Thirteen Avalanche players skated Tuesday morning, two days after a tentative agreement on a new NHL collective bargaining agreement was reached. Being back in the team’s practice dressing room for the first time since the lockout ended felt like a great homecoming to all involved.

“It feels real good,” Avs veteran Milan Hejduk said. “It was a long time in coming. There was some good family time during the break, but it’s nice to be back on the ice.”

Players mostly had an informal scrimmage, with Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog also on hand. Duchene traveled 27 hours Sunday and Monday to get to Denver in time for the scrimmage.

“I’m tired from the jet lag and the thin air kind of hit me, but it’s great to be back that’s for sure,” said Duchene, who played 27 games for European teams during the lockout and looked speedy in the scrimmage.

The Avs are waiting to hear from the league about the start of training camp and when the regular season will start. Until then, they’ll skate daily, and by Wednesday more players are expected to be on the ice.

The Avs will play either a 48- or 50-game game schedule, all against Western Conference teams.

“We’ll see how the break will affect the teams. Pretty much everybody is in the same boat, so it’ll be interesting to see,” Hejduk said.

Adrian Dater: 303-954-1360, adater@denverpost.com or twitter.com/adater