The Colorado Avalanche haven’t had a prospect pipeline bursting at the seams in recent years, but there are early signs that a few young players are moving the right way.
That makes sense for a team that has spent more than half a decade chasing a Stanley Cup instead of stockpiling draft picks. Colorado has dealt away more first-rounders than it has used in recent drafts, and it still does not own a first-round pick in either 2027 or 2028. Still, this summer marked a shift, with the front office putting more emphasis on rebuilding some draft capital and strengthening the system.
Three names have stood out so far.
Beckett Hamilton has wasted no time making an impression in the Western Hockey League. The forward, taken 74th overall in June’s NHL Draft, turned heads at training camp and even scored a preseason goal. He has taken that momentum back to the Red Deer Rebels and run with it.
Through nine games, Hamilton has nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points, tying teammate Paul Andersen for the WHL lead in points. He’s also tied for the league lead in assists and sits second in goals.
That kind of production is exactly why Colorado liked him in the first place. Hamilton finished last season with 62 points in 67 games for Red Deer, but he’s tracking well beyond that pace if this start holds.
The Rebels, meanwhile, have surged out to a 7-3-1 record through 11 games after finishing 26-36-6 last season and ending up near the bottom of the standings.
In the American Hockey League, Ilya Nabokov is giving Colorado another encouraging development. The Russian goaltender, who may be the most intriguing prospect in the organization, is off to a strong first full season in North America with the Colorado Eagles.
Nabokov has made four appearances and gone 3-1-0 with a shutout, a .936 save percentage and a 1.97 goals-against average. Those numbers put him near the top of the AHL goaltending leaderboard this early in the season.
His play has also helped the Eagles settle in quickly. Colorado is 4-1-1 through six games and has allowed only 13 goals, with last year’s starter Trent Miner out injured.
Mikhail Gulyayev’s start in the Kontinental Hockey League is notable for a different reason. After a rough season a year ago, the defenseman is showing real signs of progress with Avangard Omsk.
Through 15 games, Gulyayev has two goals and eight points, and he’s averaging 18:58 of ice time per game, a career high by a wide margin.
Last season was a setback. The 21-year-old was used at forward instead of defense, struggled to lock in a steady role with the coaching staff, and finished with one goal and two assists in 54 games.
That was a drop from the year before, when he produced 15 points after posting 12 in his draft year. Colorado drafted Gulyayev No. 31 overall in 2023.
His ice time last season sat at just 11:06 per game, and he had never averaged more than 15:16 in a KHL season before this one.
Now, with more responsibility and better production, Gulyayev looks to be moving back in the right direction after a year that seemed to stall his progress.
In Other News...
Avalanche Open Road Trip With One Lineup Issue Fans Will Notice
The Avalanche head into a two-game road trip with a lineup wrinkle that should stand out right away: theyll be without Nic Roy, Zachary LHeureux and Logan OConnor because of injuries. That leaves Colorado trying to get through the start of the trip shorthanded against a Flyers team that is still looking to steady itself after picking up its first win of the season.
Mackenzie Blackwood is set to get the start in goal for Colorado, adding another layer to a game that already carries a bit of early-road-trip pressure. Philadelphia will counter with Joseph Woll, and while the Flyers have shown some life with that recent win, they remain a team still battling issues on both ends of the ice, which gives the Avalanche a chance to settle in quickly if their remaining lineup can hold up. [Read more 🡒]
Cale Makar Just Got The Kind Of Praise Avs Fans Love
Cale Makar is already one of the defining players of the Avalanche era, and now he has a little more outside validation to go with it. Drew Doughty, a former Norris Trophy winner himself, recently called Makar the best defenseman in the NHL and said he should win the award every year, the kind of praise that tends to land well in Colorado, where Makar has long been viewed as the standard-bearer on the blue line.
He has backed up that reputation quickly this season, opening with three goals and nine points in seven games after offseason surgery. The Avalanche have also started leaning into his shot more on the power play, adjusting their approach to feature him from the point. It is another sign that, even while the team is still settling into the season, Makar remains the player opponents have to account for first. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche May Have Found The Third Line Bednar Needed
A third line has started to look like more than just a stopgap for the Avalanche, and that matters for a team that has spent recent seasons searching for reliable depth beyond its top scorers. Jaden Schwartz, Fedor Svechkov and T.J. Hughes have given Colorado a different kind of balance early on, with the group driving play well enough to tilt shot attempts and scoring chances in the right direction.
Schwartz brings the steady hand of a veteran, Svechkov has handled the defensive and penalty-kill work, and Hughes has provided the kind of energy and offensive spark that can change a shift. Jared Bednar has sounded encouraged by the way those pieces fit together, and if the line keeps this up, it could end up giving Colorado the kind of third-unit support that pays off in tighter games later on. [Read more 🡒]