Miles Wood and Tomas Tatar just could not believe what they were hearing.
Here they were, sitting with one New Jersey’s own, Ross Colton, and one of the Garden State’s native sons did not know about the Pulaski Highway. Wood and Tatar peppered Colton with questions and chirps while the three of them removed their equipment after a morning skate in Pittsburgh last month.
If it wasn’t all just good-natured needling of one of their teammates, the shock and utter disappointment in their voices would have seemed quite sincere.
“We were teasing him,” Tatar said. “We thought as a (New Jersey) homeboy, he should probably know that.”
Wood, Tatar and Colton are all first-year members of the Avalanche. They share a simple connection – Wood and Tatar both played for the New Jersey Devils before arriving in Denver. Colton grew up in Robbinsville, N.J., and was a Devils fans as a kid.
They began their first season with the Avalanche on a line together. While Colton and Wood have mostly remained together on the team’s third line, Tatar has moved around.
Regardless, they have all bonded. Colorado’s three “Jersey boys” all live in the same building together in Cherry Creek. And they’re all part of a newfound level of depth up front that the Avs hope propels them on a second deep postseason run in three years.
“I’ve just sort of gravitated toward them off the ice,” Colton said. “… It’s nice that we can carpool. They’re both really good guys who have been around the league for a while, so just gaining some chemistry and becoming friends has been cool.
“I wasn’t that young, but I watched Miles play for the Devils for a while. Tomas has been a great player for a long time, so it’s cool to be in the room with them and see how they carry themselves off the ice and how that translates to onto the ice with success.”
Wood spent the past 10 seasons in the New Jersey organization, and the past seven driving from Hoboken to Newark, where the Devils played at Prudential Center. For years, he drove over the General Pulaski Skyway, a bridge that has helped commuters cross the Hackensack and Passaic rivers since 1932.
Tatar joined the Devils two years ago, and he became familiar with the roads around northern New Jersey as well. Colton’s hometown of Robbinsville is not in that part of the state. It’s just east of Trenton, which looks like a lot like what outsiders might call “central New Jersey” unless they have experience with residents of the state and know that using that phrase is just asking for an argument.
Colton did travel to Newark to watch Devils games. He has particularly fond memories of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, when New Jersey reached the Stanley Cup Final. It was about a 40-minute train ride, or an hour drive, depending on the traffic.
His favorite players growing up were Scott Gomez and Patrik Elias, and then later Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk.
“If we’re out at dinner, maybe some story will come up about their time there,” Colton said. “It’s cool to hear them talk about some of the guys that they played with over the years. I grew up as a huge fan of the Devils. It’s cool to hear about what went on behind the scenes, and then even to compare that to how it was in Tampa.”
Colton arrived in Colorado from the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he scored the game-winning goal in the Stanley Cup-clinching victory in 2021. He also played against the Avs in the Cup Final the following year.
When Colton had his time with the Cup during the summer of 2021, it made appearances in Robbinsville and Long Beach Island, which is known for its white-sand beaches just off the coast along the Jersey Shore.
Beyond being neighbors and linemates, that’s another way that Wood and Colton have connected.
“I used to go down to the (Jersey) shore as a kid, so we’ve talked about that a few times. It’s been nice to get to know more about him,” said Wood, who grew up in Massachusetts. “It’s been great. I met Ross, basically the first day of camp and he’s a really close friend of mine now. Tizzy (Tatar), I’ve known him for two years now, this is our third year. He’s a great guy, keeps it light in the room and overall just is a great person.”
Wood missed most of Tatar’s first season with the Devils because of a hip injury. They got to know each other better last year, which was a huge success after years of losing in New Jersey.
The Avs traded for Colton and signed Wood early in the offseason, while Tatar joined on a one-yar contract in the summer. One of his friends from New Jersey, Ondrej Palat, had played with Colton in Tampa, and he helped connect the two.
While the trio has settled into their new digs in Cherry Creek and are finding their way on the ice, Tatar in particular hasn’t had a lot of time to explore other areas around Denver.
“The schedule has been pretty up and down so far. We haven’t really spent a lot of extra days in here in Denver,” Tatar said. “I think that’s coming in December. But whenever we have the time, it’s always a nice area to walk around Cherry Creek. It’s a beautiful area. We usually go for coffee or a dinner there, or go meet up with the other guys. It’s always sunny here, so we’ve enjoyed that a lot.”
Wood mentioned that he thought Colton “grew up down by the shore,” which is technically accurate, at least in comparison to someone from northern New Jersey. The Avalanche will be in that part of the country to play at Madison Square Garden and Prudential Center in its first two games after the all-star break.
That might be not be enough time for Colton to take his new pals to JoJo’s Tavern for pizza in Hamilton, or to Jim’s Bagel Loft in Robbinsville. Given that the game against New Jersey is the second half of a back-to-back, there isn’t likely to be an evening for Wood to play host at one of his favorite spots in Hoboken, either Sorellina or across the street at Sirenetta.
Given that Wood signed a six-year contract with the Avs and Colton agreed to a four-year pact with the club, there might be better chances in the future. For now, those two and Tatar will likely stick to settling into their new roles on the ice and regaling each other and new teammates with stories away from it.
Colton might not know much about the Pulaski Highway, but he’d probably have plenty to say about Tatar’s response to the inescapable New Jersey meat debate (Taylor ham versus pork roll).
“Probably the ham,” Tatar said, with a lack of reverence for the topic that most people who didn’t spend a more significant chunk of their lives in the state might have.
“Oh, it is pork roll,” Colton said. “One thousand percent.”
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