Avalanche could be relying more on youngsters next season

From Rick Sadowski of the Rocky Mountain News:

Because Sakic and Peter Forsberg are still debating whether to return for another season and free agent Andrew Brunette departed for Minnesota, the Avalanche has mapped out big plans for youngsters like Jones and Hensick.

Jones, 23, is a 6-foot-2, 220-pound power forward, a right wing who had two goals and four assists in 27 regular-season games with the Avalanche and one assist in 10 playoff games. A Hobey Baker Award finalist as a junior at Dartmouth in 2006-07, Jones was summoned three times from the Lake Erie Monsters in the American Hockey League, where he had 14 goals and 16 assists in 45 games.

Hensick, 22, is a 5-10, 185-pounder whose strengths are speed and the
ability to dart into openings. He can play center and on the wing.

Read the entire story here.

The Avalanche is eventually going to need to rely on its young core, and players like Hensick and Jones definitely give hope for a strong future.