One of Colorado's offseason acquisitions, Oliver Kylington, had some help in making his decision to sign with the Avalanche.
Defenseman Oliver Kylington signed with the Colorado Avalanche this offseason and is looking to earn a spot on the team's blue line. The 27-year-old was drafted 60th overall by the Calgary Flames in 2015 and spent nine seasons within that organization.
The Stockholm, Sweden native said a few factors were involved with his decision to sign with the Avs and Gabriel Landeskog was one of them.
"Great city, great organization. Landeskog helped a lot too, but also just the competitiveness of this team and the will to win," Kylington said. "And I just felt that I really want to be a part of that and just try to chip in with my qualities and my personality. And I just felt flattered that they really wanted me that much as they did, so I was trying to try to contribute and chip in."
The 6-foot defenseman missed a season and a half for personal reasons and returned this January. He earned eight points in 33 games with Calgary last season. His shift to Colorado may be easier for him as he is familiar with a similar type of system.
"I've kind of played the similar system before, when I had Daryl Suter as a coach in Calgary, so we played kind of similar to the style of we play here. So I feel that this system suits me very well," Kylington said. "It's a lot of skating, it's a lot of pressing, and it's a lot of prickly groups and a high tempo game, so I feel that suits my game really well. It felt like a no brainer, really, to come here and just try to contribute."
While Colorado's captain helped influence Kylington's decision to come to the Mile High City, he said "it felt natural to sign here and be a part of this organization and this group."
Kylington publicly spoke about his time away from the NHL and how he dealt with his mental health and issues with his family.
“Although it’s been difficult, I’m grateful for the things that have happened,” he said. “I’m grateful for what it has done to me and the insights it has brought. You cannot always influence what has happened considering that you do not choose your parents. But that’s okay. It is what it is. That’s life," he told The Hockey News' Derek O'Brien in August.
There are two spots open on Colorado's blue line but Kylington is not guaranteed a full-time position just yet. His knowledge of the Avs' system should help him acclimate smoother to earn his place with the team's defense.
"When you get guys that have been someplace else for, especially numerous years, there's habits that form. Good habits that help you be quicker in your structure ...," head coach Jared Bednar said about Kylington. "The more similarities that there are, the easier it is for them to get them up to speed."
Bednar said he talked to Kylington and other new players coming in about how they played last season and gets a sense of what similarities they have to the Avs' system. Training camp and preseason allow the Avs' coach to break down what changes need to be made to fit into Colorado's structure.
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