Avalanche prospect J.T. Compher had a tough time watching Tuesday’s U.S.-Canada game at the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto. In addition to bleeding red, white and blue, the Illinois-born Compher watched the Americans lose 4-2 with Canadian Chris Bigras in his ear.
Bigras, a defenseman who is attending Colorado’s rookie camp with Compher, often played against Compher’s U.S. teams in international tournaments. Both are age 21 and played at the under-17, under-18 and World Junior (under-20) levels. Compher played two years at the U.S. National Development Program in Ann Arbor, Mich., while Bigras was beginning his four-year stint with major-junior’s Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario League.