NHL: Wolski Svatos shine for Avs

With only a few openings to be filled on Colorado's roster this year, most of the young prospects were just trying to make an impression. While the musical-chair battle between Marek Svatos and Wojtek Wolski has been the highlight of training camp, there were also several intriguing performances from the likes of Brad Richardson, Peter Budaj, Chris Durand and Vitaly Kolesnik.

Standouts

Wojtek Wolski (LW) - extremely focused and competitive .. showed a willingness to play the body, engaging in several physical battles along the boards against experienced vet and holding his own throughout .. skates around defenders at times like they are standing still and is very adept at cycling the puck and playing keepaway .. already appears to be an intelligent and accomplished playmaker despite his tender age .. sets up well behind the opposition's net however is more in his element attacking off the rush as he makes effective use of open ice .. enjoyed several connecting shifts throughout camp with Marek Svatos, his main rival for a roster spot .. boasts a flair for the dramatic as he scored a last-second goal and was also the only one to convert during the shootout at the fan-friendly scrimmage .. displays good anticipation but can be a bit of a poacher too .. constantly has one eye on the puck and the other on the neutral zone looking to break out early .. possesses slick hands, pick-pocketed opponent's numerous times .. however also proved that he can excel using force in addition to finesse.

Marek Svatos (RW) - there was plenty of speculation about last season's lackluster performance and that he just needed a bigger challenge .. that reasoning seems to ring true based on his showing at camp thus far .. looks as good as he did during his brief pre-injury NHL stint and subsequent playoff performance .. danced around several veteran defensemen with ease .. appears to be much more focused on taking care of his defensive duties though this area still needs further refinements .. made a textbook diving pokecheck on one play that was simply spectacular .. needs to learn to be more patient at times .. will race away up ice almost too quickly and doesn't allow his teammates enough time to catch up which invariably leads to offside calls .. displays impressive versatility as he was used with a variety of linemates and showed an ability to mesh and create opportunities in every situation.

Peter Budaj (G) - appears to be the frontrunner for the backup role .. though his main competitor, Tom Lawson, is big and equally skilled, Budaj has demonstrated that he may have the personality and mental competitiveness to be a more effective counter to starter David Aebischer .. makes saves that are slick and flashy yet still effective .. very poised, doesn't get rattled even when a swarm of players crowd his net .. boats a strong rapport with his teammates which was evident during both the games and practices .. often the most vocal person on the ice when he feels one of his teammates is being obstructed .. directs traffic in front of his crease and verbally instructs his defensemen .. cool and confident even against one of the league's best as he calmly turned away Joe Sakic on a shootout .. covers the bottom of the net well, albeit he will have to make adjustments after allowing some weaker goals on the gloveside in the first preseason game.

Brad Richardson (C) - quietly delivered a solid showing at camp in the shadows of the Wolski/Svatos hype .. very smart player who steadily progressed from the opening whistle here .. didn't try to overextend himself and impress the coaching staff with individual efforts, instead concentrating on his team play which flourished especially while paired with Frank Skladany .. showed good focus and balance between his defensive and offensive duties .. unselfish player who frequently jumped back into his own zone to cover for pinching defensemen .. exerted strong pressure on both the forecheck and backcheck .. demonstrated notable courage .. went hard to the net and never shied away from danger areas .. an excellent skater .. quickly became a staple on four-on-four and special team situations, especially on the penalty kill.

Jeff Finger (D) - a good-sized workhorse with solid all-around defensive skills .. nothing fancy, just provided efficient, stay-at-home work with an occasional wisely-timed offensive move .. influenced by his defensive partner Rob Blake, he dished out an NHL-quality hipcheck in the first preseason game .. seems already well adapted to the new changes as he is always anticipating the long up-ice pass or a player coming out of the penalty box .. got caught flatfooted briefly against Dallas' Loui Eriksson but recovered nicely with determined skating and a diving pokecheck to thwart a possible goal .. smart on the penalty kill and also displayed impressive conditioning during a parade of penalties late in the game .. barely had a chance to leave the ice thanks to constant PK duty and never seemed to run out of energy the whole time.

Ryan Steeves (C) - sophomore pro out of Yale University emerged as the unsung hero at camp .. injured on the opening day (took a puck to the leg) and missed the second day but battled through with a gimpy leg during the last day of camp and scrimmage .. undersized but feisty and versatile .. talented skater with excellent acceleration and quickness .. went largely unnoticed for any kind of flashy plays with the puck as he was often too busy grinding it out in the corners and getting his nose dirty in front of the net .. seems to work harder the more he is challenged and shows a capacity for raising his level of competitiveness when facing tougher opponents.

Chris Durand (RW) - youngest player at camp was a pleasant surprise, looking confident and comfortable in new surroundings and holding his own against older players .. impressive poise for his age .. played on an attractive line with Brad Richardson and Frank Skladany .. his skating didn't really stand out as either spectacular or bad .. however he could use improved top speed as he lagged behind his faster linemate Skladany .. must also add lots of muscle as he's on the skinny side .. nevertheless, still showed up in battles along the boards and willingly took his share of punishment .. didn't shy away from high-traffic areas .. would benefit from adding more nastiness to his game .. exhibited plenty of enthusiasm and stamina throughout .. didn't look out of place measured against the lesser-name veterans here.

Frantisek Skladany (LW) - started out fairly quiet at camp but came on strong after finding some chemistry on a line with Brad Richardson .. attacks defenders one-on-one with an intimidating and flashy skating style .. very fast on his feet, makes slick turns and boasts an explosive takeoff burst .. still more a finesse player .. despite the good late burst here, needs to show more following a disappointing pro debut in `04-5.

Wildcards

Cody McCormick (RW) - Avs' management must be asking themselves is McCormick is just trying to adapt to the new NHL or has he simply lost his mojo .. the once scrappy forward has for the most part avoided the physical play and concentrated on promoting his finesse skills .. the tough physical play that once made him stand out has pushed him into a pool of similarly skilled players .. showed a brief glimpse of his strength and shooting as he unloaded a blistering slapshot for a goal during the scrimmage game .. on the plus side, appears both faster and sleeker than he looked at previous training camps.

John Boychuk (D) - seemingly a staple at Colorado training camps, this once highly-touted prospect is now facing a crucial 'do-or-die' season .. possesses excellent size, decent skating plus all the one-on-one skills needed in a defensemen .. he also displays the determination to chip in offensively and yet there's still a piece missing for him to graduate to the next level .. something in his mental game leads to inconsistency and lapses in decision making .. must put it all together and soon or will be cast as an AHL lifer if it's not already too late.

Vitaly Kolesnik (G) - give credit to this nomad for blowing into town early from the far corner of the globe to face a new world, language and rules .. Kolesnik did not look completely out of place despite his multi-colored gear that looked as if it was pieced together at the local pro shop .. showed some frustration during the one-on-one instructions with the goalie coaches, not surprising given the language barrier, but seemed more comfortable during the course of a game or scrimmage .. though his level of play went was up and down throughout camp, he did enjoy one shining moment in the spotlight with a confident highlight-reel pokecheck to thwart Alex Tanguay on a breakaway .. handled the pressure well during the mandatory shootout as well, conceding just one goal to Wolski.

Jason Lynch (D) - mixed some awkwardly painful moments with a few positive signs of better things to come .. often tried to do too much and as a result, got away from the game that got him drafted in the first place .. blessed with an agile and very lanky frame which allows him to pivot well and cover the ice with ease .. showed off a wicked wristshot that was an hard as some other players' slapshots .. was taken under the wing of a veteran defensemen after practice which seemed to alleviate some of his nervousness, however he continued to overextend himself .. adding some muscle and a few years of experience may make him into an NHL contender down the road.