The Colorado Avalanche, a team with Stanley Cup aspirations, dressed five rookies in a game on Sunday night.
Its opponent, the San Jose Sharks, which just made the No. 1 selection in the 2024 NHL draft and might be years from such expectations, dressed only three. It’s been a weird start to the season for the Avs, but the youth movement at the NHL level is also backed by an infusion of more prospects throughout the system.
For years, the Avs have traded away draft picks and prospects to support a quest for the Cup. Colorado tried to replenish its coffers at the 2024 NHL draft, selecting nine players for the first time since 2007 and continuing to mine the undrafted market for overlooked gems.
Logan O’Connor, Sam Malinski and rookie Ivan Ivan are all fruits of that particular labor. With a fresh batch of potential Avs to monitor, where are all of Colorado’s prospects playing this year?
NOTE: Number in parenthesis is The Post’s preseason ranking. Nikolai Kovalenko (No. 4) and Justus Annuen (No. 5) have “graduated” for this exercise.
Forwards
Zakhar Bardakov, 23 years old: Bardakov is in his third full season with SKA St. Petersburg’s KHL club. He’s already matched his goal total from each of the last two seasons (6) after 19 games.
Chase Bradley, 22: An undrafted free agent singing at the end of last season, Bradley has been on the third or fourth line for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL.
Andrei Buyalsky, 24: Left Vermont after three years and has played sparingly for Barys Astana in the KHL so far this season.
Max Curran, 18: A fifth-round pick this past summer, Curran is spending his second season with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL.
Jake Fisher (11), 19: One of two new Avs prospects at the University of Denver, the 2024 fourth-rounder has two goals and an assist in his first four games for the Pioneers.
Jean-Luc Foudy (9), 22: He’s missed a lot of time with injuries the past two seasons, and has played once in the Eagles’ first four games because of an injury.
Christian Humphreys (12), 18: Going straight from the USHL to Michigan’s lineup as an 18-year-old wasn’t going to be easy, but he’s played in four of the Wolverines’ six games so far.
Ivan Ivan, 22: He’s still going to face a challenge to stick once the big guys return, but Ivan has been a pleasant surprise for the Avs on the fourth line.
Maros Jedlicka, 22: Missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, he’s moved from the Slovakian league to Czechia and has two points in 11 games for HC Kometa Brno.
Oskar Olausson (8), 21: Needs a big year with the Eagles, and he’s getting chances to play on one of the top two lines. No points in four games so far.
Taylor Makar, 23: Transferred from UMass to Maine and leads the Black Bears with three goals and six points in three games. Avs have until mid-August to sign him or he becomes a free agent.
Ondrej Pavel, 24: Missed a chunk of training camp, but has two points in four games for the Eagles as he battles to be a callup at some point.
Nikita Prishchepov, 20: From the QMJHL and pick No. 217 in June to a regular in the Eagles lineup, he’s got three points in four games.
Calum Ritchie (1), 19: He had a goal in seven games with the Avs, but was sent back Wednesday to Oshawa in the OHL. The experience will help him, but he didn’t look NHL-ready. Should be a star for the Generals and for Canada at the world junior championship.
Matthew Steinburg, 24: Jared Bednar loved his camp, and he became the second guy recalled from the Eagles after veteran Chris Wagner.
William Zellers (10), 18: A third-round pick in 2024, Zellers has four goals in five games for Green Bay in the USHL. He’ll head to North Dakota for his freshman year next season.
Defensemen
Sean Behrens (6), 21: Was slated for the Eagles, but a knee injury will sideline him for his first full professional season.
Mikhail Gulyayev (2), 19: He’s playing about 15 minutes per game in his second full KHL season with Avangard Omsk.
Tory Pitner (7), 18: A sixth-rounder in the 2024 haul, Pitner is the other new DU/Avs prospect. He’s played in three of the Pios’ four games.
Nikita Ishimnikov, 19: He’s already played at three different levels in Russia, including KHL club Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg, with five points in 13 games.
Chris Romaine, 20: A 2022 draft pick out of high school, Romaine is now a freshman at Ohio State after spending two years in the USHL.
Saige Weinstein, 19: Has three points in nine games for Spokane in his final WHL season.
Goaltenders
Louka Cloutier, 18: The fifth-round pick this past summer is off to a bit of a slow start in six games with the Chicago Steel in the USHL. He’ll play at Nebraska-Omaha next season.
Trent Miner, 23: It could eventually get more crowded for the Eagles with the Avs adding a third goalie at the NHL level, but Miner is off to a strong AHL start with one goal allowed in each of his two starts.
Ilya Nabokov (3), 21: His team, Metallurg Magnitogorsk, got off to a slow start in the KHL, but the Avs’ first pick in the 2024 draft (second round) has three shutouts in 18 games, matching his total in 43 contests last year.
Ivan Yunin, 18: A fifth-round pick in June, Yunin is in his first full season with Omskie Yastreby in the MHL, which is Russia’s top junior league.
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