Tony Ferrari analyzes the prospect pool for the Colorado Avalanche, including their strengths, weaknesses, recent draft and who's next to make the NHL.

During the later stages of July, prospect expert Tony Ferrari goes through each prospect pool in the NHL. Today's team is the Colorado Avalanche.

In this series, Tony digs into each team’s strengths and weaknesses, their latest draft class, where their positional depth chart stands, and who could be next in line for a shot at the NHL. Note that a player who no longer holds rookie eligibility in the NHL is considered graduated and no longer considered a prospect for the purposes of these exercises unless mentioned otherwise.

Introduction

The Colorado Avalanche haven’t paid much attention to their prospect pool in recent years as they’ve built an NHL roster capable of capturing the Stanley Cup for the last half-decade. 

They have a championship to show for it, and they should be competitive going forward with the likes of Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, and company all still in the primes of their career. With that said, they did an excellent job of restocking some of their prospect pool this year in the draft.

The pipeline had a few pieces that should help the team long-term, even if they aren’t flush with prospects. Oskar Olausson is a high-paced winger who has excellent transition ability. His diverse rush patterns allow him to keep the opponents on their toes. He has a very good shot off the rush and has begun to develop a better sense off the puck in the offensive zone. He has some room to grow to become a more complete player at both ends of the ice, but he fills a valuable need as a puck transporter. If he can find the right linemates, he has a chance to be a lethal top-six winger.

Jean-Luc Foudy made his NHL debut last season, and although he was scoreless through nine games, Foudy brings speed and playmaking to the lineup, an asset that may be valuable this upcoming season with Alex Newhook’s departure. He could be a sneaky option to crack the lineup in training camp to provide some bottom-six scoring punch.

Colby Ambrosio and Matt Stienburg were NCAA players last season, and although neither blew the college ranks out of the water, they both look like they could be contributors at the pro level. Ambrosio will be playing in the NCAA yet again next season and hoping for a big year to earn an entry-level contract. Stienberg joined the AHL's Colorado Eagles at the end of last season and will likely be back with the minor league squad this upcoming year.

The Avs' top prospect may ultimately be Sean Behrens, an undersized but incredibly skilled and intelligent defender. He has the puck-moving ability and transition game of a modern-day offensive defenseman, but like many smaller defenders, he must continue proving himself defensively as he moves up from the NCAA ranks. He will be heading back to the University of Denver for his junior season and could join the Avalanche to add a punch toward the end of the season.

Justus Annunen has played in NHL games in each of the last two seasons but hasn’t stayed up with the club for an extended period of time. With a tandem of Alexandar Georgiev and Pavel Francouz in the NHL, Annunen doesn’t have a direct line to a gig with the big club. But as we’ve seen in recent years, third goalies are incredibly important and have taken over a larger role more often than ever expected in past years. Annunen could be a factor this upcoming season if given a bit of a run.

2023 NHL Draft Class

Round 1, 27th overall - Calum Ritchie, C, Oshawa (OHL)

Round 1, 31st overall - Mikhail Gulyayev, LD, Omsk Jr. (MHL)

Round 5, 155th overall - Nikita Ishimnikov, RD, Yekaterinburg Jr. (MHL)

Round 6, 187th overall - Jeremy Hanzel, LD, Seattle (WHL)

Round 7, 219th overall - Maros Jedlicka, C/W, Zvolen (Slovakia)

The Avs' draft has as much to do with acquiring talent with their draft picks as it does with making those picks. After trading Newhook to the Montreal Canadiens for the 31st and 37th selections in the draft, Colorado flipped the latter pick to Tampa Bay for Ross Colton, who just signed a four-year extension. This allowed them to keep the two late first-round picks to replenish their prospect pool while also replacing a piece in the lineup that didn’t quite fit in, swapping Newhook for Colton.

The Avs used their limited draft stock to add at least two potential high-impact players in the first round. Calum Ritchie was a potential top-10 prospect to start the year, but an inconsistent season plagued by a nagging shoulder injury led to Ritchie falling down the draft board. He plays a smart two-way game and could be a very effective do-it-all middle-six center. Ritchie joined Game Tape for an exclusive interview with The Hockey News before the draft here.

With Behrens being the only big name on the blueline, adding Mikhail Gulyayev was a big win for the Avs. He was picked with the selection that Colorado acquired from Montreal, which the Florida Panthers originally owned. The high-flying Russian defender plays a bit of an all-out offensive style that can be entertaining to watch and productive on the scoresheet, but unless he can be insulated, he may not be able to keep up defensively. Thankfully, the Avs have experience with high-octane blueliners, and Gulyayev should be an excellent fit in a few seasons.

Colorado’s third selection didn’t come until the fifth round when they added Nikita Ishimnikov. The 6-foot-3 Russian blueliner played a defensive role in the MHL, using his size and defensive intelligence to keep opposing players to the outside. He isn’t a stud, and his puck skill leaves something to be desired, but the Avs don’t have many players that stylistically match what Ishimnikov brings to the table.

The Avalanche took 20-year-old Jeremy Hanzel in the sixth round after a nearly 50-point season from the back end. He played an important role on a powerhouse Seattle Thunderbirds team, and Colorado seems to think they may have uncovered a diamond in the rough.

The same thought process can be applied to Maros Jedlicka, a forward who will turn 21 in October but put up nearly a point-per-game in the Slovak men’s league this past season after a very encouraging 38 points in 44 games the year prior. The seventh round is where you take swings on players like Jedlicka, and the possibility of a shorter runway for the Slovakian is an enticing proposition for a squad that could use reinforcements in the shorter term.

Strengths

The thing about a prospect pool such as Colorado’s or any number of long-term contenders is that they often don’t have a definitive strength and are more well-known for their weaknesses. Colorado is in that boat with plenty of lacking areas, but factoring in Behrens’ impressive NCAA play to this point and the addition of the run-and-gun Gulyayev, left-shot defense is suddenly looking as promising as any position for the Avs.

Weaknesses

As mentioned, the weaknesses are a bit more glaring than the strengths. The depth up front is lacking in a major way behind a few of their top players, but it’s the left defense that seems to be a major concern. The Avs already have a few young defenders at the NHL level, such as Bowen Byram, but any new blood that is worth adding to the pipeline is a good thing, especially for a team who has routinely traded away their first-rounders.

Next Men Up: Justus Annunen and Jean-Luc Foudy

The reality is any young player attempting to break into this roster as we speak will have to truly earn it. Annunen is on the precipice of playing in the NHL and should get a longer look than a couple of games. If all goes well, they could transition from Francouz to Annunen as the backup while the former still holds solid trade value. Annunen has been very good in the AHL, and it could be time.

Foudy may have an inside track to earning his way into a roster post. With the departure of Newhook, there is a vacant space in the lineup for an absolute burner. Foudy’s speed could be a massive impact trait, and his playmaking ability could be a big plus if he figures out that part of the game. Foudy needs to get bigger and stronger, but he has the right mindset and traits to get there.

Prospect Depth Chart Notables

LW: Oskar Olausson, Sampo Ranta

C: Calum Ritchie, Jean-Luc Foudy, Colby Ambrosio, Vladislav Kamenev

RW: Alex Beaucage, Matthew Stienburg

LD: Mikhail Gulyayev, Sean Behrens

RD: Nikita Ishimnikov, Chris Romaine

G: Justus Annunen, Trent Miner, Ivan Zhigalov

For a deeper dive into the prospect pool with player rankings, check out the Yearbook, Prospects Unlimited and Future Watch print editions of The Hockey News.