Avalanche needs Ivan Ivan to be another development success story
LOVELAND Ivan Ivan knows it is going to come up at specific point Teammates coaches fans media members eventually someone is going to ask him about his name It s never mean-spirited but people are consistently curious It is funny Ivan mentioned A lot of people think my parents hate me or something I find that pretty crazy If my parents hated me they wouldn t let me play hockey It s one of the the majority expensive sports My parents requested me to be special so it s not a common name Ivan took an uncommon path to the NHL this season He s trying to defy pretty long odds but it s exactly the type of enhancement success story the Colorado Avalanche demands as the franchise tries to find supporting cast members for its high-priced core of elite talent After a promising start to his first NHL season Ivan spent the second half of the year re-adjusting to life in the AHL Now he s trying to help the Colorado Eagles chase down a Calder Cup championship with an eye toward becoming a more permanent part of the Avs plans next season When we first saw him at rookie camp and summer advancement camp we were seeing specific tools and we got a little excited Eagles coach Aaron Schneekloth mentioned You want to be realistic because it s just rookie camp but we knew we had something Getting to know Ivan as a athlete and a person he s been coachable He wants to learn He wants to prove he belongs And he just continued to work every day He s persistent It s been a great find for the organization Marek Ivan played in the WHL as a teenager His professional career in North America was brief but he spent two decades playing in Europe mostly at home in Czechia When his eldest son was mapping out his path he requested to follow in his dad s footsteps So Ivan left home for Cape Breton in the QMJHL in His first season was an adjustment but Ivan felt like his second year would be a lot better and help him find a place in the NHL draft But the COVID- pandemic that cut his first season in North America short was unrelenting He spent the - season on loan with his hometown club which is in the third division of Czech hockey Ivan practiced a lot and then practiced selected more He played a total of five league games plus several time at the Czechia world juniors camp It was tough especially after coming home from playing in Canada Ivan commented I knew I was ready for a big season but it happened and I m glad my hometown crew let me skate and all that I think I could have gotten a better chance of playing more than just being in the taxi squad He fell off the draft radar but back-to-back strong seasons with Cape Breton after that earned him an AHL contract with Colorado Ivan was a breakout participant for the Eagles last year as a rookie and by March he had inked his first NHL entry-level deal When the Avs were missing key NHL forwards in training camp Ivan seized the opportunity When Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen returned Ivan kept his place At one point he had five goals and eight points in games Eventually he hit the rookie wall After games without a point it was time to return to the Eagles That adjustment can be hard for young players especially after making the dream come true It s a big difference It feels like it was hard to switch the tempo and style of hockey especially after games Ivan declared You get used to the habits on the ice It s just different Just trying to work hard and trying to figure out my event in the AHL again The guy who buried one-timers on the power play from Nathan MacKinnon in October while also playing a responsible brand of hockey took a while to show up in his second go-round in Loveland Ivan had goals and points in games for the Eagles last season but just two and in contests after the demotion His play started to perk up and he s been a key participant for the club in six Calder Cup games The Eagles and Abbotsford are tied - in a best-of- quarterfinal series with Competition on Wednesday night at Blue Arena There was an adjustment period but he was very mature about it Schneekloth explained He understood And we re starting to see it It s the largest part fundamental time of the year right now and he s been a great athlete for us Related Articles Avalanche Journal Is Brock Nelson the answer at C What s plan B if he isn t Avalanche Mailbag Was trading Mikko Rantanen a mistake by Colorado management After another Meeting disappointment how close is Avalanche to returning to top of the mountain David Carle in no rush to leave DU Pioneers Certain guys in the NHL would transaction with me Nathan MacKinnon Sidney Crosby back together for Canada at ice hockey worlds after years The Avs have forwards under contract for next season but also a insufficient key free agents A athlete like Ivan proving he can be an everyday guy in the bottom six for less than million against the salary cap could be a boon for a club that requirements to find bargains Given the amount of draft capital the Avs have dealt away players like Logan O Connor Sam Malinski and Ivan can help make up for that Next season is going to be a huge one for the kid with two first names and the tools to be another undrafted success story There were a lot of takeaways that I m going to go through this summer The big thing is consistency It s the thing every sportsman has to work on You have to try and stay on the same line instead of having a lot of ups and downs he reported I ve got to be more offensive I think my defensive tournament was really good but my offensive contest was a little worse I need to get stronger get my head in the right place and just be more consistent Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis
