Last week, two big trades united brothers. Jordan Staal was traded to his brother, Eric’s team. (Jared Staal is also in the Carolina Hurricanes system.) Luke Schenn was traded to Philadelphia, where his brother Brayden plays.

In the spirit of these trades, I thought I would look at what brotherly pairs the Avalanche could bring together.

Yan (L) and Paul Stastny.

Paul& Yan Stastny: Paul Stastny’s older brother, Yan, is another member of the family’s storied hockey tradition. Yan has played 91 games in the NHL, scoring six goals and 16 points overall. In 2010-2011 he played in the KHL, and last season he played in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. The DEL is the premier hockey league in Germany, and is the league with the most Canadian and American players outside of the NHL.

Ryan& Cal O’Reilly: Ryan O’Reilly’s older brother is a center, currently playing in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. Cal has played 113 NHL games with the Nashville Predators, the Phoenix Coyotes, and the Pittsburgh Penguins, scoring 13 goals and 41 points.

Jamie, Tye& Brock McGinn: Jamie McGinn has two younger brothers. Tye is 21 years old, and a prospect in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. Brock was just drafted this year, in the second round, by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Matt& Shawn Hunwick: Matt Hunwick’s younger brother, Shawn is a goaltender. He has played in one NHL game, for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He only played a few minutes at the end, and thus was not credited with either a W or a L. However, his goals against average was 0.00.

Mark& Darin Olver: Mark Olver has played 42 games for the Colorado Avalanche over the past two seasons. His brother, Darin plays in Germany, in the DEL.

Cameron& Brendan Gaunce: Cameron Gaunce played 11 games for the Colorado Avalanche in the 2010-2011 season. He didn’t receive a call-up last season; however he remains one of the most promising defensemen in the Avalanche system. His brother, Brendan Gaunce, was taken 26th overall by the Vancouver Canucks last week.

In actual news, Dean Chynoweth was announced as the head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters yesterday. He will be the third head coach in Monsters history (current Avalanche head coach Joe Sacco and assistant coach David Quinn were the previous ones). Chynoweth spent the past three years as an assistant coach for the New York Islanders. He has also served as a head coach in both the CHL and the IHL.

Last year, we got this dude + Duncan Siemens in the first round. This year, nobody. Photo: Bridget Samuels/Flickr.

The Colorado Avalanche did not have a first round draft pick this year, after trading for Semyon Varlamov. However, I watched the round one in case General Manager Greg Sherman decided to make a trade. I’m not surprised that he chose to stay out of the first round. This draft has been touted by many as “underwhelming”, and it seems foolish to lose proven talent for an untested commodity. However, I do have a few notes (some random, some understandable) for the Avalanche.

-The Washington Capitals had the 11th overall pick from the Avs. Fittingly, they chose a player who shares a name (but no relations) with one of the Colorado Avalanche’s most important players in franchise history. Filip Forsberg was the 11th overall pick, which was surprising to a number of scouts who believed he would be gone after the top five.

-You may recall a player named Cameron Gaunce. He played a few games for the Avalanche in 2010-2011, and is probably the Avs most promising defensive prospect behind Stefan Elliott and Tyson Barrie. (Side Note: It feels weird calling Elliott a prospect. Technically this year was his rookie NHL season. However he did bounce in between the Monsters and the Avs. Should we call him a ‘tweener?) Anyways, Gaunce’s little brother Brendan was drafted 26th overall by the Vancouver Canucks. It will be fun to see them play against eachother in a couple of years. (Side note Number Two: I call Gaunce “NPC”. Any guesses why?)

-I know a lot of people, myself included, were perplexed as to why the Avs did not have a second round pick from the Liles trade. Alas, that pick was also sent to Washington for Varlamov. I am not sure, but I think that must be one of the most-traveled pick prior to a player’s name ever being attached to it. First, the Bruins gave it to the Leafs in the Tomas Kaberle trade. Then the Leafs gave it to the Avs in the Liles trade. Then the Avs gave it to the Capitals in the Varlamov trade. Then the Capitals gave it to the Stars in the Ribeiro trade. Basically, it traveled like a communicable disease, or a piece of gossip.

-Pierre Maguire said “woo” or “ooh” at least nine times.

-”Gabriel” was pronounced “Gabrielle” twice.

-Also, a lot of people on twitter have been claiming that the Devils are in the process of trading Parise to the Avs for Giguere and Kobasew. You guys are idiots. Let’s think about this: Zach Parise, captain, one-time 40 goal scorer. Giguere, an aging goaltender; and Kobasew, a player who has failed to meet the 20 goal mark for the past three seasons. The Devils have Martin Brodeur. They are going to play him as long as they can, and then they are going to need a YOUNG goaltender to pop in and hopefully fill the void. DID YOU PEOPLE LEARN NOTHING FROM PATRICK ROY’S RETIREMENT? (Note: I think the Avs could and should make a good case for Parise. However, wait until he hits the free agency market.)

Tomorrow, the Avalanche will be focusing on drafting, but they need to focus on re-signing Shane O’Brien before free agency on July 1. Letting O’Brien go would be a HUGE mistake. Come on Sherman.