Avalanche Prospect Update: Ritchie, Behrens, Hanzel & More
Calum Ritchie's return from injury help lead the Avalanche prospect group. Plus defensemen Sean Behrens and Jeremy Hanzel continue to show amazing promise
Welcome to the first Colorado Avalanche prospect update of the revamped THW Substack! Today’s prospect update — the first of many — will be free for all THW Substack subscribers, but shortly, premium posts like this one will only be available to paid subscribers of THW Substack. Get access to all of The Hockey Writers’ premium content, including exclusive subscriber-only reports, analysis, long-form commentary, gameday previews, and prospect updates just like this one… all with one subscription.
The Avalanche don't have a great prospect pool because they've been buyers at recent trade deadlines, and have used up most of their prospects and draft picks.
Also, it's necessary to understand what type of prospects will be included below, specifically a “NHLe” or NHL equivalency. NHLe is a mathematical tool that predicts a player's potential success in the NHL based on their point totals. Although points alone can't determine a player's success, they are the best metric to project their viability at the NHL level. However, different leagues have different equivalencies for points. For instance, one point in the AHL may not equal one point in the Canadian Juniors. Therefore, players with similar point productions in different leagues may have vastly different NHLe values.
Now, what are the types of stats that will be included? I have organized the data into tables with distinct headings for each league or group of leagues. These headings include age, games played (GP), goals (G), assists (A), points (P), power-play points (PPP), points per game (P/GP), shots (SOG), shooting percentage (S%), penalty minutes (PIM), and NHLe. One quick note…I’ve included stats from every league, but only some leagues might provide specific stats, for example, power-play goals in place of PPP.
I have organized the goaltenders into tables based on their Age, GP, goals-against average (GAA), save percentage (SV%), and their records. Apart from the tables, I will also post notes highlighting notable players or performances.
One quick note on what I consider a prospect: All players listed will be aged 25 or under.
Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Riley Tufte has been on a bit of a cold streak recently. After opening the AHL season with 17 points in 12 games. Since then he has three points in 10 games but is still shooting the puck well.
Sam Malinski is currently up with the Avalanche and has seen some good ice time and production up there. With five points in 12 games, serving as depth help with the defense core, look for Malinski to be another full-time guy potentially next year.
Oskar Olausson, a first-round pick in the 2021 draft, has been improving his production since the start of the season. While he has spent some time with the Avalanche, he has looked relatively well, scoring three points in his last six AHL games.
Justus Annunen has been the man for the Eagles and has seen time with the Avalanche as well. This season with the Eagles he is 7-30 with a .903 SV% and a 2.70 GAA.
NCAA
Sean Behrens sticks out as a future defenseman to keep an eye on. He is on pace to break his previous two seasons' point records with more than half of the season remaining. Colby Ambrosio has been having a slower season than his last two but has remained strong defensively to help with his lack of production.
Keep an eye on Taylor Makar, brother of Cale Makar. He had a great start to the season, followed by a long cold streak. He put up three points, all being goals in his last two games, and can look to start another point streak.
Canadian Hockey League
Calum Ritchie and Jeremy Hanzel stand out on the top of all of the Avalanche prospects. Ritchie, the first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has had some shoulder issues, but now healthy, has shown great flashes of a solid 200-foot game. Currently, on a three-game point streak, he has totaled five points through those games. Ranking 11th in team points while only playing 13 games.
Calum Ritchie, Colorado Avalanche (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers) Leading his team in points, Hanzel, the sixth-rounder from the 2023 NHL Draft, has shown massive upside to his game. He confuses defenders by faking passes and shots and using different handling feints. With 27 games played and 26 points, he could break his point production of 48 points last season with more than half of the season remaining.
Russian Leagues (VHL, KHL)
Nikolai Kovalenko is a very intriguing case for moving to America soon. Above a point per player in the KHL, and currently 24, is a piece that can quickly see his game moved to the AHL and how he adjusts his game there. If the team sees no adjustments are needed, he could be slotted right into the team to see how his game matches up to the big leagues.
Mikhail Gulyayev, the second first-round pick the Avalanche made in the 2023 NHL Draft, has plenty of time to develop his game. At only 18, playing in the KHL is a significant accomplishment, and with time, growing in that league with his style of puck-moving play could be an excellent thing for him in the future.
It was not a great first game for Shamil Shmakov, though his past performances on other teams show his resilience. In two seasons with the Toros Neftekamsk, he put up a record of 7-8-6, with both seasons averaging a .916 SV% and around a 2.40 GAA.
Other American Hockey Leagues (ECHL, USHL)
Chris Romain, leading in points by a defenseman on his team, has been on a cold streak after a hot streak in the middle of the season. After starting with the Omaha Lancers last season, he was ice cold, scoring five points in 20 games, and after being traded to the Gamblers and only putting up five points in 28 games, he's seeing a massive breakthrough this year.
Ivan Zhigalov has been looking rough since the start of the season. After coming off an excellent 26-9-3 record with the Sherbrooke Phoenix in the QMJHL, it has gone downhill. Finishing last season with the Kingston Frontenacs with the OHL, he finished with a 16-24-1 record. Let’s hope for the best. Zhigalov can find his game again; at 20 years old, he still has time to find it.
Besides the mediocre record, Trent Miller has looked solid when playing in the ECHL and his time in the AHL, putting in a similar 2-3-1 record and a .925 SV%. Besides Miller’s solid performance, the Grizzlies are last in the Western Conference at 8-17-0.
This does it for this edition of the Avalanche prospect update. Going through it all, Calum Ritchie and the Canadian Hockey League prospects are the front runners for standout prospects in the future. Though with how the Avalanche look right now, there's plenty of time for these prospects to grow and develop from what they are now.
I wish you all a happy holiday season and am excited to see what the new year holds! Go Avs Go!