Former Avs goalie joins local youth staff

Former NHL goalie John Grahame of Denver has joined the Colorado Thunderbirds as the Tier I, triple-A organization’s goalie coach. The one-time Avalanche backup netminder, who played the past two seasons for Colorado’s AHL affiliate, joins Adam Foote, Joe Sakic and Pierre Turgeon as former Avs/NHLers coaching for the T-Birds. Grahame, 36, enjoyed a 14-year pro career. The highlights include winning the Calder Cup with the Providence Bruins and playing for the Boston Bruins in the first hockey game at the Pepsi Center, on Oct. 13, 1999 against the Avalanche. He won the Stanley Cup as a backup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004 and served as a backup for the U.S. Olympic team in the 2006 Games in Torino, Italy. Grahame’s father, Ron, is a longtime DU athletics administrator and his mother, Charlotte, has worked as an Avalanche executive since Day 1 of the franchise’s arrival in 1995. Word is, John and Charlotte are the only mother/son combination to have t...