Avs' Denis Malgin May Be The Classic Late Bloomer
His former coach, Marc Crawford, isn't surprised by his success
When the Avalanche acquired Denis Malgin from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Dryden Hunt on Dec. 19, Avs fans could be excused for sounding like a barnyard of owls.
“Who?” was the common response.
Malgin had about as much name recognition as someone in a witness protection program.
A player with two goals and four points to that point in 23 games for the Maple Leafs, Malgin had previously spent four mostly light-scoring seasons with the team that drafted him 104th overall in 2015, the Florida Panthers.
Despite being only 26, Malgin seemed to be teetering on that worrisome fault line that separates NHL players from becoming minor-leaguers. Despite playing on one of the better offensive teams in the league with Toronto, Malgin’s numbers just weren’t there. Might Colorado be his last, best chance at establishing himself in the NHL?
Fast forward to today: Malgin now has 10 goals on the season, including his seventh and eighth with the Avs in last night’s 5-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. In 30 games with the Avs, the native of Olten, Switzerland, has eight goals and 12 points. Among the goals have been some highlight-reel ones such as this:
While many Avs fans might be astonished at Malgin’s sudden emergence, his first pro coach in Switzerland, Marc Crawford, always believed his best talents would eventually emerge at the NHL level.
Crawford, of course, is the first coach in Avs team history, who led them to the Stanley Cup in 1996. He coached Malgin for two years (2014-16) with the Zurich Lions, where he is coaching again today.
“He was an excellent player at 16 years old. We convinced him to stay instead of going to the QMJHL in Rouyn,” Crawford said. “He played great for us the next two years in Zurich, where he was competing for ice time with Auston Matthews and Pius Suter. I always thought that he would be a player. He learned to play the right way in Zurich. He has incredible skills and scoring ability.”
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