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Avalanche College Hockey Connection

The Denver Post’s Adrian Dater announced today that the Avalanche sign

Matt Duchene, Brandon Yip

Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene, left, celebrates with right winger Brandon Yip after his empty-net goal against the Edmonton Oilers in the third period of Colorado’s 3-0 victory in an NHL hockey game in Denver on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

AP

ed two of their draft picks from Boston University in defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk and Colby Cohen. Both players were key members of Boston U’s 2009 National Championship team and are highly regarded prospects in the Avalanche system. Even more amazing still is that the goaltender of the title team, Kieran Millan, is also a Colorado draft pick.

What you may not realize is that there’s a decided college hockey feel to the organization. Don’t believe it? Check out these connections from the current Avs roster:

Paul Stastny - Denver University

T.J. Galiardi - Dartmouth College

Brandon Yip - Boston University

Matt Hendricks - St. Cloud State University

David Jones - Dartmouth College

Brett Clark - University of Maine

John-Michael Liles - Michigan State

Kevin Porter - University of Michigan

Chris Durno - Michigan Tech

Not currently on the roster are former Michigan standout T.J. Hensick, former Golden Gophers Ryan Stoa and Mike Carman, Northern Michigan’s Mark Olver and 2009 National Championship finalist Justin Mercier from Miami University.

Make no mistake about it, the Avalanche are making it a point to focus their attention on the college hockey scene of late and with the emergence of Brandon Yip (11 goals, 7 assists) and T.J. Galiardi (14 goals, 24 assists) this season, it’s paying dividends for the Avs. College hockey has already seen a great number of players signed away this season and with the level of play stepping up in recent years, it’s a trend that’s likely to continue.