Today will be the day. Today will be the day that Gabriel Landeskog plays hockey for the first time in almost three years. Just a few minutes ago, the Colorado Avalanche confirmed Landeskog will make his 2024–25 season debut. There is one catch though: he will do it with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.

We were told earlier on Friday morning it would depend all on how he felt after practice. So he is feeling well enough to give it a go. Landeskog was on one of the power play units on Friday morning alongside Oskar Olausson and T.J. Tynan. This is usually a good sign that a player will be in the lineup that evening.

He will go on Friday night and see how he feels in the morning, being evaluated daily. This could mean that the Avalanche could reach out to the NHL to get an except to have Landeskog stay longer than the six games or three games, whichever comes first.

“It’s a unique situation to have someone of his stature come and join us for some skates this week and be in our locker room,” said head coach Aaron Schneekloth. “And it’s a great opportunity for our young guys to learn a lot from him. We’ve had assignments in the past, with Newhook, Byram, Barbario, guys over the years that have some good experience in the NHL, and they come down to get their footing. And obviously the situation is a little bit different. And we’ll talk with Gabe and see what he’s comfortable with.”

Either way, this is the day that Avalanche fans, and Eagles fans, have been waiting for!

Hank Kempf debut

Friday night will also bring the professional debut of former Cornell defenseman Hank Kempf. The Eagles gained him in a trade that also brought over Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey. Kempf will fill in for Wyatt Aamodt, who was recalled by the Avalanche on Friday morning.

The game will be available to stream for free on Flohockey.tv starting at 6:45 p.m. MT.