Two-time NCAA champion junior defenseman Sean Behrens signed a three-year NHL deal with the Colorado Avalanche last night. He will begin his professional career with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL on an amateur tryout contract. His NHL deal will begin in the fall. Behrens signed his Avs contract Thursday night at the Colorado Avalanche game against the Oilers as his teammates looked on.
We have signed defenseman Sean Behrens to a three-year, entry-level contract beginning in 2024-25.
He will report to the Colorado Eagles on an Amateur Tryout Contract.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/s4a1QsgXUt
— x – Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 19, 2024
A two-time national champion, Behrens has won a number of accolades from the NCHC during his three seasons as a Pioneer. He was named the 2023-24 NCHC Defensive Defenseman of the Year and an All-NCHC Honorable Mention for a second consecutive season. This past season, Behrens played in 44 games, scoring 4 goals and 27 assists for 31 points.
At 5’10”, 190 lbs., Behrens is slightly undersized for the NHL but his skill as a defensive defenseman is elite. Pioneer fans will get to watch Behrens’ career develop alongside former Pioneer product Logan O’Connor who is out for the rest of the season with a lower-body injury.
This is the best. https://t.co/CaXuQEmANO
— LetsGoDU (@LetsGoDU) April 19, 2024
For those who may have missed the college portal news, sophomores Lucas Olvestad (27 games, 2 goals, 4 assists) and Tristan Lemyre (32 games, 0 goals, 6 assists) entered the transfer portal. Olvestad committed to UMass-Amherst, the team Denver beat in double-overtime in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Lemyre has not yet made his commitment but he will forever be remembered as a Pioneer great, scoring the tying goal in the NCAA Semifinal against BU.
Best of luck to a great hockey player and a 1st class person.
I think DU has planned for the departures of Rizzo, S. Buium and Behrens, with the portal addition of Salminen and Pohlkamp, and the return of Garrett Brown after being hurt all year. Lemyre and Olvestad are minor losses, easily replaced by incoming freshmen.
Sean did a amazing job at DU, and will go down as one of the better defensemen of the modern era of DU hockey. Best of luck to him in pro hockey!
College coaches are de facto general managers too, and DU carries a depth chart that goes 2-3 years into the future, in order to deal with roster management in the portal era. While some schools carry as many as 30 players, DU likes to keep it around 26, so that almost of the players will get to play in game action, not just practice. Players leaving early to go pro has become routine practice, and as the best program in college hockey, you can be sure that DU has solid replacement players at the ready for all of its roster openings, be they current players, incoming freshmen or transfers.
Broz, and Devine might leave also so we might need to steel some other players from other teams we cannot have four 18 year old recruits carrying us into next season replacing experienced juniors.
Broz signed with Penguins.
Surprised to hear that Lemyre and Olvestad are leaving for the portal. They would’ve been good guys to have back. Really, any player who returns from a championship team is a good player to have back, in my book. I don’t know if this was a situation dictated by their playing time concerns, or perhaps some of the incoming players? Seems like they would’ve gotten good minutes, considering the players who just departed for the pros. Anyway, I can just speculate. But I wish those guys well, and am thankful for their contributions to the championship. Lemyre had a crucial goal in the FF, much appreciated!
Just wrote above about Lemyre. I didn’t realize until now that he only posted 2 goals and 4 assists on the season. He sure picked a good game to score one of his goals. He caught my attention during the 4 games of the national tournament, and he looked like an impactful player, so I assumed he scored more over the course of the year.
From an article written during the Frozen Four:
Lemyre had an interesting journey to the game-tying goal for Denver. Looking at the line chart released before the game, Lemyre was a bit lonely. That is, because he was the 13th forward for the game, without any permanent linemates. In this instance, he was out there with Matikka and Aidan Thompson for the goal.
“He’s been really good for us, he’s been fighting through an injury of his own,” said Denver coach David Carle. “[He’s been] putting his body on the line for the guys and the team. Really, really happy for him that he was able to get rewarded.”
Lemyre’s goal-scoring prowess hasn’t been on full display this season, to say the least, though it has come at opportune times. His game-tying goal in the Frozen Four semifinal game was just his second of the season and sixth of his career.
His only other goal this season? A tally in a 7-2 rout of St. Cloud State on March 2. Lemyre also hasn’t slotted in to each game this season, with Thursday being his 26th of Denver’s overall 43 played through the national semifinal round. Carle said that Lemyre played an integral role while star forward Massimo Rizzo was out with an injury.
“He comes into the night as our 13th forward, he’s been a big reason we’ve went 12-1-1 without Rizzo in the lineup,” Carle said, of Lemyre.
Best of luck to Behrens, and congratulations to him on a great DU career! Besides all of his tangible on-ice accomplishments, I will always remember his toughness.
Devine coming back for senior year
Cracking the lineup of a National Championship team is no easy feat, and some very good players who would be getting great minutes elsewhere were forced to play more limited roles at DU.
Olvestad was in and out of the DU lineup all year, and so was Lemyre. They both believe that they will get more opportunities for extended ice time by playing for other schools. Remember, these guys have been star players in junior hockey and I’m sure both want to play hockey after college, so you can’t begrudge them for wanting the best opportunity for themselves. Olvestad has already found a new school in UMass, and Lemyre has yet to announce his future destination.
I wish them well.
DU of course, has planned for these departures of all kinds – graduations, early pro signings and the transfer portal. They have a depth chart full of recruits playing elsewhere that they can call in to accommodate the roster they think gives them the best chance to win.