LOVELAND, Colo.— For the past 1,020 days, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has been missing from the ice. After facing several setbacks outlined in A Clean Sheet, the Swede finally touched the ice. During morning skate, the excitement continued to build ahead of his AHL debut.

AHL fans lovingly known Blue Arena as “The Loud House,” but his introduction gave the name a new meaning. Avalanche and Eagles fans alike flooded the arena with excitement.

A 2–0 win over the Henderson Silver Knights (VGK) made his return even sweeter.

Takeaways

Landeskog’s first shift was no doubt nerve wracking, and at first he seemed hesitant to take contact. After a brief collision with Oskar Olausson, there was a new sense of confidence. He gradually got more physical, even putting a Silver Knight in a headlock.

Despite moving at a slower pace than normal, his performance was as expected after missing nearly three years of hockey. He occupied his normal position in front of the net, made a dive to save a puck from an icing call, and nearly scored a shorthanded goal.

Though he didn’t find the back of the net, he found himself sitting in the box for a slashing penalty, forcing the Eagles on the power play. Despite not being happy to be in the box, it was still an emotional moment.

“I was a little bit confused when I heard my name and I was on the Jumbotron and being honored, and people were going nuts,” he said. “I will take that too. You know, that was very special. I was talking to the gentleman that was sitting in the penalty box and I mentioned to him that I do somehow, even though it’s been a long time, I remember this feeling of sitting in the penalty box. It’s still not a great feeling, but people made it special tonight. All that comes with it and those are the little details that I missed so much about the game.”

With a smile and a wave to the crowd, the game moved on.

Buried in all the excitement of the night, the Eagles also had two AHL debuts. Both Hank Kempf and Connor Kelley took their rookie laps in a packed house.

Kempf assisted Chase Bradley on the first goal of the night, only 2:30 into the first period. A powerful performance was necessary for the Eagles to maintain their position as the top team in both the Pacific Division and the Western Conference.

Colorado’s physical landscape was worth the attention. The Eagles only have four games remaining, and the Abbotsford Canucks (VAN) are right on their heels. The aggression is necessary as the team closes in on playoffs.

Coach Aaron Schneekloth made sure the young players did not feel overshadowed by the excitement of Landeskog’s return on their special day.

“You know, I think having both of those guys here for a full week in practice, getting involved in meetings, and gave a little bit of comfort,” he said. “I mean, we’ve got a very welcoming group out there. We’ve got a great leadership group that helps get these guys feeling comfortable on the ice and in the locker room. And I thought they both stepped in and did a nice job for their first game.”

Upcoming

At this time, it is unknown if Landeskog will return to the ice for the Colorado Eagles tomorrow, and it will depend on how his knee is feeling. At the end of the game, he said his body “felt great,” which is promising to hear for a second appearance.

For the rest of the team, they will rematch with the Henderson Silver Knights at 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 12. The game can be streamed by AHLTV on FloHockey.com.