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and see it live is crazy,” he said. “Knowing that you’re able to play with them in practice helps you feel confident that you’ll probably be OK in the game.”

It also helped that he quickly assimilated into the Avalanche locker room. “A lot of guys helped me with the transition,” he said. “It certainly helps your transition when you’re playing for the best team in the league, and to get a chance on a team like that was great.”

Even so, Renouf admits that he felt a few butterflies in his stomach when he played his first game with the Avs against the Arizona Coyotes in Phoenix. “Being a COVID year, there were no fans, so I think that helped the nerves a bit. It had been a long three years between playing in the league, but I felt confident with my pro experience that I

“I kept proving to myself could succeed.” Renouf played 18 NHL that I could belong at the games with the Avalanche, registering three assists and a NHL level. It was a great couple of fights. “Every single game I kept experience. It provided getting more confident and it just kept going,” he said. “I proof not only to myself kept proving to myself that I but also to other teams in could belong at the NHL level. It was a great experience. It the league that I can be provided proof not only to myself but also to other teams effective at that level.” in the league that I can be effective at that level.” If Renouf had any regret about his first extended stay in the NHL, it was that his promotion occurred in the middle of a pandemic. The coronavirus prevented his father from attending any games. After witnessing both of Renouf’s Cup wins, he couldn’t leave Canada due to border restrictions. “For all the years that he’s followed me, the one time I was in the NHL for a while, it sucked that he couldn’t come,” he said. “I felt so bad

Renouf is a gritty defenseman who is not afraid to drop his gloves.

Photo Credit: Nicolas Carrillo

because he would have come to every single game. He would have moved to Colorado, for sure.”

Renouf said he remains grateful for the support of his parents, Shawn and Lisa, over the years.

“Coming from Toronto, hockey is like our religion,” he said. “For someone who never played the sport, my dad is so passionate about the game. I trust his take on hockey more than anyone because he knows my game and how I play.

“He’s watched a ton of hockey in his day and he’s one of those guys who just gets the game. You don’t have to play hockey to know the game. He’s been so supportive and helped me out during this journey to play in the NHL. I’m so thankful for him and my mom’s sacrifice to let me do what I want and try to make it.”

Renouf said his father watches every single game and then corresponds accordingly.

“Whether it’s a text after a good game or

“My dad knows my a text after a bad game, I know it’s coming,” he said. game and I do rely on “My dad knows my game and I do rely on him to give him to give me tips here me tips here or there. He follows the game so closely or there. He follows the that he knows when I’m game so closely that he playing a good or bad game and he knows what to say. knows when I’m playing “Sometimes I get annoyed at him because a good or bad game and sometimes I don’t want to hear it, but I know he knows what to say.” he’s looking out for my best interests.” Of course, Renouf didn’t always subscribe to the belief that “father knows best.” He remembers the period in his life when he took skateboarding more seriously than hockey, and his dad not taking kindly to his choice of recreational activities. “He sat me down when I was 15 and said, ‘Enough of this. You’re good at hockey.” I was heartbroken at the time, but I’m thankful he did that,” Renouf recalled. “I thought I was good, but looking back now at old tapes, I was

Renouf played 18 games in the NHL last season with the Colorado Avalanche.

Photo Credit: Getty Images