CENTENNIAL, Colo. — The hockey season is officially upon us with the opening of Rookie Camp on Thursday and the return of Brennan’s Beat. Fans have been seeing most of the Colorado Avalanche players for a couple of weeks with some notable absences. But now we get to see the prospects take the ice in force. On Friday, the rookies will play a game against the Utah Mammoth at 6 p.m. at the South Suburban Sports Complex and another game against Vegas on Sunday at 1.p.m.

NHL group

The Avalanche did a heavy skate that included a lot of fast-paced drills and some scrimmaging. Almost the entire Avalanche roster was on the ice on Thursday except for a few players. Samuel Girard has been at the practice facility, but has not been on the ice since August 17th. New signee Victor Olofsson came around for a couple of days and has not been around since. It was a bit of a surprise to walk in this morning and see that Mark Senden, who is on an AHL contract, has joined the group as well. I believe forward Jake Wise, also on an AHL contract, was skating in a non-contact sweater with Taylor Maker before practice started.

Rookie group

The rookies had some impressive young talent on day one of camp. Defenseman Saige Weinstein has spent the last five years with the Spokane Chiefs of the WHL. He showed impressive aim with his shots as he sniped corners all day. If Weinstein continues to play like this, he stands a good chance of being in competition for the last spot on the Colorado Eagles. Hank Kempf, who played for the Eagles last season, closed down the gap well on Nikita Prishchepov. Kempf will probably be on the second pair for the Eagles this season.

There will be lots of players to keep a lookout for over the next few days. The Rookie Showcase officially marks the start of hockey games for the diehard fan. Hockey Mountain High will be in the building for both games to bring you coverage, so check back on Friday for more!