Avalanche rookie defenseman Justin Barron had an interesting summer in Eastern Canada, skating almost daily with three esteemed forwards from his hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon, Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby and Boston’s Brad Marchand are shoo-ins for Canada’s 2022 Olympic team, and Barron — who will play in his third preseason game Tuesday night — said trying to defend them during the summer skates was eye-opening.
“You got three of the best players in the world, so it was great for me getting to defend those guys in practice every day,” Barron said during Tuesday’s morning skate at Ball Arena.