Utah
Avs-Utah Preseason Game 6 Studs & Duds – DNVR Sports
The Colorado Avalanche lost to Utah in their sixth and final preseason game by a score of 2-1. Here are the game’s Studs & Duds.
Studs
Nikolai Kovalenko
The Tank rolls on as Kovalenko had another strong outing. His forechecking acumen is what is driving the majority of his success right now. There’s a little playmaking ability that is jumping off the ice and giving the Avs the hope that he could help in the top nine a bit to start the year.
I like all of those things, but it’s that physicality and tryhard that appeals the most to me at the moment. He once again played hard and made his bones by being a nuisance to Utah puck carriers.
Trying to predict what the Avs are up to on this roster is always tricky territory, but this guy has to be on the roster in my opinion. He has outplayed everyone in contention for jobs, from Cal Ritchie to Ivan Ivan to Chris Wagner and even Joel Kiviranta. He’s been better than all of them and should have a spot on the ice next week for opening night.
Ivan Ivan
This guy just will not quit. I’ve spent the last year heaping praise on the young Czech forward and he continues to justify the attached hope. He’s been nothing short of excellent this preseason.
His hockey IQ is awesome to watch. When he gets the puck, he already knows what he’s doing with it. He can play at NHL pace. I’m not sold on his skill level yet, but he’s always a step ahead of the game action and that allows him to max out his physical abilities.
He was given a look at center tonight and I thought he flourished. He scored Colorado’s only goal and had two other excellent scoring chances. Every time he’s on the ice, he’s causing headaches for the opposing team.
The only knock here is that he took another penalty, which has been an issue for him this preseason. We have seen that isn’t a disqualifying quality in previous years (remembering the four-penalty game by Sampo Ranta in the final preseason game).
The Avs are in a strange roster spot right now. They released Pierre-Edouard Bellemare from his PTO and placed T.J. Tynan and Chris Wagner on waivers, removing three options for the fourth-line center job. That pretty much has left Ivan and Parker Kelly battling for that job, but there is a feeling something is coming because the team’s claim of defenseman John Ludvig from the waiver wire leaves them with nine defenders right now.
Anyway, until the team actually makes a final decision on this roster battle, Ivan has to continue being considered. The only player battling for a job that he has not outplayed is Kovalenko.
Parker Kelly
Speaking of that fourth-line center job, Kelly continues to impress me quite a bit. I liked the signing when it happened, but the move of him to center is not something I’m fully sold on just yet.
That said, the qualities that define his game are showing up consistently. He’s a worker from start to finish. The puck skills aren’t there for him to be a big difference-maker on the offensive side of the game, but his willingness to put on his hard hat and go to work every single shift is an excellent quality to have for a bottom-of-the-lineup player.
We’ll see about this center thing, but if that experiment ends and he moves back to wing, Kelly is set to be a strong addition to this lineup.
Duds
Waiting for the regular season
The Avs open their season on Wednesday and then don’t play again until next Saturday. Tonight’s game got me fully ready for real Avalanche hockey again and I’m annoyed we have to sit around and keep talking about roster spots for the next few days.
That second pairing
Both Sam Girard and Josh Manson made great plays during this game, but I have to nitpick a ‘Dud’ somewhere, so I’ll take this pairing.
They weren’t consistently poor by any means, but each made mistakes on the penalty kill that were frustrating. Girard’s was especially onerous as his failure to clear a puck that 100% should have been out of the zone turned into the game-winning goal a few seconds later.
That’s just not something you want to see from Girard. Manson also got caught puck-watching a bit too much on the PK and instead of working over the guys in front of the net, was witness to the scene unfolding. Lackluster work from both on that unit.
Unsung Hero
Easily easily easily easily it this woman.
That is her prosthetic leg she is holding in the air just a few moments after chugging a beer from it. That absolutely rules.
Jon Anderson will be charged with moving the Orem school forward following the death of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on campus last year.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Incoming UVU President Jon Anderson poses for a photo with his family after an event announcing his selection at Utah Valley University in Orem on Friday, July 17, 2026.
BEAVER COUNTY, Utah — A massive community effort is underway as volunteers and Beaver County crews distribute thousands of sandbags to protect homes from the potential path of floodwaters.
After the Cottonwood Fires, residents have been waiting for weeks for relief to come in the form of rain, though officials now warn it may come all at once with an increased risk of flooding and debris flow.
Emergency Service Director Les Whitney believes that the fire has left plenty of debris to bring trouble for residents.
“We got a lot of water. We’re bringing debris with it, so tree branches, tree limbs, logs, lots of different size firewood, and that’s all in the creeks. We’re worried about that plugging up our bridges and stuff, so we have heavy equipment and excavators located in strategic places so that we can keep those bridges open,” said Whitney.
An estimated 140 homes and condominiums were spared from the flames, but remain in the paths of floodwaters.
Residents can also pick up sandbags at the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office or at the Beaver County Rodeo Fairgrounds.
EAGLE MOUNTAIN — An Eagle Mountain man currently on pretrial release in 4th District Court who is accused of abusing his dog has been arrested again for allegedly punching the same animal.
Keith Reaves Davis, 43, was booked into the Utah County Jail on Wednesday for investigation of aggravated cruelty to an animal.
Utah County sheriff’s deputies were called Wednesday afternoon to a grocery store on a report that a man was beating his dog after it had gotten off its leash and was stopped by a bystander, according to a police booking affidavit.
“I reviewed security camera footage from the grocery store, and an individual matching the description of the suspect was seen holding the dog in the air by one paw and repeatedly striking the dog on the right hind leg area. I observed the male strike the dog several times before dropping the dog from approximately 1-2 feet. The strikes appeared to be as hard as the male could hit,” the arresting deputy wrote in the affidavit. “The dog did not cry out or whimper as if the dog was accustomed to the abuse.”
When questioned, Davis “admitted to striking the dog because it was not behaving,” the affidavit states.
An animal control officer who responded to the scene to take custody of the dog noted it was the same dog he had taken from Davis exactly three months earlier during another animal abuse investigation.
In that case, Davis was charged in 4th District Court with aggravated cruelty to an animal, a class A misdemeanor; and public intoxication, a class C misdemeanor, after deputies received a tip from a neighbor that a dog was being abused at Davis’ home, according to charging documents. When questioned, Davis “acknowledged hitting his dog as punishment,” the charges state.
Deputies also reviewed videos that the neighbor had filmed. The neighbor told investigators “there was blood from the dog on the ground of the garage and (the neighbor) can hear the dog screaming as if it’s being hurt. Deputies got the videos from the (neighbor) and you can hear very loudly the dog screaming and crying with a lot of loud banging noises. In one of the videos, you can hear the dog sounding like it is being choked by a collar and is grasping for air,” a police booking affidavit states.
Davis’ next court hearing in the April case is scheduled for July 28.
In their latest booking report, sheriff’s deputies note that they “believe further harm will be inflicted on this dog if it is released back to the male a second time,” and have recommended the dog not be returned to Davis.
The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.
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