What, what is the kind of like, what, what, what's the team gonna give him as a leash to kind of like grow into this role?

Something I've really appreciated about how T.J. Hughes has been handled and how players talk about him, Jared Bednar utilizes him, they treat him like a 10-year pro, and I think that's the best thing for T.J. Hughes as a rookie.

Because he has habits like a pro, and he came from college with those habits, and he learns very quickly.

And so I liked his game one to the next more in the St. Louis game.

You know, it's not without its mistakes.

I think that on the breakout in the goal against that comes in the third period, the puck does kinda slip by him through the half wall, and it's something that you know he's going to take mental note of, and you probably don't see that same type of error with Hu- T.J. Hughes ever again.

And so I think the, the quickness that he is adapting to the elevated pace at that, just that next level is where he's learning where, you know, this different pass option might, he might not get away with it at this level.

What's the, how are they gonna navigate this?

What about that has set him up for what seems like a middle six NHL debut tomorrow night?

Well, for TJ Hughes, he's effective so quickly.

And I think you look at players that do have offensive gifts in their game going college to the pro level.

To get it to translate as quickly as he did, especially nearing a point per game in the Calder Cup playoffs for the Eagles, is a testament to how much of a quick study he is.

And so Coach Letestu has described him as a sponge.

I'm sure Brendan can attest to this, just how quickly he has adapted to the pace at the pro level.

And getting it to translate to production specifically is something that I think Gerard Bednar finds very appealing.

I'm just going to shut up now and you can talk.

Uh, did that come as a shock in, in Denver? And, and what'd you make of that move by MacFarland and then Sakic go, going back into the GM's role?

It's tough because I have so much respect for Joe Sakic going back to his original stint as the GM.

But so much of it was a collaboration with Chris MacFarland before he was promoted to GM, and they're both just such good people, so it's hard to see Chris MacFarland go.

And there were murmurs of this in the playoffs, and I was quick to even dismiss it.

That felt like a, an unnecessary distraction that I didn't think there would be much legs behind it then.

But because of the upgrade in position wherein Chris MacFarland gets to have so much more control hands-on, um, and really take ownership of what he'll be doing in Nashville, I kind of understand him wanting to put his own stamp on something, especially because of the state of the organization for Nashville.

So I see why the opportunity made sense for Chris Ma- MacFarland and his family, and I'm excited to see then what Joe Sakic does stepping back into this role.

Oh, what's the outlook for the Avs, and it's a tough Central Division.

And it's a fourth line role, but it can't be understated, I think, like, what a, what an impact those guys made, especially considering the counterparts they were going up against with Minnesota.

Yeah.

I think, you know, Drury's in a unique position in particular, um, just because he is due for a contract RFA this summer, and there were discussions between Drury and the Avs in the regular season, just didn't reach an agreement.

And so the addition of Nichushkin and the emphasis around center depth, uh, with the deadline and then also Nazem Kadri put him in a position where it's important for the best parts of his game to shine in playoffs, to showcase the 3C money that I think he's going to want to command.

And a credit to Drury, too, is the responsibility of his game.

And this is true of Parker Kelly.

Like, both these players in their own right have poured a lot of effort into being trusted, reliable, and consistent while also fine-tuning the skill upside.

And despite Nelson not scoring himself, he comes out of those 31 5-on-5 head to m- head minutes, Avs are up 2-1, and you're gonna take that every time, especially in terms of the way the series played out.