Patrick Roy viewed it as an opportunity, not as a hardship. The Colorado coach said he doesn't think Joey Hishon — or anyone else — should be bothered by the fact that the young Avalanche center will make his NHL debut in a playoff game.
Hishon, 22, was surprised to get called up Tuesday from Lake Erie of the AHL. After watching him in practice Wednesday at Xcel Energy Center, Roy said the first-round pick in the 2010 draft will center the Avs' fourth line in Thursday's Game 4 against the Wild. Hishon also will skate on the power play, filling in for injured defenseman Tyson Barrie.
"You don't always pick the right time to start [an NHL career], but it happened,'' Roy said. "This is an opportunity for him. Joey's dream is to play in the NHL one day. Here it is. He has a chance to do it, and with our situation, why not?''
With several players sidelined by injuries — including leading scorer Matt Duchene — Roy was looking for a way to inject more firepower into his team's offense. Hishon, the 17th overall draft pick in 2010, is known as a gifted playmaker and skilled stickhandler.
His ascent to the NHL has been delayed by a string of injuries, including a concussion caused by an illegal head shot in 2011 that kept Hishon out of the game for nearly two years.
"I can't even explain the emotion,'' said Hishon, who has 10 goals and 14 assists in 50 games this season. "The guys will help me, and I'll make the adjustment as well as I can.
"Patrick pulled me aside before practice and said, 'Don't ease into it. Just play and be confident and work hard, and everything will be fine.' So that's what I'm trying to do.''
Moving on
Roy reiterated Wednesday that the Avalanche will not seek vengeance in Game 4 for the hit by Wild winger Matt Cooke that took out Barrie. While several players still were upset about it — including Bloomington native Erik Johnson, who called the knee-on-knee hit "disgusting'' — they and their coach shied away from any talk of revenge.
