Day one of training camp for the Colorado Avalanche is officially in the books, and Jared Bednar was pleased with what he saw from his group.

“I thought it was a pretty good day,” he told the media after two long sessions stretching from the morning to the afternoon. “Lots of information thrown at them today. We wanted to get into some 5-on-5 stuff right away, so the video review this morning was long, there was a lot of detail into it. We didn’t expect it to be perfect. The first group probably started out a little rough on their execution, but pace got better, execution got better as the practice went on, and I thought the second group was outstanding right away from the drop of the puck in practice.”

As is tradition, there were some guys missing that we didn’t expect to be missing. Ondrej Pavel was not on the ice, and Bednar said afterwards that he got injured in the rookie tournament. That’s the second straight year that Pavel has been injured when camp starts, which is a tough break and makes it awfully difficult to make an impression.

The other guy missing was Oliver Kylington…sort of. I got to the rink early and Kylington was on the ice, but it turns out that wasn’t his stuff he was wearing. Bednar said he had a tough immigration day yesterday and his gear is stuck in France. They aren’t quite sure when his stuff will arrive. The joy of flying these days, and given the competition on defense, tough timing for Kylington.

Observations and Musings

• I must say, I was a little surprised that the Avalanche threw a “kid line” together with Calum Ritchie, Oskar Olausson, and Jean-Luc Foudy, and I’d say Foudy looked the best of them all. He’s the most experienced, so that makes sense. Putting them all together is an interesting strategy, but I’d love to see what some of them could do with a few veterans mixed in.
• Logan O’Connor doesn’t look like he’s missed a beat. Bednar said he’ll likely play in a lot of exhibition games, possibly even some early ones, to get ready for the season.
• The “second” line of Casey Mittelstadt between Jere Innala and Nikolai Kovalenko had their moments, but did look like a trio that hadn’t played together before. Bednar spent a fair bit of time coaching up both Innala and Kovalenko, giving them specific instructions during 5-on-5 work. While Kovalenko was here at the end of last season, the Avalanche rarely practiced in the playoffs, so this was a slightly different environment.
• Bednar confirmed that Parker Kelly will get a look at center through camp.
• It was surprisingly physical for the first day of camp, with Devante Stephens blowing up Jayson Megna at the blueline. That’s one way to get right into it.
• Bednar tried to play off separating Cale Makar and Devon Toews on the first day of camp, but it does sound like the Avalanche are going to try out some other options and see what sticks.
  • “They’re going to have to learn to play apart,” he said.
• Nathan MacKinnon blew through both Garrett Pyke and Stephens to assert his dominance early in the first group.
• Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is fantastic off the ice, and Bednar was happy with how he looked on it as well. After practice, Bellemare talked to a few of us and told us that a PTO isn’t exactly what he wanted, but he understood the situation with the Avalanche and wanted to show he can still play in a place that he loves.
  • “I’m still here, one of the first guys (on the ice), I still want it. I always say to my mom that the day I stop learning is the day I will stop playing. Has nothing to do with the money, and I’m having a heck of a lot of fun,” he said.
• Bellemare said that Chris MacFarland told him a week or so after free agency opened that he’ll always have a place with them. I asked Bellemare if he ever considered retiring after last year, and he gave a gem of an answer.
  • “To be honest, two years ago, after the final against you motherfuckers, I had a surgery the day after that final and the recovery took way longer because I played too long with a broken knee. I find ways to fix it and make it better, so now it’s all about, am I having fun? Can I be an asset to the team, right? Can I come here and not just be a spectator? Is my wife okay with me (still) playing? Because I still want to be a dad. And are my kids still healthy mentally with me not being at home all the time? All of those things come together in a positive way, then I keep playing.”
• Erik Brannstrom was one of the more impressive players on the ice in the first group, and I still believe he’ll be a good fit here. He didn’t expect to hit the open market this summer, though.
  • “I didn’t really see it coming,” he told me when it came to Ottawa not handing him a qualifying offer. “I think what happened, it was the best that could have happened to me, I think. To come here and play with these players and team, it’ll be a great fit for me. I’m so excited to be here.”
• The groups will swap tomorrow, with group two going first and group one going second. One group is filled with significantly more NHL players than the other,