Colorado's Wolski growing into playoff role

Bruce Bisping, Star Tribune

Wojtek Wolski got a celebratory embrace from Ryan Smith after scoring the go-ahead goal Thursday against the Wild.

The winger has improved defensively, and he is adding some important offense for the Avalanche in the playoffs.

By MICHAEL KELLY, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: April 18, 2008 - 10:25 PM

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CENTENNIAL, COLO. - Two years ago, Wojtek Wolski was a rookie sensation on hockey's biggest stage.

He was 20 years old when the 2006 postseason started, with only nine NHL games under his belt before the Colorado Avalanche played Dallas in the first round. His inexperience didn't seem to matter when he had scored a goal and had two assists in his first playoff game.

His fast start caught everyone's attention, but the shine quickly faded. He managed only one more assist the rest of that postseason, and he was a healthy scratch at the end of the Avs' Western Conference seminal loss to Anaheim.

"The first time I came in I had a couple of points to begin with, then I went down and didn't play too well," Wolski said.

This postseason, Wolski has proved he has learned from 2006. Heading into tonight's Game 6 against Minnesota, the left winger is tied for the team lead in points with five and has two big goals, including the winner in Colorado's 5-1 victory in Game 4.

"I feel a little more comfortable this year," Wolski said. "I've realized the expectations are high and the responsibility I have to the team is a lot bigger than it was a couple of years ago."

Wolski was 19 when he broke in with Colorado in 2005, and he made a quick impact. He had two goals and four assists in nine games, but the Avs decided he would benefit by another year with Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League. He had 47 goals and 81 assists in 56 games there, and Colorado brought him back for the postseason.

He stuck with the Avs after that, but he has had some growing pains. This season, he was a healthy scratch five times, a move coach Joel Quenneville made to let Wolski know he needed to play better defensively.

"Every young kid has a learning curve," Quenneville said. "Learning the defensive side of the game is something that, when you have that, it really complements your offense. When you're not producing offensively, you want to make sure you take care of that end of it. He's starting to show some improvement."

The message got through.

"This year I've realized points are great but we're here to win games," Wolski said. "It doesn't matter who puts the goals in, as long as I'm finishing checks and I'm playing well defensively, [scoring] will take care of itself."

Wolski, who had 18 goals and 30 assists during the regular season, ended the season with six points in the final eight games. He also had success against the Wild this season (three goals, four assists) and had a shootout goal in the teams' season finale. He has carried that strong play into the playoffs.

"The upside offensively has always been there," Quenneville said, "but he's been very effective in this series."

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