The players are still rounding into form and building chemistry with one another. As well, coaches continue to evaluate their rosters in hopes of determining exactly what type of team they have. The end result involves sloppy games with much less intensity than you'll see at mid-season.

Regardless, I still have a fondness for hockey in October. There is great joy to be had in monitoring teams, players and trends in an effort to predict which storylines will dominate the season. Personally, I'm always interested in the teams that were written off for dead only to get off to great starts.

Each fall, there are a few teams that fit this description. Some will continue their torrid starts and make the playoffs against all odds. The majority, however, will come back to earth and succumb to the grind of an 82-game schedule.

This season, there seems to be more teams than usual who are making fools of us pundits. In the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Thrashers, New York Rangers, Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres have stormed out of the gate, while in the West the Colorado Avalanche , Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers have surprised with impressive starts.

Of the aforementioned teams, it's the Colorado Avalanche who deserve the title of most-surprising team in the early going. With a rookie coach and GM, the Avs find themselves atop the Western Conference with a 6-1-2 record - just a year removed from finishing 28th overall in a season that was described in some circles as a train wreck.

It was their worst season since moving to Denver in 1995, followed up with a summer of dysfunction, leading a lot of people to conclude this season would be another long one.

GM Francois Giguere was fired after one season on the job and replaced with Greg Sherman, who had worked in the shadows of former GM Pierre Lacroix for several seasons. It's not as though Sherman was a bad hire, it's just that he isn't particularly well-known in the old-boys network that is the GM fraternity.

Furthermore, Lacroix openly courted Patrick Roy to coach the Avs while Tony Granato still held the title of head coach. Granato was eventually put out of his misery and quickly replaced with former NHLer Joe Sacco, who had just two years of experience as a head coach in the AHL.

Sacco, somewhat surprisingly, has proven himself a capable coach at the NHL level, and not just a company man hired for his allegiance to Lacroix.

"The thing we really tried to do right from day one of training camp was to create an identity here as a team," said Sacco.

"I just felt that we needed to be a more energetic and a more difficult team to play against, a team that doesn't sit back. We said from day one that we're going to play on our toes and not on our heels, and we wanted to pursue the puck aggressively."

The switch in philosophy has made the Avs a fun team to watch. After years of winning with high-priced superstars, Colorado is suddenly having success with a group of young players whose best days are clearly ahead of them.

In fact, a couple of players from the 2009 draft have already contributed beyond expectations. Matt Duchene, the third overall pick, has been one of Colorado's best forwards despite scoring only one goal in his first nine games. If you watch the Avs, it's easy to notice the 18-year-old. As Sacco points out, Duchene has created plenty of chances with his speed and hockey sense. The goals and assists are bound to come eventually.

Another 18-year-old centre, Ryan O'Reilly, has been an even bigger surprise than Duchene. The 33rd overall pick in last summer's draft, O'Reilly has seven points in his first nine games. He's also playing on the team's first penalty-killing unit.

Sacco confirms that both players will remain with club following the 10-game threshold – the point at which they can be sent back to junior and not have this season count toward their contract.

Continued...