Pavel Francouz treats international flight a lot different than Russell Wilson

Like the Denver Broncos, who jetted off to London last week, the Colorado Avalanche flew across the Atlantic to Finland for games this week.

The Broncos’ flight to England became the joke of the sports world, with Russell Wilson working out in the air, doing high knees in the aisle.  The Broncos quarterback worked nonstop to return from a hamstring injury that kept him out of the prior game. Wilson led Denver to a 21-17 win over the Jags in Great Britain.

While the Broncos were riding, the Avs were on a jet. And like the Broncos were supposed to be doing, Pavel Francouz was knocked out sleeping on the plane. Colorado’s goaltender was extremely cozy with his noise-canceling headphones on. So cozy, he slept through the Avs’ plane change.

Here’s how NHL.com is reporting it:

“The guys made a really nice prank on me when I fell asleep right away on the first plane and they all just left the plane and left me there,” he said. “That was really funny.”

Francouz’s teammates quietly exited the plane, going so far as to avoid the aisle closest to where the goalie slumbered, leaving him behind, sprawled in his seat.

“We just kind of let him sleep there and get off the plane and play a little joke,” defenseman Josh Manson said. “Like he was the last guy. Welcome to Finland!”

Eventually Francouz woke up and looked around, only to find the plane deserted.

“I was really confused,” he said. “To be honest, I didn’t know if we were in Finland or what happened. So, yeah, that was a really good joke.”

When Francouz boarded the second plane, his teammates gave him a standing ovation.

So when Francouz gets a chance to play on his home continent later this week he should be well rested. Here’s a picture the NHL put out on Twitter:

Pavel Francouz is ready to give Rip Van Winkle a run for his money. The Colorado Avalanche goalie may not have slept as long as the fictional Van Winkle. But he did sleep so soundly that he missed the announcement of a plane change. https://t.co/8y57ruMSIS via @NHLdotcom

— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) October 31, 2022

Francouz has started three games for the Avs this season, all losses. Colorado’s backup goalie stepped in huge last year, filling in for most of the Avs Western Conference Finals series en route to rings. The Avalanche are taking part in the NHL Global Series with two games against the Blue Jackets in Finland later this week, on Friday and Saturday.

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