The Colorado Avalanche have been more than happy to trade draft picks and prospects in pursuit of a Stanley Cup for the past decade.

After winning in 2022, they've been searching for that same feeling ever since, at the cost of their prospect pipeline. That said, they did select nine players at this year's NHL draft.

It's the Avalanche's turn in our NHL prospect pool overview series.

In our annual series, Tony Ferrari's digging into each team's top prospects, the strengths and weaknesses of its pipeline, an overview of its latest draft class and positional depth chart, and who could be next in line for an NHL chance.

Aside from some exceptions, a player who no longer holds NHL rookie eligibility is considered graduated and no longer a prospect for the purposes of these exercises.

Before the draft, the Avalanche bolstered their depth by adding two younger players, swapping Jack Drury and prospect Chase Bradley for Fyodor Svechkov and Zachary L'Heureux in a deal with the Nashville Predators. Svechkov is a smart, two-way center who has a bit more offensive upside than he's shown so far. He should be able to fill the void left by Drury in the lineup fairly well.

L'Heureux could bring a new element to the Avs' lineup. He has a good shot, which should help provide some depth scoring. His attitude and physicality could be difference-making, though. Playing in the bottom six, L'Heureux will provide energy, get under the skin of his opponents and throw his weight around.

The Avs made another pre-draft swap, sending Ivan Ivan to the Boston Bruins for Fabian Lysell. The high-paced Swedish right winger has been waiting for his opportunity, and he might get it in Colorado. Lysell is a crafty playmaker who attacks with speed. His style of play should fit better in Colorado, a team that leans into its speed. Lysell can be a nuisance on the forecheck as well, getting in on defenders quickly.

Russian winger Nikita Prishchepov only played 22 AHL games this past season. He plays with pace, gets involved physically on the forecheck and always works his tail off. He could find his way into some NHL games, as he did a couple of years ago, but his upside is limited to the bottom six, where he would bring energy and edge to the lineup.

Christian Humphreys has had an interesting development path. After playing at the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, he went to the University of Michigan in 2024-25. After things didn't start well, he moved to the OHL's Kitchener Rangers mid-season. This past season, he helped Kitchener win the OHL title and the Memorial Cup. Next season, he's heading back to college, where he will play for the University of Minnesota. He's a smart positional forward who connects plays in transition, playing a tactical game.

Mikhail Gulyayev, a blueliner with elite skating, is signed in the KHL for a couple of more years. He's developed into a quality defender despite his 5-foot-10 frame. He has more to give offensively if he develops more of a killer instinct against men. He is a quality KHL defenseman who could potentially find a role in the NHL one day, but there's just a bit longer of a wait for Gulyayev.

Nikita Ishimnikov is an intriguing Russian blueliner who plays a solid defensive game, using his stick to disrupt passes and get in on the puck to prevent clean handling. He's not much of a puck-mover or offensive presence, but he could be a bottom-pair, defensive defenseman.

Gavin Brindley (RW)

Round 2, 43rd overall - Yegor Shilov, C, Victoriaville (QMJHL)

Round 3, 74th overall - Beckett Hamilton, C/RW, Red Deer (WHL)

Round 4, 126th overall - Tobias Tvrznik, G, Wenatchee (WHL)

Round 4, 128th overall - Axel Elofsson, D, Orebro Jr. (Swe.)

Round 5, 140th overall - Cole Tuminaro, D, Chicago (USHL)

Round 5, 152nd overall - Teddy Lechner, D, Holy Angels (Minn. H.S.)

Round 7, 195th overall - Shawn Carrier, LW, Halifax (QMJHL)

Round 7, 214th overall - Ondrej Ruml, D, Ottawa (OHL)

Round 7, 215th overall - Alexandre Raymond, G, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)

The Avalanche usually don't make this many picks. In doing so, they added talented players to their prospect pool, made some interesting swings on skill and went off the board for a few players who didn't get much love throughout the draft year.

Yegor Shilov is a tactical forward who torched the QMJHL. The Russian import has sick hands and the confidence to take on any defender 1-on-1. He shows off some impressive creativity as a playmaker, and when he gets his chance to take a shot, he is more than happy to do so. Shilov could develop into a scoring forward at the NHL level, but the question will be whether he can be a center.

Beckett Hamilton is a versatile forward who is a tad bit undersized and doesn't really have a standout skill, but he often finds a way to be more than the sum of his parts. He pushes himself to put in the work at both ends of the ice, even if the results don't show it. Hamilton is a really interesting player who brings a bit of everything to the game and the mentality to make it all work.

The Avs took overage goalie Tobias Tvrznik with their first pick in the fourth round. The Czech netminder made his way to the WHL this past season, where he put up really impressive numbers. He's not the most purely athletic netminder, but he reads the play well, tracks the puck, and finds the way to make the save. He's very technically sound and could be a solid bet to make the NHL one day.

When the Avalanche took Axel Elofsson, they bet that the shifty, skilled defender could find a way to make it work at the pro level as a 5-foot-10 blueliner. His puck-moving ability in transition and his footwork at the offensive blueline make him one of the draft's most fun players to watch. He can run a power play with precision and create plenty of offensive chances. His defensive game needs work, but if he can lean into his mobility, he could probably figure out how to at least be serviceable in that regard.

In round five, Colorado took 19-year-old defenseman Cole Tuminaro. The Cornell commit will bring his mean streak to college hockey this upcoming season. He punishes opponents in various ways. He'll give a shot after the whistle, use his stick like an extension of his hands to deliver massive cross checks, and line opponents up for booming hits. His game isn't flashy with the puck, but it's certainly violent.

One of the youngest players in the draft, Teddy Lechner, split this past season between Minnesota high school hockey and the United States League. He's a good skater who has room to fill out his 6-foot-2 frame. He plays a smart defensive brand of hockey, and if he can get stronger and add some jam to his game, it will only benefit him.

Shawn Carrier was an interesting swing in the seventh round. He's a very good forechecker and physical presence who has a nice goal-scoring touch. His game is fairly straightforward, as he hunts down pucks and gets them to the net, but it's worked at the QMJHL level. Some development in the NCAA will be massive for him. He's committed to Boston University for the 2027-28 season.

The Avalanche took Ondrej Ruml, which means they believe he can become more of a consistent threat offensively. As it stands, he's an offensive defenseman who doesn't have the elite skill to be one at the next level. He's a confident kid who wants to do more, and the environment in Ottawa wasn't always conducive to doing it.

Alexandre Raymond often put the puck into the corner or deflected it out of play rather than cover it for a faceoff. He certainly needs to refine some things in his game, but he has good size, decent mobility and sound technical skill. He must keep improving the mental aspect of his game to make it as a pro.

Most of the strength in Colorado's prospect pool comes from some of the better prospects it added at this year's NHL draft.

The Avalanche did a very solid job of taking some swings on interesting players. They weren't just swinging on raw skill, either. They took guys they felt could develop into a serviceable NHL role.

That said, they honestly don't have an area of strength in their prospect pool. They just have a few players who are interesting talents.

Simply put, the Avs do not have a very stocked pipeline.

They lack high-end talent, mid-level talent and even players with a safe floor.

Colorado hasn't done a great job of keeping the cupboards even relatively full during its run of contention. They've simply just banked on a player or two outperforming where they were drafted.

Simply put, the Bruins just didn't seem to have the faith in Lysell to give him a legitimate opportunity.

The speedster put up solid numbers in the AHL and, in a dozen NHL games, scored a goal and three points in a solid bottom-six role.

He may not have blown the doors off, but he looked more than comfortable at the NHL level. Lysell just didn't seem to fit what the Bruins wanted for whatever reason.

In Colorado, Lysell will be given a bit more room to run. In the same way that Martin Necas was able to unleash his potential, Lysell may have a bit of that same opportunity, albeit not to the same level.

When the Avalanche traded Drury for Svechkov and L'Heureux, they looked to add two NHLers for the price of one. Svechkov should admirably fill the shoes of Drury as a center in the bottom six, but the real prize in the deal was L'Heureux and the potential for him to be a difference-maker with his skill and power.

He has the potential to develop into one of the league's super pests. He's the kind of player who scores in the shootout and trash talks the goalie immediately afterward. The Avs lineup could use a bit more of what L'Heureux brings in terms of potential depth scoring and elite trash talk.

LW: Zachary L'Heureux, Nikita Prishchepov, Shawn Carrier, Cooper Gay

C: Egor Shilov, Nolan Roed

RW: Fabian Lysell, Beckett Hamilton, Christian Humphreys

LD: Mikhail Gulyayev, Francesco Dell'elce, Saige Weinstein,

RD: Axel Elofsson, Tory Pitner, Cole Tuminaro, Teddy Lechner, Linus Funck, Nikita Ishimnikov

G: Ilya Nabokov, Ivan Yunin, Louka Cloutier, Tobias Tvrznik, Nikita Novosyolov

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

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