DU's Pro Hockey Camp Begins Today

From: DU Athletics Website

The second annual University of Denver Hockey Alumni Pro Camp will be held Aug. 22-26 at Joy Burns Ice Arena.

The pro camp will allow current professional DU hockey alums and other professional players to train together in preparation for their upcoming 2011-12 seasons. DU Associate Head Coach Steve Miller and former DU assistant coach and current Green Bay Gamblers head coach/general manager Derek Lalonde will provide on-ice instruction for the five-day camp, which runs daily next week from 10:15 AM - PM. The camp is open to the public FREE of charge.

DU hockey professional alumni expected to participate in this year's camp Paul Stastny (Colorado), Rhett Rakhshani (New York Islanders), Joe Colborne (Toronto), Marc Cheverie (Florida), Brock Trotter (Montreal), Patrick Mullen (Los Angeles), J.P. Testwuide (Phoenix), Andrew Thomas (New Jersey), Aaron MacKenzie (Austria), Geoff Paukovich and Matt Glasser.

Other professional players expected to participate in the camp include Peter Mueller (Colorado), Cody McLeod (Colorado), Kyle Quincey (Colorado), Ben Guite (San Jose), Nathan Oystrick (Phoenix) and Steve Oleksy (Colorado).

DU Hockey Banquet News & Notes

(above) Jesse Martin credited his teammates, friends and family on Friday night

The Denver Post has an article about Jesse Martin's speech at the DU Hockey Banquet held on Friday night at the Cable Center.  Jesse is no longer wearing a neck brace, has put on some weight since his injury and looked great on Friday night.

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DenverPioneers.com has a recap of all the award winners, graduating seniors and DU's 16 All-WCHA Academic recipients.

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Well over 200 people attended the event that was first class all the way.  Coach Gwozdecky was especially proud that many of former DU players showed up including Marc Cheverie, Tyler Bozak, Matt Donovan, Gerry Powers, Bruce Hill, Rod Summers, Mark Rycroft, Steven Cook, Charlie Host, Aaron MacKenzie and many others.

He singled out Rod Summers and the DU Hockey Alumni Association for soliciting over 40 former players to contribute to sponsoring the event.  You can tell Summers leadership is paying big dividends already for the program.

The Senior speeches gave an interesting look at the program and one couldn't help but notice the sacrifices these players made to the university and their teammates.  From the guys who barely saw ice time to Anthony Maiani's video that was taped in West Virginia while his ECHL team is in the playoffs.

Jesse Martin's speech was interesting because he refused to dwell on his injury and instead made a point about talking about his teammates and his experiences at DU.  He spoke about enjoying life and making sure that everyone have fun playing hockey, because you never know when it might end.

Chris Nutini mentioned that he'll miss spending time with the guys in the showers.  That brought nervous laughter from his teammates.  Needless to say, he'll have a hard time living that one down.

Kyle Ostrow gave a terrific speech about leading the guys and playing two seasons with his brother Shawn at DU.  Kyle and Shawn both had 4.0 GPA's this season.  Amazing.

All in all a great evening and well worth the price of admission.  The speeches ran a little long, but that was due to the large Senior class [8 players] and not the content of the messengers.

DU Alum Gets Recalled To NHL By Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche recalled defenseman and DU alum Aaron MacKenzie to play Sunday night against Vancouver. MacKenzie helped the Avs defeat the Canucks 4-1 and was +1 on the evening.

MacKenzie became the 10th Colorado player to make his NHL debut this season, the most in a single season for the injury-plagued Avalanche. He was recalled earlier this season on Nov. 29, but did not appear in a game before being reassigned the next day.

The 28-year-old played for the University of Denver. He has three goals and nine assists in 52 games for Lake Erie this season.

DU Alum Aaron MacKenzie Recalled To NHL

(above) DU Alum Aaron MacKenzie was called up to the Colorado Avalanche due to Adam Foote's injury

Avs on Versus Network @ Minnesota Wild - 6 PM Monday

DENVER - The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that defenseman & Aaron MacKenzie has been recalled from the Lake Erie Monsters, the team’s American Hockey League affiliate.

This is MacKenzie’s first NHL call-up after compiling six points in 16 games played (3g/3a) with the Monsters. He signed with the Avalanche as a free agent last July.

The 6-0, 193-pound University of Denver graduate appeared in 173 games with Peoria (AHL) over the last three seasons. Prior to that, MacKenzie played in 141 games with Worcester (AHL). He originally signed with the St. Louis Blues as a free agent on June 29, 2004.

Pioneer Alum May Finally See Spot Duty In NHL

(above) Aaron MacKenzie played for DU from 1999-2003 and scored 19 goals and 54 assists

From: Denver Post
by Terry Frei

In five seasons with the St. Louis Blues' American Hockey League affiliates, former University of Denver defenseman Aaron MacKenzie didn't even get a cup-of-coffee callup.

In July, MacKenzie — already an offseason resident of Boulder — signed with the Colorado Avalanche. On opening night in two weeks, he almost certainly will be back in the AHL with the Lake Erie Monsters. Yet MacKenzie is getting enough of a look in camp and the outset of the exhibition season to perhaps help stamp him as a reliable defenseman who could be called up for fill-in duty if Colorado has another injury-plagued season.

MacKenzie was in the lineup Thursday for Colorado's 4-2 exhibition victory over the Dallas Stars at the American Airlines Center, in a pairing with veteran defenseman Jordan Leopold. They finally were teammates after seeing each other as collegiate opponents, when Leopold was starring at the University of Minnesota.

A year behind Leopold, MacKenzie, from Terrace Bay, Ontario, was an all-Western Collegiate Hockey Association choice and DU's captain as a senior in 2002-03.

Against the Stars, MacKenzie had 15:07 of ice time and had three blocked shots. But considering he has only 10 goals in five AHL seasons, it's obvious he isn't going to crack the NHL as anything other than a stay-at-home, solid defenseman.

Aaron MacKenzie Signed By Avalanche

The Avalanche signed six players today including former DU Captain Aaron MacKenzie. This quote is from the Avs website.

MacKenzie played four seasons at the University of Denver from 1999-2003. The 27-year old has spent the past three years with the Peoria Rivermen (AHL) after signing with St. Louis as a free agent on June 29, 2004. A native of Terrace Bay, Ontario, MacKenzie collected five points (0g/5a) in 55 games for Peoria last season.

Link to full article is below.

Colorado Avalanche