Colorado Eagles' embarrassing playoff exit exposes Avalanche prospect pipeline concerns
Photo credit: American Hockey League / Kate Dibildox
The Colorado Eagles were eliminated in a decisive 5-0 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks in Game 5 of a winner-take-all battle for a spot in the AHL Western Conference Final.
With a looming salary cap crunch and a shortage of draft picks after their aggressive deadline moves, there's legitimate concern about the Avalanche's thin prospect pipeline.
Colorado Eagles' embarrassing playoff exit exposes Avalanche's thin prospect pool.
According to Aaron Poorman from Mile High Sticking, perhaps the most notable player from that group on this Eagles roster is Oskar Olausson. The 22-year-old forward, a former Avalanche first-round pick, was selected 28th overall in 2021 but has struggled to make significant progress since then.
"Olausson did miss much of 2023-24 with a shoulder injury, but he has been consistently underwhelming when healthy. Olausson has scored exactly 11 goals in each of the three campaigns where he got significant time with the Eagles. While that registers some contribution to the team, it isn't anything that might hint at an NHL future with the Avalanche." -Poorman
Olausson has one more season to shed the growing label of a draft bust. As much as I hate to say it, that assessment feels fair given his trajectory so far.
Poorman also writes that one silver lining to the otherwise underwhelming outlook on Colorado's top-tier prospects is that the organization ha managed to get solid contributions from lesser-known names. Players like Sam Malinski and Keaton Middleton have developed into reliable options on the blue line, despite lacking the prestige of high draft status.
"When we look at forwards who have shown some spark, I still really like the upside of Ivan Ivan and even Nikita Prishchepov. Prischepov had just three less points than Oskar Olausson's 26, even while playing 10 less games in Loveland. Ivan Ivan only tallied 8 points while up with the Avalanche this year, but his 40 NHL starts did help team navigate an injury-plagued campaign." -Poorman
Lastly, the Avalanche's top draft selection from last summer, goaltender Ilya Nabokov brings championship pedigree from his time in Russia. It will be exciting to see what he can bring to Colorado's AHL affiliate.
The 2025-26 version of the Colorado Eagles will most likely be built around seasoned AHL veterans. But if you add a proven winner in goal, it gives fans plenty of reason to stay excited about what's ahead within the organization.
Previously on Avalanche Insider
| POLL | ||
MAI 29 | 26 ANSWERS Colorado Eagles' embarrassing playoff exit exposes Avalanche prospect pipeline concerns Are you concerned about the Colorado Avalanche'e thin prospect pool? | ||
| yes | 17 | 65.4 % |
| no | 9 | 34.6 % |
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