Rare Avs rookie Landeskog ready at 18

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The day after the Colorado Avalanche selected him second overall in the 2011 NHL entry draft, Gabriel Landeskog(notes) sat at the team’s table on the floor of the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. He got to know the Avs’ officials as they went through the later rounds. There wasn’t much for him to do.

Then he was handed a phone by Charlotte Grahame, the Avs’ vice-president of hockey administration. She said someone wanted to talk to him. He recognized the number was from Sweden. Who could it be?“Hey,” said the voice at the other end of the line, “it’s Foppa.”

Foppa? As in Peter Forsberg(notes)?

Landeskog grew up in Sweden as a huge Forsberg fan. He had posters on his bedroom wall of Forsberg playing for the Avalanche and of the Avs’ 2001 Stanley Cup championship team. Now here he was, a Colorado draft pick, talking to Foppa himself for a few minutes about Denver as a city, the Avs as an organization and the team that won that Cup.

“I was a bit star-struck at first,” Landeskog said. “I was stuttering at first. Yeah, I was.”

Landeskog hasn’t seemed star-struck since. He has become a poster boy in his own right – an example of the rare 18-year-old who is ready to play in the NHL right away. People continue to compare him to Forsberg, especially because of his ability to handle the puck in tight spaces, and the Avs have decided to keep him in the NHL rather than return him to junior.

A team should keep a teenager in the NHL only if he meets two criteria: One, the kid is physically and mentally prepared to play with men in the best league in the world. Two, he makes the team better.

If there is a reasonable doubt either way, a team should err on the side of caution, no matter how desperate it is for an infusion of talent, excitement or hope. It’s not just because a player burns the first year of his entry-level contract if he plays 10 NHL games; it’s so he is put in the best position to succeed for the long term.

Most aren’t ready. So it was prudent of, say, the Ottawa Senators (Mika Zibanejad(notes), sixth overall) and Winnipeg Jets (Mark Scheifele(notes), seventh overall) to give their prized picks a taste of the NHL, get a good look at them and then send them to places where they can develop best – more ice time, more important minutes, more appropriate competition.

There are exceptions, though. The Edmonton Oilers’ Ryan Nugent-Hopkins(notes) (first overall) has shown the skill everyone expected and quelled concerns about his size, racking up five goals, eight points and a plus-4 rating in eight games. The New Jersey Devils’ Adam Larsson(notes) (fourth overall) has a more difficult challenge as a defenseman, but has displayed uncommon poise. The Philadelphia Flyers’ Sean Couturier(notes) (eighth overall) looks like a solid two-way player, and living with veteran Danny Briere(notes) doesn’t hurt.

Landeskog was considered the most NHL-ready prospect entering the draft, and he hasn’t disappointed with four goals, six points and a plus-2 rating in nine games. He scored twice Saturday night against the Chicago Blackhawks, netting the tying goal with 1:48 left in regulation, setting up a 5-4 shootout victory. He had an assist, a plus-1 rating and seven shots Wednesday night even though the Avs fell to the Calgary Flames, 4-2. His 36 shots rank third among all NHL players.

One word of caution: These guys are still 18. All of them. Though some will turn 19 soon, they’re still kids, and as the teams keep them in the NHL everyone needs to keep things in perspective. Nugent-Hopkins is not Gretzky. Larsson is not Lidstrom. Couturier is not Clarke. Landeskog is not Forsberg, as much as he dreamed of being him growing up, even though he wears the same sweater now.

“People think different things all the time, and I’m not going to step on anyone toes there,” Landeskog said. “They can think whatever they want. It’s up to them. But at the same time, I’m Gabriel Landeskog. I’m not Peter Forsberg. We’re two very different players.”

Sounds ready to me.