Avalanche GM Bryce Shuck held a meet and greet with season ticket holders this morning, where they discussed all things Avalanche for the upcoming season.

PS Did you hear the Aves have McDavid?

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What is the plan for preseason?

For preseason, the team has essentially split squads for the first 8 games. There are 6 players on the roster who will not be seeing any preseason time. The goal is to give some different looks in different roles. After game 8. The roster will pare down to 30 players, as the real positional battles begin over the final 6 preseason games.

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Who will play with Connor?

We really don't know. Sebastian Aho and RIchard Panik are skating alongside him on one of the split squad teams, but Connor Sheary, Patrick Hornqvist and Pat Maroon all could factor in as well

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What is the team doing with Kesler/Carter?

We will run lines 2 & 3 at similar icetimes during the season. We have enough depth on the wings as well to fill out 3 very good lines. So it doesn't matter who is slotted where. Kesler will be anchring the PK units, while Carter will feature prominently in the PP

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What is the key 4th line battle to watch?

DSP v Rasmussen v Copp v Sanford v Kossilla v Schneider, for the final 2 starting forward spots on the roster. 

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What about the defense, any battles there?

Dillon v Marincin v Nuutivaara for the pecking order 6-8 on the pro team. It looks like we're gonna run 8 pro dmen

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Is Mike Smith the starter?

Yes, Grubauer will back him up, granted at some point in the season, performance will dictate, but it's pretty set for now.

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Anything else?

Did you hear we acquired McDavid?