Saturday night, the Colorado Avalanche are going to be celebrating Star Wars night at the Pepsi Center (I wonder why they chose this weekend....) We thought this was a great excuse to have a little fun. The MHH writers put their heads together to come up with some comparisons between the Avalanche players - both past and present - and characters from the Star Wars universe. A number of us contributed, but I want to give special thanks to Conor for putting in the bulk of the work.All the pictures are from StarWars.com - Tom Hunter

The new Star Wars movie is here and what better way to celebrate than to incorporate your favorite Star Wars characters with your favorite Colorado Avalanche players. There aren’t many chances to write about both in the same article, ok, never, which makes today a special day. We have some old, we have some new, but most importantly we have some hype to bring you today. Enjoy!

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Joe Sakic —> Luke Skywalker

The heralded leader of the Jedi Knights. Sakic and Skywalker could not be tempted by the Dark Side and always stood for what is right. The elder statesman a generation later, the rebuild of the Avalanche is still one of the galaxy’s greatest mysteries.

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Gabriel Landeskog —> Han Solo

Captain of the Colorado Avalanche. Captain of the Millennium Falcon. Both are heroes, scoundrels, and jailbirds. Like Solo, Landeskog believes in the process but has come upon difficult times on a team plagued by chaos and uncertainty.

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Milan Hejduk —> Obi-Wan Kenobi

A legendary Jedi, Hejduk was a noble man and gifted in the ways of the Force. Both men served as general’s for their respective Army’s.

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Nathan MacKinnon —> Anakin Skywalker

The next Chosen One. The one who will change the game forever. Nathan MacKinnon has the potential to become one of the most powerful Jedi ever and is believed by many to be the one that would bring balance to the Force. Hopefully, his fear of loss won’t prove to be his downfall.

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Tyson Jost —> Rey

The potential is strong with this one. Jost doesn’t quite know what powers he possesses and is on the path to unlocking the mysteries of his greatness.

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Nail Yakupov —> C-3PO

Friendly, loyal, and sometimes helpful but gets in the way more often than not. Always traveling from planet to planet but, never seems to make a home anywhere. Despite his many technical malfunctions, he is a droid (player) that is easy to like.

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Samuel Girard —> Finn

Was trained to serve the First Order as a Predator, but an unlikely trade brought Girard down a different path, one that’s looked upon as heroic and dangerous. Not a very talkative character but knows what he’s doing and does a good job at doing it.

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Peter Forsberg —> Boba Fett

Looks cool no matter what he’s doing or who he’s playing for. Forsberg and Boba Fett were one of the most feared bounty hunters in the Galaxy. Over the course of their career’s, which included contracts for the First Order and the criminal underworld, they became legends.

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Alexander Kerfoot —> R2-D2

Shows great bravery getting into the dirty areas and getting beat up by much larger and stronger droids. Both are little in stature and are severely underappreciated but turn out to be highly valuable. Very well-educated and always in a cheerful mood.

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Patrick Roy —> Darth Vader

Once regarded as the Chosen One and spent many, many years as the hero. Both Roy and Vader fell from grace by their fear of losing and egocentric attitude. Having an awful temper can lead to some very dangerous decisions and ultimately would end in their demise.

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Rocco Grimaldi —> Wicket W. Warrick

A small and cuddly creature who gives heart and soul in battle but is never quite able to fight on an even playing field. Grimaldi and Warrick are superstars for their respective leagues but due to size and a lack of strong communication skills, they are destined for the background.

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Minnesota Wild - The Galactic Empire

The enemy. The dark side. The intimidating regime with a large, but worthless, army. For years have ruled through tyranny and fear but has never quite been able to reach that elusive Galaxy Cup.

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Fan Thoughts

Obviously, we didn’t get to many fan-favorite characters or players so we’d like to get your opinion.

What did we miss?

What would you change?

As another added bonus, the Avalanche will be hosting Star Wars night tomorrow for their game against the Lightning. Go get your limited edition Star Wars/Avalanche puck!