New report reveals the Avalanche top prospects poised to make the NHL sooner than you think
Photo credit: Michigan Photography / The Hockey News
When we look at the prospect pools in the NHL, it is clear that the Colorado Avalanche have one of the worst in the league, but is this lack of promising draft picks detrimental to the team's future?
Although the pool is shallow, there are still some promising players that can make the next step soon.
Avalanche prospects who might be closest to NHL action.
Graham Teidtke of Mile High Sticking recently analyzed the Avalanche's prospect pool, and the results aren't looking too good. Colorado is going to need some help with younger players if they want any success.
"The Colorado Avalanche have something to prove in the 2025-26 season after being eliminated in the 2024-25 postseason by the Dallas Stars. The team might have to rely on some younger players at some point. Or, they might have the luxury, if all things go well in players' development. One of the things that calling on a prospect would help is the team's salary cap situation." -Tiedtke
Even though it is appearing a little grim for the talent pool, there are still some promising prospects.
Firstly off, we have goaltender Ilya Nabokov, a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. His goal in the near future would be to overtake Scott Wedgewood as Mackenzie Blackwood's backup.
Next up, we have center Nikita Prishchepov, who was selected in the 7th round in 2024.
"A good example of a late-round draft pick who was able to do enough to find some NHL ice time. Though it was short-lived, Prishchepov played in 10 games for the Avalanche, but spent 51 other games with the Eagles. I really thought that he did plenty to earn more playing time in the NHL last season, but he was only called upon for 10 games." -Tiedtke
Lastly, the most promising prospect is forward Gavin Ridley who was acquired during the Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood trade involving the Columbus Blue Jackets.
"He was quickly deemed as the organization's best prospect. Instantly, that scared me simply because that implies that the Avalanche's prospect pool was terrible. Don't get me wrong-that's not a knock on Brindley. It is just shocking because Brindley is a 5'8» center. I did write about the acquisition and how nobody should write Brindley off because of his size, citing Brad Marchand as a success story." -Tiedtke
Is it concerning that the Avalanche's best prospect is a 5-foot-8 center? Absolutely, but it doesn't mean he won't pan out. While the prospect pool should be concerning in my opinion, there is still room for optimism, and we never know when a prospect could breakout and become an NHL star.
Previously on Avalanche Insider
| POLL | ||
AOUT 28 | 18 ANSWERS New report reveals the Avalanche top prospects poised to make the NHL sooner than you think Do the Avalanche need to acquire more draft picks for the near future? | ||
| yes | 16 | 88.9 % |
| no | 2 | 11.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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