Opening day of Avalanche training camp Friday focused on five-man, end-to-end drills with no pressure. In other words, it was all about the breakout and moving the puck through the neutral zone with speed under the guidance of first-year coach Jared Bednar. North-south was the emphasis, with very few width passes.
System 101 will ultimately grow into Bednar’s honors course. “Today we’re laying the details in place,” Bednar said at Family Sports Center. “As we work through camp, we’re going to add (pressure). Eventually in our practices, we want to be five-on-five but still play with speed.”
Patrick Wiercioch, a defenseman in his first year with the Avs and who played at the University of Denver, said the early emphasis is ideal because everyone knows this team has to feed the Avs’ highly capable forwards and establish possession in the offensive zone.