Pioneers might be defensively dominant

Losing two of your top three scorers and four of the top seven would typically be a cause for concern. But given how good the Denver Pioneers became last season and what they return defensively, creating offense seems inevitable.

Preseason No. 3-ranked DU would likely be No. 1 if high-scoring wingers Danton Heinen and Trevor Moore hadn’t signed NHL contracts with Boston and Toronto, respectively. But the Pioneers still are considered a top-five team nationally because they could be defensively dominant — with many of those defenders having outstanding offensive traits.

Five of last season’s top-six defensemen are back, plus both goaltenders. Senior defenseman Will Butcher headlines an experienced and savvy blue line that welcomes freshmen Michael Davies, a 5-foot-7, 155pound puck-moving dynamo from St. Louis, and 6-5, 220-pound classmate Erich Fear. Up front, freshmen 2016 first-round NHL draft pick Henrik Borgstrom and Liam Finlay offset the losses of Heinen and Moore.

“The strength of our team is how hard we’re going to be to play against with defending the rush and within our D zone,” said third-year DU coach Jim Montgomery, who led the Pioneers to the Frozen Four last

Key dates

Saturday — Exhibition vs. Mount Royal, 7 p.m. Magness Arena Oct. 7 — Regular-season opener vs. Ohio State, 7:30 p.m. Magness Arena Oct. 8 — Icebreaker Tournament consolation/ championship vs. Boston College or Air Force Oct. 14-15 — Nonconferce series against Boston University, Magness Arena Oct. 28-29 — National Collegiate Hockey Conference opening series vs. Western Michigan, Magness Arena Dec. 2-3 — First games against NCHC rival Colorado College, World Arena/Magness Arena March 10-12 — NCHC Tournament first round March 17-18 — NCHC finals, Minneapolis March 24-26 — NCAA regionals April 6-8 — NCAA Frozen Four, Chicago spring. “Breaking the puck out should be a big strength too because our defensemen understand how to communicate and how to break pucks out quickly.”

DU hosts Mount Royal of Calgary, Alberta, in an exhibition game Saturday at Magness Arena. The Pioneers open the season Friday at home against Ohio State in the Icebreaker Tournament, which includes Boston College and Air Force.

Butcher, the Avalanche draft pick who inherits captain duties from the graduated Grant Arnold, is excited about DU’s potential offensive ability. The 6-3 Borgstrom will grow into his role as the No. 1 center, likely playing with explosive sophomores Dylan Gambrell or Troy Terry on his right wing.

Gambrell centered Heinen and Moore last season and finished second in team scoring behind Heinen.

“Our up-front group is highly skilled,” Butcher said. “They’ve been testing us at practice. They’re a good group of forwards and that adds to the type of caliber we have back on the blue line. The structure back there — everybody being familiar with each other and knowing each other’s tendencies — is a great combination for success this year.”

Butcher and Matt VanVoorhis are DU’s senior defensemen. The juniors are Adam Plant and Tariq Hammond, and sophomore Blake Hillman took huge strides the second half of his freshman year. Davies replaces the graduated Nolan Zajac and Fear slowly will be introduced to the lineup.

Montgomery said his line combinations are still in the experimental stage because his defense has been so dominant in practice.

“I haven’t seen enough (offensive) plays being made — partly because we’re so hard to play against,” he said.