Dries, O’Connor receive upgrades; second AHL team in Colorado?
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Sheldon Dries obtained a giant Southern California enhance.
Following Colorado Eagles follow Thursday in Ontario, Calif., Dries took an important cellular phone contact, checked out of his modest staff lodge, waited for the traffic to die down and then drove listed here to Anaheim, in which he checked into the Avalanche’s five-star lodge.
His once-a-year professional-rated salary out of the blue rose from $395,000 to $735,000.
Dries changed T.J. Tynan on the Avs’ roster, with Tynan flying listed here with the Avs and then reporting to the Eagles in Ontario.
“We are dealt with seriously properly with the Eagles, but not fairly five-star,” Dries informed me Friday morning from Honda Center. “Nice small enhance.”
The Avalanche/Eagles forward played in Friday’s NHL sport against the Anaheim Ducks and was expected to also be in the lineup Saturday in Los Angeles against the Kings (whilst the Avs also recalled Eagles forward Logan O’Connor on Saturday morning, and he may well exchange Dries, or sign up for him in the lineup).
The Eagles, meanwhile, experienced game titles Friday at the Ontario Reign (AHL affiliate of the Kings) and Saturday at the Bakersfield Condors (Edmonton Oilers).
So the Avs and Eagles were on comparable weekend highway excursions in the similar area — albeit not as prestigious for the insignificant-leaguers like Tynan, who saw his once-a-year professional-rated salary fall from $seven-hundred,000 to $425,000 more than the weekend.
Dries and the Eagles also played at Bakersfield and Ontario final weekend, right before returning to Loveland for a couple of times until finally catching one more industrial flight to SoCal.
Dries, twenty five, was seeking forward to his second NHL option this period. He was also recalled by the Avs on Nov. 28, taking part in 1 sport right before being returned to the Eagles.
He’ll now check out to plug the Avs’ deep holes at forward because of injuries to Mikko Rantanen, Nazem Kadri and Matt Calvert — who every will overlook the relaxation of the month and probably extended.
“It’s an option. Following-man up mentality. That’s a credit to Joe (Sakic) and his workers. Fantastic depth in this business. So when your title is known as, you have to do your position. If I can contribute, that would be fantastic.”
Dries is tied as the Eagles’ 3rd-primary scorer with 34 factors in forty seven game titles. He has a staff-significant twenty aims.
Yet another Colorado AHL staff? The Eagles are the easternmost AHL staff in the Pacific Division, which contains five California teams moreover the Roadrunners in Tucson, Ariz. The division fashioned when California’s NHL teams (Kings, Ducks, Sharks), the two Alberta teams (Calgary, Edmonton) and the Arizona Coyotes moved their best affiliates to new AHL cities close to the NHL staff.
Then arrived the Eagles, who became an AHL growth franchise 50 miles north of Denver at the beginning of that period. Now, the Eagles may well have a foreseeable future journey spouse from Colorado Springs.
As early as 2021-22, the Calgary Flames could possibly go the Stockton Heat from Stockton, Calif., to Colorado Springs and the Broadmoor Globe Arena.
The Flames favor an AHL staff in the similar time zone, and the Globe Arena is trying to find one more hockey tenant because Colorado School is shifting to the new on-campus Ed Robson Arena in the tumble of 2021.
The Eagles became Colorado’s initially AHL staff to commence the 2019-twenty period. Now the state could have two AHL teams along Interstate twenty five but considerably sufficient apart to be considered two distinctive hockey marketplaces, with the NHL Avs in the center.
Appears like professional hockey heaven.
