Stastny leads way for DU alumni
Former Avalanche center Paul Stastny, coming off his first season with the St. Louis Blues, was among 26 players competing Tuesday on the first day of the University of Denver hockey alumni pro camp at Magness Arena.
Stastny headlined an NHL group that included new Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov and fellow former Avs defensemen Kyle Quincey (Red Wings) and John-Michael Liles (Hurricanes), plus former Colorado goalie Peter Budaj (free agent).
DU hockey pro alumni camp
When: Continues Wednesday through Friday, 10-11:30 a.m. Where: Magness Arena Admission: Free to the public Format: 45 minutes drills with DU coaching staff, ice make, 45 minutes unsupervised scrimmage including current Pioneers Other former DU players training for the upcoming NHL season included Tyler Bozak (Maple Leafs), Nick Shore (Kings) and Josiah Didier (Canadiens).
The annual camp, now directed by third-year DU coach Jim Montgomery and his staff before current Pioneers join the pros for a unsupervised scrimmage, reminds Stastny of his best times playing hockey.
He joined DU at 18 in 2004, was drafted by the Avalanche after his freshman year — after the Pioneers won their second consecutive NCAA title — and signed with the NHL club after his sophomore season. Stastny played eight seasons with Colorado until bolting to St. Louis for a four-year, $28 million contract last summer as an unrestricted free agent.
“There’s a lot of guys who I played with in college and pro who are all here,” said Stastny, who was married last summer and still maintains his Washington Park-area home. “Hockey guys or non-hockey guys, this is home for us.”
Stastny, 29, said Avalanche fans should be excited about Zadorov, the 20-year-old Russian acquired in the Ryan O’Reilly trade with Buffalo in June. Zadorov, 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, has been skating with Stastny’s group for the past month.
“Every time I’ve seen him, I think he’s gotten more and more comfortable. He’s starting to get out of his shell,” Stastny said of Zadorov, one of four players the Avs got in return for O’Reilly and Jamie McGinn. “Good hands — soft hands for as big as he is — and he’s not awkward out there. He’s still probably filling in, but when you watch him skate, he doesn’t look like a 6-5 guy who is off-balance. He’s well-centered all the time.”
Stastny played for coach George Gwozdecky at DU and against him during the past two NHL seasons, when Gwozdecky was an assistant with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Last week, Gwozdecky returned to amateur hockey as head coach and will lead a fundraiser for Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch. Stastny likes the move. “Gwoz has always been more about coaching/teaching young people to become men, at the same time making them become good hockey players. He tried the pro job, and now he’s coming back,” Stastny said. “For some reason, I think he’s more comfortable with the younger guys, to help them develop, help them mature, into good people on and off the ice.”