It’s been a long road, but Chase Bradley sees opportunity with Avalanche
Forgive the Bradley family if they scoff at the idea of a tough I- commute Chase Bradley played high school hockey at home in Oakville Mo a St Louis suburb He also played for the New Jersey Colonials in the Atlantic Youth Hockey League Wait so that means Yeah I was commuting Bradley stated Crazy story St Louis is not near the Atlantic Ocean which the AYHL is named after Oakville is in fact about miles from Morristown N J where the Colonials are based Google Maps says it s a -hour drive Crazy story indeed So I practiced with my high school hockey organization Oakville High School and then we d head up there Friday mornings Bradley announced Play Friday night Saturday morning a little bit on Sunday Leave Sunday and drive through the night My mom thank her drove through Sunday night right back to school on Monday Thankfully Jennifer Bradley wasn t putting miles on the family car every weekend The Colonials played a lot of tournaments in the Midwest so the commute to Chicago or Michigan was considerably shorter And Chase didn t play in every tournament for the Colonials Still it was an incredible amount of effort to help Bradley further his hockey career And it is part of what drives him now as a guy trying to wedge his way into the Colorado Avalanche s near-term plans Bradley was drafted in the seventh round at No by the Detroit Red Wings in the NHL draft He spent a third season in the USHL then three years playing college hockey at Connecticut Being four years removed from his draft Bradley had options in the summer of He could have played another year for UConn He could have signed with the Red Wings Instead he passed on both options and became an unrestricted free agent It was kind of a last-second decision Bradley disclosed I talked with my agent a bunch my family players who went through the same process before My agent did a great job I made my decision off that Bradley didn t know if there would be other teams waiting to sign him but his agent Peter Fish was confident there would be When July arrived Bradley s bet on himself worked out and he signed a two-year entry-level contract with the Avalanche It was definitely a danger but I think it paid off in the long run Bradley disclosed Not only did Bradley find a regular role with the Colorado Eagles a year ago as a first-year pro but he also made his NHL debut with two games for the Avalanche That apparently wasn t on his mind at his first professional training camp I struggled a little bit at first I wasn t really familiar with anybody here Bradley mentioned Kind of came in blind definitely nerve-wracking at training camp last year This rookie camp really helps you get to meet a bunch of the guys be around particular of the staff and kind of feel how pro hockey is This is huge for incoming players This year Bradley was one of the veterans as the Avs split two games with Utah and Vegas at the Rookie Showcase He s going to be a long shot to make the Avs roster especially if the forwards remain healthy But Bradley is one of several Eagles who could get the call when reinforcements are needed The Avs used players in the regular season a year ago Related Articles With new contract settled family Brock Nelson sees bright Avalanche future Feels like a special group in a special place For new Avalanche prospect Gavin Brindley self-belief and hard work are never an issue Avalanche analysis What went wrong with Colorado s power play and why there could be optimism moving forward After breakout season Max Curran offers hope for Avalanche late-draft success story Avalanche analysis Current down position battles at Colorado training camp At years old Bradley has experience and he plays the type of contest that Avs coach Jared Bednar likes from depth forwards He ll also have a new coach with the Eagles Mark Letestu who was also a bit of a long shot as a competitor after going undrafted but ended up crafting a long NHL career Given the Avs championship aspirations their brand of roster construction can invariably use a boost from younger players on cheap cap-friendly contracts Well certainly there s things I can share Letestu announced Not everybody s path is the same but I think I ve seen a little bit of that Certain of the drive in various of these players is evident in everything they do and where they come from I think they re also aware the Avs need players to pop off So I think it s real Those roster spots are available and they re competing for them every day So I think that competitive nature for what the Avalanche may need and what the Eagles are going to strive to be it matches both Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis
