The Heat Is Now On For Jonathan Drouin

And other assorted Avs thoughts

Eight games, one point, a secondary assist on opening night in L.A. A healthy scratch last night against the St. Louis Blues. With Jonathan Drouin, the “Is it time to already worry about him and his future with the Avalanche?” question is fair game.

Everything seemed promising for the former No. 3 overall pick from the 2013 NHL draft, just a couple weeks ago. He had four points in four preseason games, and put a point on the board in the first period of the Avs’ opening-night win over the Kings.

It’s been all goose eggs since, and it was obviously a setback for the 28-year-old left wing when he had to watch last night’s game in streetclothes. Let’s hope, for Drouin’s sake, the benching will have the proper shake-up effect on him and he comes back to the lineup with a vengeance, starting with Saturday’s game in Vegas. That is, of course, if he plays.

Riley Tufte (and Caleb Jones) were sent back to the Colorado Eagles today, so odds are Drouin (and Tomas Tatar) will be back in Saturday’s lineup. Tufte, though, made a good impression on Jared Bednar in his Avs debut last night.

Tufte is 6-6, 230 pounds and put four shots on goal in last night’s 4-1 win over the Blues. Bednar likes tough, physical guys, especially on the forecheck and in the corners. But that’s not Drouin’s game. He’s an offensive guy, a passer, more of a finesse guy.

When a finesse guy is putting up points, there’s no problem. When he’s not? With Bednar, those guys get a seat eventually. Personally, I haven’t lost faith in Drouin. I think he has a lot of talent.

Here’s my worry though: