The Colorado Eagles solidified their goaltender depth on Monday afternoon with the return of fan favorite Hunter Miska. The veteran goalie spent parts of three seasons with the Colorado Avalanche organization from 2019 to 2022. At that point, Miska headed over to Europe (DEL) and Russia (KHL) for three seasons before coming back home. Avalanche fans know Miska from the year in the bubble, and he saw only five games with the team.

Before his first stop in Colorado

Miska led Minnesota-Duluth to the Frozen Four Finals in 2017, losing to the University of Denver 3–2. He was playing players like Riley Tufte, Neal Pionk, Alex Iafallo, Dominic Toninato, Adam Johnson, and other top talent. Over the course of 39 games that season, he held a 2.20 GAA and .920 save percentage. He held a 27–5–5 record with five shutouts. Miska was one of the country’s best, and an NHL club never drafted him. The Arizona Coyotes signed the Minnesota native to an entry-level deal, keeping him in Tucson for two seasons.

First time with Colorado and after

In July 2019, Miska signed with the Eagles as a free agent for the first time. He played 26 games with the Eagles with a 2.48 GAA and .924 save percentage before COVID hit. Miska was reassigned to the Avalanche for the rest of the season as the third goalie in the bubble. He split the next two seasons between the Avs and the Eagles, not seeing nearly as much time with Justus Annunen, Pavel Fancouz and Trent Miner in the system. He headed over to Europe and put up some decent numbers there before coming back to the States. The Bridgeport Islanders (NYI) gave Miska a chance, but he did not far well with a 4.28 GAA. Miska signed a late-season deal with the Utah Grizzlies last season and performed well enough to earn a PTO during the playoffs with the Eagles. Although he saw no games, his willingness to adapt was kept in mind.

Mar 6, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Anaheim Ducks center Rickard Rakell (67) shoots against Colorado Avalanche goaltender Hunter Miska (32) in the first period at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

What does this mean?

Miska will probably act as the starting goaltender for the New Mexico Goatheads this season. He will act as a mentor for the rookie Nikita Novosyolov, who is playing his first season in North America. The veteran goaltender will also probably be the first call-up for the Eagles to fill the gaps when Miner or Ilya Nabokov go to the Avalanche.

Having someone in net who is so familiar with the system already will do wonders for Novosyolov and his development. If the Avalanche want to keep Novosyolov around, this will only help his case to get the help he needs.