Prince Albert's own Gabe Klassen is among the players taking part in the Rookie Showcase in San Jose. (Twitter/Gabe Klassen)

By Rob Mahon

Klassen to Avs Camp

Mile High: defending Stanley Cup champs come calling for Prince Albert’s Klassen

Sep 13, 2022 | 12:00 PM

As far as hockey goes, it’s been a pretty great year for Prince Albert native Gabe Klassen.

The 19-year-old forward flexed his offensive muscles with the Portland Winterhawks, posting a career year in every statistical category with 33 goals, 31 assists, and a plus-29 rating in 68 games. Further up the hockey food chain, one of the NHL’s top teams took notice.

Klassen is invited to play with the Colorado Avalanche’s rookie squad at the rookie faceoff in San Jose. He’ll play against rookies from the Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, and San Jose Sharks.

“It’s a pretty cool feeling,” Klassen said. “I had a pretty good season last year, so I thought there was maybe a chance they would be watching me and then when I found out this summer, it was a really cool feeling. Places don’t get much better than Colorado.”

There is a little added satisfaction for Klassen in having caught the eye of the defending Stanley Cup champions. Now the trick is to hold that attention.

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“I think I’d be happy with anywhere, but it is pretty cool,” he said. “I’m just happy to be going somewhere.”

Klassen was invited to a rookie showcase before, and said he took away a lot from the experience. One of his main takeaways was realizing what skills to improve to meet professional ranks one day.

“It’s pretty similar to making the jump from midget to the Dub (WHL),” Klassen said. “I think just understanding where I am, kind of a self-evaluation with some of those guys that have played in the AHL in the past few years kind of gives me an idea of what I need to do.”

After a COVID-shortened season in which he put up 11 points in 19 games, Klassen really took off offensively this season, putting up numbers that harkened back to his days with the Prince Albert Mintos, where he was one of the team’s most reliable scorers.

“We had a good team last year and I was able to get quite a bit of opportunity,” he said. “Being able to play a consistent role on the team last year and being able to play quite a bit, I was able to surround myself with some pretty good players.”

A few of the Winterhawks’ top players from last season will move on to the professional ranks, but the team has enough returning talent to be strong again this season, and Klassen again figures to be a big part of that strength. This season will also hold a special moment for Klassen as, for the first time since he broke into the league, his Winterhawks are scheduled to travel to Prince Albert on January 10.

“That date for sure is marked on the calendars,” he said. “It’s going to be a special night coming back there. It’s already my fourth year in the league and I haven’t gotten to play back home yet. So that’s going to be a super fun night, and getting to experience it with all my buddies is going to be really cool.”

The Rookie Showcase in San Jose runs from September 16 to September 19.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP