Behrens’ rookie campaign finished with 5 goals and 23 points in 55 games, then 4 points in 15 games en route to the Calder Cup semifinals. These totals were fine but slightly inflated by a 10% shooting percentage, and lower than would be hoped given his usage on an offense-first pairing in the playoffs. Fantasy owners would like to see some occasional heaters throughout the year, but this hasn’t materialized so far. If he starts on time and stays healthy as a sophomore perhaps he plays higher in the AHL lineup, but he’s not yet in the call-up conversation.

After a minor injury early during training camp, Behrens’s season didn’t start until mid-October and has been a middling debut so far. His 6 points in 19 games isn’t terrible for a rookie, but considering his occasional powerplay usage there is certainly hope for better output and his recent healthy scratch confirms this. He also isn’t generating enough SOG to be an individual threat (or fantasy consideration) at this point, so its safe to say there will be lots of AHL seasoning needed to match the form he found pre-injuries in college.

Behrens is a full participant in the Avs prospect tournament, receiving top-four minutes and appearing on both the powerplay and penalty kill. His speed hasn’t been a problem but he is being used as a RD despite shooting left and this does lead to some awkwardness in his own zone with puck retrieval and his usual strong passing abilities. If Colorado envisions him on the right side, it may delay his development and therefore fantasy payoff.

Behrens participated in Avs Development Camp in a non-contact jersey, his first action in roughly a year since his knee injury. His skating was noted to be a bit rusty, but there were no signs of injury-prompted limitations so he will be expected to be fully back in action for training camp.

After a Frozen Four championship, a promising AHL tryout, and a solid training camp, Behrens has suffered a season-ending knee injury. This is a tough news at a critical point in his career, and fantasy owners and real life scouts were eager to see what he could do with a full year in pro. Not only will his development be delayed a year, but by next season there’s a chance he will have more internal competition to deal with if Gulyayev comes to North America and/or Malinski holds onto his NHL role. At least he will have some good mentors in Denver on IR with him, he’s getting a head start and fitting in on the injury-prone squad.