Colorado Avalanche Alumni Association
If you’ve been watching Colorado Avalanche hockey this season, you’re undoubtedly aware of the newly established Alumni Association which will be honoring several players from the 1996 and 2001 Stanley Cup years as part of the 10-year anniversary of the Pepsi Center.
To date, the club has announced and honored five great players from those exciting Avalanche hockey years. Included in the list are Joe Sakic, known the world over as “Super Joe”, Defensemen Alexei Gusarov and Uwe Krupp, and wingers Shjon Podein, and Mike Keane.
Now listen, essentially anybody with a pulse and is living above ground has likely heard of Super Joe Sakic. Besides the virtual laundry list of accolades and honors bestowed upon the man, his incredible on-ice performance through the years has placed him in eighth place all-time in points scored and a sure place in the hockey Hall of Fame. I’ll be doing a complete article on Super Joe later in the season, but for now, let’s take a quick look back at these other great players from those Stanley Cup years.
Wearing the number 5 on his sweater, Alexei Gusarov was one of the original Quebec Nordique players to come to Colorado where he played five full seasons in an Avalanche sweater and a portion of the 2001-02 season. During his tenure as a blue-liner for the Avs, “The Goose” tallied 74 points and was considered to be a solid and reliable defenseman who was well-respected by his teammates.
Number 4, Uwe Krupp, will of course always be remembered by Avalanche fans as being the guy to score the triple overtime, game (and cup) winning goal in game four of the 1996 Stanley Cup finals against the Florida Panthers. As another of the Nordique transplants, Krupp spent three full seasons in the Avalanche organization before being sent to the Detroit Red Wings. During his time here in Colorado, Krupp totaled 55 points, but it’s that one single point by which he will be forever remembered in the world of hockey.
Shjon Podein is perhaps best remembered by fans as the gritty fourth line grinder who ran over Dallas net minder Eddie Belfour to score the overtime winning goal in a late-season game in the 2000-01 campaign. Belfour, coming out to play the puck, mishandled it to Podein, who then scored to end the game. At the time this was significant because it virtually secured the club’s playoff position in a very tight race with Edmonton that year. In total, Podein spent three and a half seasons wearing the number 25 with the Avs during which time he scored 71 points.
The latest player honored by the Alumni Association is winger and number 12, Mike Keane. “Keener” as his teammates affectionately dubbed him, was considered to be a fierce competitor on the ice and a source of stability and leadership for the squad in both the locker room, as well as, on ice. Keane actually did two stints with the Avalanche, with his first two years beginning in the 1995-96 Stanley Cup year, and another two-year period beginning in the 2001-02 season. In total, Keane played sixteen seasons in the NHL and while with the Avs, he managed to notch 64 points.
The remaining five players to be honored by the Alumni Association this season are Adam Deadmarsh, Claude Lemieux, Curtis Leschyshyn, Mike Ricci, and Valeri Kamensky. As we approach the end of the season, we’ll spend a little time looking back at these key players who made those cups years memorable.
