The Avs Hockey Podcast

Two Fan's Perspectives on Colorado Avalanche Hockey...and jerseys too.

Greg Mauldin: A Short Avs Stay, but it was Sweet

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Greg Mauldin played in only 29 games for the Colorado Avalanche during the 2010-2011 season, but that doesn’t mean that Avs fans don’t know who he is.  Making your presence felt right away never hurts.  Mauldin made his Avalanche debut on November 12, 2010 in Columbus against the Blue Jackets.  He paid immediate dividends as he scored his first NHL goal, a shorthanded goal, at 10:57 of the second period wearing this jersey.

I guess this smile doesn’t hurt things either.  Here’s an image right after he scored his first NHL goal.

Photo Courtesy of Getty Images and avalanche.nhl.com

Here’s some video of the goal as well.  One of the many things that Avalanche fans loved about Mauldin during his stay with the big club was his speed.  Watch closely as Mauldin simply smokes Blue Jackets defenseman Kris Russell as Russell attempts to back check before this goal.  It’s a beautiful thing if you’re the type of person that prefers Avalanche goals.

And would you care for a little icing on your cake? Mauldin’s first NHL goal proved to be the game-winning goal in the Avalanche’s 5-1 victory against the Blue Jackets that night.

Breaking things down a little further, just because it’s fun, I guess a secondary assist could be given to Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek for missing his big drive on the short side of the Avalanche’s net and actually initiating the Avalanche’s two on one, but that would just be being plain picky right?

Mauldin continued to earn his spot on the Avalanche’s roster, even as players began to get healthy and return to the lineup.  The 28 year-old rookie had eight points in his first 14 games with the Avs which included a four point (two goals and two assists) effort against the Wild at Pepsi Center on November 27.  That performance earned him Puck Daddy’s first star of all 11 games played that night in the NHL.  The ten other NHL games even included a hat trick by Penguins star and league poster boy Sidney Crosby.  When someone chooses your performance over a Sidney Crosby hat trick, it’s safe to say you’ve done pretty well.

One detail I almost overlooked with this jersey was that I got to see it in action in person at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina on December 3, 2010 as the Avalanche took on the Hurricanes.  I didn’t have much to cheer about during the game as the Avs lost 2-1 in overtime, but when I did cheer it was actually documented.  Milan Hejduk scored the lone Avs goal 12:51 into the third period.  The fan they show clapping at the end of this clip is yours truly.

Good times!

Greg Mauldin’s hot streak inevitably cooled off.  He failed to record a point for 12 straight games between December 17, 2010 and January 12, 2011 and was sent back down to the Lake Erie Monsters in Cleveland.  Mauldin was not recalled for the remainder of the Avalanche’s season.  He is an unrestricted free agent and Avs fans will find out in the fairly near future whether he will remain with the Avalanche organization for the 2011-2012 season.  So Greg Mauldin may or may not be back with the Avalanche next season, we will see.  If he does return though I know it will make many, many Avs fans (including myself) very happy.

Something Borrowed, Something Burgundy (and Blue) (Update)

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Back in November of this season I created a post with all of the details regarding the newest future game worn Avalanche jersey in my collection.  Adam Foote’s home burgundy jersey from the season opener, with a great story behind it, was being loaned to him by me until he was done with it, then it was going to hang in my closet.

That plan has unfortunately changed.

In mid-December, this auction was showed up on NHL.com.  Initially, I thought it was cool that another Foote from this season was up for auction.  Then I read the description for the jersey and came across this.

This jersey was worn October 7, 2010.

Crap.  That was opening night.  It was also the only reason why I wanted the original game worn Foote in the first place.  I checked the date a few more times just to be sure that I wasn’t making a mistake.  Things weren’t looking too good. I called Meigray and after a few emails to the right people it was confirmed; the jersey I thought I was getting wasn’t worn in the game I wanted it to be worn in.  Oh well.

Meigray gave me the option to use the money I had already put down on the Foote and apply it to another Avalanche jersey being worn this season.  After looking over the roster I chose to go with one of the better stories from this season, Greg Mauldin.  The 28-year old rookie had quite the stretch during his time with the big club.  He scored a handful of goals, including his first in the NHL, a shorthanded goal in Columbus, against the Blue Jackets, on November 12, 2010.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUsK-Wg-znQ[/youtube]

I purchased Mauldin’s white jersey he is wearing in the video above and haven’t received it as of yet.  I’m assuming the team is hanging onto it just in case he’s called up again before the end of the season.

I’m a little disappointed that the story on the Foote changed, but I’m also happy I saw the auction.  It would have been bad to get that jersey thinking it was something that it wasn’t.  On the other hand, I’m looking forward to getting the Mauldin and creating a great post for it.  The Mauldin was obviously a little less expensive than the Foote as well.  More money for more jerseys.  That’s never a bad thing.

Stay tuned!