Victor Olofsson has a very particular set of skills. Or, rather, skill.

That skill just so happens to be the most valuable skill you can have in the NHL.

“He’s an elite shooter. That’s what he is,” Jared Bednar said of the Swede, whom the Avalanche signed late in the summer.

After the Mikko Rantanen trade last season, the Avalanche tried different pieces in the Finn’s old spot on the power play. Whether it was Jonathan Drouin, Brock Nelson or Gabriel Landeskog, none were quite as dangerous as Rantanen was at the right circle. Very few are, after all.

Olofsson might one of the few.

Of the 30-year-old’s 105 career goals in the NHL, 41 have come with the man advantage, with many coming right where Rantanen used to call home in Colorado. That fact is not lost on his new head coach.

“We’re going to look at him there, for sure,” Bednar said, noting Nelson will get another look there as well. “I’d like to play around with him in the middle of the ice too in that bumper position, because he can unload it and get it off quickly and he scores a lot of goals.”

Olofsson had a career renaissance last year for the Vegas Golden Knights. A tough final year in Buffalo saw him finish with just 15 points in 51 games, meaning he had to go somewhere else to prove he could still play in the NHL. He did just that in Vegas, scoring 29 points in 56 games and returning to the player he was in Buffalo who could make you pay with just one clean look.

But this offseason didn’t go the way he had hoped. That bounce-back season with the Golden Knights didn’t earn him a contract at the opening of free agency, meaning he had to wait for the right situation to pop up.

“I think I’m more on the patient side, even though I would say it did go maybe a little bit longer than I was hoping for,” Olofsson told The Denver Gazette. “It worked out. Very happy I ended up here and excited to be here.”

The Swede noted the Avalanche showed interest early in the summer, so the two sides kept in touch. He was sold on signing with the Avalanche when he talked with both Bednar and MacFarland over the phone just before putting pen to paper.

“I got a really good impression from them, so after that I felt it was an easy choice,” he said.

Although Olofsson is playing on what most would consider to be Colorado’s third line, he’ll get looks in the top six, Bednar said. The hope is Olofsson can slide up in the lineup and they can move someone else down, spreading out some of the skill in the top nine.

If that’s what happens, Olofsson is as prepared as anyone to play with Nathan MacKinnon. His previous experience playing with an elite center in Jack Eichel could come in handy for Bednar.

“(Eichel) is a guy that definitely wants to have the puck a lot. He can take on a few guys and then find you with a really good chance,” Olofsson said. “(I) haven’t obviously played with Nate yet, but just looking from the outside and here in practice a little bit, I think he’s very similar in that way where he can take on a bunch of guys and from there, set you up.”

Years of toiling away in Buffalo, a franchise that hasn’t sniffed the postseason in 14 years, can take its toll on a man. Playing for a contender like Vegas is different, and you aren’t going to stay in the lineup if you can’t take care of business in your own end. That’s an area where he didn’t excel with the Sabres.

The seven-year NHL veteran thinks he figured out that side of the game while playing for Bruce Cassidy. When he searching for a new home this summer, he wanted to make sure he chose a Stanley Cup contender.

“I think I developed my game there a little bit, especially on the defensive side, and that’s something I want to bring here,” he said. “I want to be on a team where I have a chance to win, and this was definitely one of the best opportunities that came up.”

That elite shot of his has already been on display through two days of camp, and it’s a unique skillset. The hardest thing to do in the NHL is score goals and the few players who shoot like Olofsson can make it look easy.

Every team could use a guy who doesn’t need many chances to make the other team pay, and it’s something you could argue the Avalanche have lacked since Andre Burakovsky left as a free agent.

For Olofsson, it’s always been a part of his repertoire.

“I’ve always had that sense for scoring,” he said. “You don’t always have to be the biggest guy to get the one-timer off. The timing is key. If you can get the shot off as quick as possible, the goalies are not always in position and ready for it. … I think it’s definitely a good skill to have to be able to shoot out there.”

It’s a skill Bednar hopes to use to his advantage throughout the season.

Odds and ends

• Bednar warned everyone ahead of time that Gabriel Landeskog will not skate Saturday at camp. He said they’re not being cautious but rather trying to be smart with everything. The plan right now is for Landeskog to play in Colorado’s preseason game at Magness Arena on Sunday. Bednar noted that Landeskog looks “great” through two days of camp so far.
• New assistant Dave Hakstol and Bednar will be on the bench during Colorado’s first preseason game Sunday at Magness, while Nolan Pratt, Colorado’s other assistant coach, will run the bench for the later game at Ball Arena.
• The line of Valeri Nichushkin, Martin Necas and MacKinnon made some plays during line rushes that left some fans speechless. They can whip the puck around awfully quickly, that’s for sure.
• Each session has ended with some conditioning work and Friday’s was particularly brutal. The normally talkative Scott Wedgwood wasn’t in the mood to chat because he needed some time to catch his breath.