January 20, 2008

Moment of Truth for Avs Rookies

The following article, which features former Dartmouth forward DAvid Jones, appeared January 20 issue of the Denver Post.

By Adrian Dater
The Denver Post 

Thirteen years later, Andrew Brunette takes about half a second to answer the question:

"My first game? It was in Chicago, at the United Center, 1995-96 season, with Washington. I'll never forget that night," the Avalanche winger said. "The national anthem they do in Chicago, where everybody cheers and claps, I definitely had some butterflies. We won 3-2, and I was on the ice for two of the goals."

Every player who has played an NHL game has a first game to recall. That makes for thousands of stories. They're all the same, and they're all special. There are six such stories on the Avalanche so far this season. Only one team, Chicago, has had more, with seven.

Of the six Avalanche players who made their NHL debuts this season, four currently are on the roster. The other two are in Cleveland, playing for the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League. They are too busy right now trying to get their NHL careers cemented for a lot of feet-up-on-the-desk, sentimental reflection.

But while most people can't remember their dreams from the night before, players have no trouble recalling the night theirs came true. Here are their stories:

David Jones

debuted Dec. 21, Pepsi Center, vs. N.Y. Rangers

The former Dartmouth standout contributed to an Avs victory with nearly nine minutes of ice time. He played one more game with the Avs before being sent back to Lake Erie - right before Dartmouth was to play in Denver for a tournament.

"It was really something. I was real nervous. You definitely notice the pace of the game is much faster in the NHL. It was great to play against some guys you grew up watching, guys like (Brendan) Shanahan and (Jaromir) Jagr. You realize you've come a long way when you're playing against guys like that."

Complete article can be accessed via the Post Web site by clicking here.