Gradually, they trickled off the ice until only one player was left, one with the number 92, signifying the year he was born. Don't let the good looks, big contract and fancy high number fool you. Gabriel Landeskog is a rink rat.Cheap 2010 Champions Blackhawks NHL Jerseys
"I like to be on the ice. I just want to be out there as much as I can," Landeskog said Tuesday after the first day of Avalanche rookie camp at the Family Sports Center. "Especially, on the first day like this. You want to get the touch and get the feel again."
The second overall pick in this year's NHL draft, Landeskog is getting to know his new team and city. Living in a hotel room in the south end of the metro area with rookie teammate Brad Malone, Landeskog said he's "gotten to eat in just about every restaurant in the Park Meadows Mall by now.cheap NHL jerseys.
One place Landeskog hasn't visited is the new Ikea furniture and accessories store near the mall. A Swede, new in town, not having gone to Ikea yet?
"I was joking with my dad about it the other day. I said if I miss Sweden a little bit, I'll just go in there and hang out," said Landeskog, a native of Stockholm.Cheap Carolina Hurricanes NHL Jerseys
While he still has to prove himself on the ice, beginning with regular Avs training camp Saturday, odds are high Landeskog will be calling Denver his main residence throughout the coming season. He signed a three-year contract with a cap hit of $3.57 million, and the Avs are barely above the NHL's cap floor of $48.3 million. The Avs have plenty of need for size and scoring up front, something Landeskog, 6-foot-1, 204 pounds, is expected to provide.
And Landeskog's former junior team, the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League, were so convinced he'd make the Avalanche this season they released him from their roster. OHL bylaws say they can keep only two European players at a time, and Kitchener did not protect his rights.cheap jerseys.
"He's going to stay in Colorado out of training camp," Kitchener coach Steve Spott said recently.
Said Landeskog: "I talked with Steve Spott recently, and I always told him my goal is to play in the NHL this year. But I don't look at it at all like I've got some guaranteed spot here."
Landeskog and other rookies skated and did drills for an hour with coaches, then spent another hour skating with veterans. Landeskog spent some time on a line with Matt Duchene?, among others.
"The first time I skated with him a few days ago, I was pretty nervous. My passes were all over the place," Landeskog said. "But I'm feeling more comfortable with everything a little bit every day."