday and captain Gabe Landeskog and all-arounder Artturi Lehkonen are expected to be out while they recover from injuries. Add in Valeri Nichushkin’s suspension and Colorado could be without three of its top seven forwards when the Avs travel to Las Vegas for opening night.

There’s also a group of new defensemen, with two regulars and depth spots to fill. At least we know who the two goaltenders will be… right? Maybe.

So, let’s take a look at the potential training camp battles. Here’s a position-by-position look at where the Avs stand heading into camp.

Front line

Locks: Nathan MacKinnon
Likely: Jonathan Drouin or Mikko Rantanen
Other options: Logan O’Connor, Miles Wood, Calum Ritchie, Ross Colton

If coach Jared Bednar wants to take charge of the team, the first line will be Drouin-MacKinnon-Rantanen. That could leave Casey Mittelstadt to lead the second line, so it wouldn’t be surprising if either Drouin or Rantanen spends a lot of time away from MacKinnon until the other players are ready.

O’Connor should be the favorite if the Avs decide to move a bottom-six player to play next to MacKinnon. Bednar could likely point to his speed, tenacity on the forecheck and reliability as reasons. That last point, combined with what appeared to be an improvement in his offensive acumen before last year’s injury, could make him a good short-term pick.

Colton may have the best offensive potential, but the No. 3 center position is probably more important than being the third guy on the first line.

Second line

Locks: Casey Mittelstadt
Likely: Jonathan Drouin or Mikko Rantanen
Other options: Logan O’Connor, Miles Wood, Calum Ritchie, Joel Kiviranta, Ross Colton, Nikolai Kovalenko, Jere Innala, Parker Kelly, Oskar Olausson

If the Avs go with Drouin and Rantanen on the top line, they could simply move O’Connor and Wood to the second line and find two other players to play alongside Colton. If O’Connor goes to the top line, it could be an open competition between a whole bunch of players for the final spot in the top six.

That’s the most likely spot Ritchie could slot in if he proves he’s ready for at least an NHL audition. If he has a home run camp, then maybe the Avs will flirt with the idea of ​​letting him be the 3C and moving Colton to the wing in a top-6 role. That could be the plan for a year or two from now, but it’s unlikely to be the case come Oct. 9.

Third line

Locks: None
Likely: Ross Colton
Other options: Miles Wood, Joel Kiviranta, Nikolai Kovalenko, Jere Innala, Parker Kelly, Oskar Olausson, Jean-Luc Foudy

This could go in a number of directions, particularly if O’Connor and Wood end up getting temporary promotions. Ritchie could start here on Colton’s wing, but keeping him in a lower-table role seems unlikely.

Kiviranta played on the third line last year, and Kovalenko has the potential to be more than a fourth-line player. Innala is an unpredictable card. The Avs would like to see one of the younger players after Ritchie have a big camp and work his way into the lineup.

Fourth line

Locks: None
Likely: Chris Wagner or Pierre-Édouard Bellemare
Other options: Parker Kelly, Nikolai Kovalenko, Joel Kiviranta, Ivan Ivan, Ondrej Pavel, Jere Innala, Oskar Olausson, Jean-Luc Foudy, added waiver wire

If the Avs were closer to full availability, the No. 4 center competition between Bellemare and Wagner would be one of the most important of camp. It’s plausible they could end up together on the fourth line.

Olausson and Foudy aren’t “traditional” fourth-liners, but the Avs could well try to put their top 12 forwards on the ice to start the season. Whether they kill penalties or not could be the biggest factor when it comes to the final spot or two.

First/Second Pairing

Locks: Devon Toews and Cale Makar, Sam Girard and Josh Manson

If healthy, the Avs’ top four should be among the best on opening night.

Third pairing

Locks: None
Likely: None
Options: Calvin de Haan, Erik Brannstrom, Sam Malinski, Oliver Kylington, Jacob MacDonald, Calle Rosen

If de Haan is healthy, he could be the best candidate to earn an opening-night spot. Brannstrom and Kylington are both candidates to be the new Drouin, a guy with untapped potential who made a splash after arriving in Denver. Malinski seemed a sure thing to be on the third pair in late June, but now he has his work cut out for him after all the additions.

There’s no need to worry about salary cap implications until Nichushkin is ready to be reinstated, so the most likely outcome is that de Haan, Brannstrom, Malinski and Kylington are all on the team and the Avs have eight defensemen. If they’re all healthy and have good camps, it makes perfect sense not to risk the waiver process with any of them. Then the competition for playing time could continue throughout the season.

Goalkeepers

Locks: Alexander Georgiev
Likely: Justus Annunen
Other options: Adding a waiver thread