Avalanche defenseman Oliver Kylington set to play forward as injuries arise
The injury bug plaguing the Colorado Avalanche has forced the team to make some unique decisions to fill a lineup.
When speaking to Altitude Radio, head coach Jared Bednar revealed that defenseman Oliver Kylington will be playing forward against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.
Bednar also pointed out that forward Miles Wood has been added to the Avs’ injured list.
Jared Bednar, on Altitude Radio, said today that Miles Wood is added to the injury list and won't play vs TB.
Kaapo Kahkonen gets his first start & Oliver Kylington will play forward
The Avalanche have a laundry list of players out of the lineup, especially up front. Artturi Lehkonen has been out for the past two weeks with a shoulder injury, while Jonathan Drouin was placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury earlier this week. On Wednesday, the team placed Ross Colton on IR with a foot injury, with Colorado expecting him to miss an extended period of time.
Currently, Kylington is listed as a winger on the fourth line along with Chris Wagner and Matthew Steinburg.
Bednar also stated that goaltender Kaapo Kähkönen will be making his first start with the team. The Avs claimed the Finnish netminder off waivers from the Winnipeg Jets. He has made two conditioning stint appearances with Colorado’s American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, posting a 2.57 goals-against average and .919 save percentage in two losses.
Kylington has appeared in just two games this season, playing consecutive games against the New York Islanders on Oct. 14 and the Boston Bruins two days later. He has averaged a little over 17 minutes of ice while registering a plus/minus of -2.
The Stockholm, Sweden native signed a one-year contract with Colorado this past offseason, with a cap hit of $1.05 million. Up until that point, he had spent his entire nine-year pro career with the Calgary Flames organization. Kylington sat out the 2022-23 season but rejoined the Flames last January, playing 33 games with Calgary after a conditioning stint with their primary affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers.
The Avalanche (5-5-0) are currently tied for fourth in the Central Division.