Times have been good for Colorado Avalanche prospect Sean Behrens at Denver University. How could you top two National Championships in three years? Well, I guess he could have gone for the three-peat, but no need to be greedy. At some point, it’s time for a new challenge, and for Behrens, that new challenge is professional hockey.
Colorado’s second round pick in 2021 signed his entry-level contract on April 19, and managed to sneak into a few games with the Colorado Eagles at the end of the season. Just being able to be around professionals and take everything in was a great experience for the 21 year old.
“I think it was great to get up there and play the games but also just be around that team,” Behrens said after day one of Development Camp. “They had a lot of guys, like Brad Hunt, Keaton Middleton, guys that are really good to learn from who are really good with their details. Just being up and being around those guys was something that I really appreciated.”
Behrens got into two games. One of them was in the regular season, and one was in the playoffs, so not nearly enough of a sample size to get a real idea of how he fits at the pro level.
Even though it was just two games, he took a few things from them that he can work on over the summer.
“I think it’s just having quiet feet, not crossing over, not falling over yourself because guys come out of corners a little bit quicker (than in the NCAA),” Behrens said. “They find plays a little bit quicker. Being able to close on guys, I think that’s something that I’ve worked on throughout my three years at DU and it’s got better, but at the pro level it needs to be really good. You have to be able to take control of your d-zone and have success in your d-zone if you’re going to succeed at the pro level.”
The Avalanche have made it awfully difficult for Behrens to crack the roster on opening night. By signing Erik Brannstrom, Calvin de Haan, Calle Rosen, and Jacob MacDonald, the Avalanche have restocked the depth on the blueline, pushing Behrens down a little bit. You also can’t forget about Sam Malinski, who spent 1/4 of the season in the NHL last year.
NCAA prospects can’t attend training camp while in college, so this September will be Behrens’ first taste of an NHL training camp. Even though there’s a bit of a logjam on the blueline, he’s looking forward to that first camp.
“Yeah, I am (excited),” he told me. “Hopefully have a really good camp, see what happens, but I’m excited to get here, get in the organization, hopefully play a couple of preseason games or whatnot, but I’m really excited for a different challenge and a new challenge than the last three years have been.”
You can get a look at Behrens and all the rest of the Avalanche prospects at Development Camp on Friday night, when they hit the ice for a 4-on-4 scrimmage at 4 PM at Family Sports.