Former 1st round pick, Oskar Olausson, earns what could be last shot with Avalanche

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First round picks, like cats, have nine lives. No matter the league, no team is going to give up on a former high draft pick unless they’re absolutely sure he doesn’t have the goods.Oskar Olausson might be clinging to his last life in the Colorado Avalanche organization.Drafted 28th overall in the 2021 NHL Draft, Olausson finally got the call earlier this week to play his first NHL games of the season, and was in the lineup again in Colorado’s 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal on Saturday. “Finally” might sound a little extreme considering the season isn’t even halfway over, but when you look at how the season has gone, it’s a fitting word to use.”There’s been, I don’t know, probably upwards of 10 guys with us already this year and he hasn’t gotten a look,” Jared Bednar said of Olausson.Saying “10 guys” could be selling Colorado’s situation short. The Avalanche have already dressed 24 forwards this season, so for a talent like Olausson to have not gotten an opportunity until now means he probably didn’t earn one.”This was a big training camp for him to be able to come in and play for our team,” Bednar said. “It didn’t go very well.”Olausson was one of the earliest cuts from training camp, as the team sent him to the AHL at the halfway point of camp. When you consider how many forwards the Avalanche didn’t have to start the season, his inability to even come close to making the team was a disappointment.It’s gotten better, though.”He’s played some really good hockey games here recently, so a good opportunity for us to get him up here and see what he can do,” Bednar said. “If you get opportunities when a guy’s playing well, I like to see him up here.”Olausson has just 10 points in 27 AHL games this season. But 30% of those points came in the four games preceding his callup, including a overtime winner just after Christmas. The 22-year-old, who entered the season with just two NHL games under his belt, was noticeable in his season debut.Olausson is a shooter, and he did just that against the Sabres, registering two shots on goal in the game. One of those scoring chances was created by the young forward having the confidence to carry the puck from his own end to the offensive zone.That’s why he found himself in the lineup again in the win over the Canadiens.”Now it’s his job, and our job, to get him to do that again and again and again for an extended period of time,” Bednar said. Your daily report on everything sports in Colorado – covering the Denver Broncos, Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche, and columns from Woody Paige and Paul Klee. Consistency hasn’t been Olausson’s forte as a player, but he’ll need to find it quickly in what could be his last opportunity with the Avalanche. Canadiens 2, Avalanche 1What happened: Colorado played with their food a little too much, failing to increase the lead they held most of the game and falling in a shootout.What went right: Montreal has been generating a lot offensively of late, but the Avalanche really didn’t give them a whole lot. The penalty kill for Colorado was particularly strong, especially in overtime when Artturi Lehkonen was given a questionable goaltender interference call.”That was a huge kill,” Bednar said after the game. “I hate that we had to kill it. Again, I don’t think there’s a penalty.”What went wrong: While the defense was solid, the Avalanche generated nothing offensively against a team that had played the night before. Colorado had 7 shots on goal just 12 minutes into the game, but finished with just 16 in the final 53 minutes of regulation.”We had a lot of zone time. We just didn’t create a lot of chances,” Bednar said.Avalanche goal scorers: Rantanen (23)Canadiens goal scorers: Caufield (21)Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood was solid in net, making 23 saves on 24 shots.What’s next: The defending champions will come to town on Monday, as the Avalanche will host the Florida Panthers at 7 p.m.