CENTENNIAL, Colo — The Colorado Avalanche held day one of their on-ice portion of the Development Camp on Tuesday. There were some familiar faces that have been to the camp a few times, and some new ones. To some, it may just look like the players are doing drills. To the coaches, it is an evaluation of where these players are at in their development. These three days can make or break a career sometimes. Forward Logan O’Connor came to an Avalanche Development Camp on an invitation and earned himself a contract. Eventually, O’Connor worked his way onto the Stanley Cup. So, these camps are not meaningless drills, they can be everything. Here are a few players that stood out during day one of the Development Camp.
Sean Behrens
Behrens did not play a single game of hockey last season because of an ACL injury. During training camp in September 2024, he went down and could not return in time for the Colorado Eagles. Tuesday was the first time that Behrens had skated in front of the public since the injury. He had been skating during the playoffs for the Eagles, so this was not a stretch. Behrens was holding his edges and could make his transitions well. He will have no issues jumping back into the fold of things this coming fall. He told Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette that he should be good for training camp.
Behrens doesn't appear to be held back by the knee injury from September in these transactions. He should be back to full-time in the fall. #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @HockeyMtnHighCO pic.twitter.com/jkIiNDUaTW
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) July 1, 2025
Cooper Gay
Gay made his debut with the Colorado Eagles in early April with a bang. He scored on his first shot on net. His strong skating makes this young prospect stand out. He keeps his head up as he powers through traffic and uses his speed to his advantage. On Tuesday, Gay showed he can power around corners with his size and handle his feet under him. He should be a bottom-six forward in Loveland this fall.
Cooper Gay has shown strength in his skating during college, he definitely does here as he almost falls over but maintains his composure. #Avs #GoAvsGo #EaglesCountry @HockeyMtnHighCO pic.twitter.com/j1BLpWO6Rp
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) July 1, 2025
Linus Funck
The new Avalanche draftee was strong on his skates to start the second session. The altitude got to him, though. He slowed down a little and so did his feet. Funck’s hands were impressive. He made up for the conditioning by using his hand speed to move the puck during the drills.
Linus Funck showing that he is a little hesitant on his edges. But there is power there. #Avs #GoAvsGo @HockeyMtnHighCO pic.twitter.com/IuKg8pkNQz
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) July 1, 2025
Development Camp still has two more days left and much more to see. Keep it here for all of your Development Camp coverage and follow along on our socials starting at 8 a.m. MT Wednesday morning!
