For most of his life, Jere Innala has been working towards a night like this.

The draft process came and went without a call, but Innala's desire to play in the NHL remained. He became one of the best players in the Finnish league, but still had to wait.

After a breakthrough season with Frolunda in the Swedish Hockey League and a dominant postseason performance, the Colorado Avalanche finally gives the forward his big chance.

“I played in Europe, but it was always my dream to play in the NHL,” Innala said. “I had some success there. When I got the offer, I didn't have to think long. I wanted to come here. I feel comfortable here.”

The Avs signed the 26-year-old Innala to a one-year contract in June. At 5 feet 7 inches tall and weighing 183 pounds, he's not the tallest. But Innala scored 16 goals and 28 points in 42 games for Frolunda, followed by 11 goals in 14 playoff games.

He's found his way through Avs training camp, but Tuesday night is an important opportunity. Innala will join Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mikko Rantanen on the club's top power play in a preseason game against the Vegas Golden Knights, and he'll likely get some quality 5-on-5 minutes as well.

“It's a big night for him because he's an offensive player, a talented player,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “We’ll see what he can do at this point.

“With some of the guys missing, we want to fill some gaps in the lineup. I want to bring in the guys that we think can potentially fill those gaps in those roles in those exhibition games to see if they can do it for us. If not, we have to adapt and move things around.”

The Avs are looking for two guys to play in the top six until a combination of Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder), Gabe Landeskog (knee) and Valeri Nichushkin (suspension) can return. Bednar wants to keep MacKinnon, Rantanen and Jonathan Drouin together at the top, which means finding wings for Casey Mittelstadt.

Nikolai Kovalenko had the best candidate camp so far. Calum Ritchie has shown his outstanding ability, but he needs to improve without the puck if he wants to stay instead of returning to his Ontario Hockey League team.

Innala is also included but could do with a big performance or two in the club's final three pre-season games.