2026-27 NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown: Colorado Avalanche’s Top 10

Jul 15, 2026, 09:00 EDTUpdated: Jul 15, 2026, 09:31 EDT

Welcome back.

It’s time for Daily Faceoff’s third annual NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown, looking at the best all 32 teams have to offer. We’re highlighting the top 10 prospects for every franchise, their biggest strengths and weaknesses, and so much more.

Here are the criteria for being labeled a prospect: players generally have to have played in 50 or fewer NHL games or spent more time outside of the NHL than in it last year. Players over 23 years old are not included. Goaltenders are a bit more subjective, but they must be 25 or under, have played fewer than 15 games in the past season, or have not spent significant time in the NHL overall over a three-year period.

Today, we’re breaking down the Colorado Avalanche.

The Avalanche already had one of the worst pipelines in hockey, so it wasn’t going to be hard to improve that this year.

Under returning GM Joe Sakic, the Avs made nine selections in 2026 – a huge boost from the three a year ago. In fact, this is a team that rarely keeps themselves involved during the draft weekend. They made just 11 selections between 2021 and 2023, meaning they moved 10 picks in that span. It’s hard to build a competitive pipeline when that happens, but they’re still in win-now mode, after all.

Four picks from the 2026 NHL Draft made this list. None of them is a lock to be an NHLer, but Egor Shilov definitely has the best odds of the bunch. We’re still talking about a prospect pool that sits closer to the bottom than, say, the mid-pack. But the Avalanche have some legitimately interesting options at their disposal, which could lead to some intriguing trade scenarios.

Biggest Strength

I actually like Colorado’s goaltending. Ilya Nabokov has had a solid pro career to date, and I don’t think it’ll be long until he’s challenging for the backup position with the big club. I like Tobiáš Tvrzník more than most – it felt like he stole more than a handful of WHL games this past year. I could see him proving people wrong down the line. Trent Miner has seen some NHL action, and I actually liked him last year. At 25, though, I don’t expect much more improvement in his game. Still, I could see him getting a few games with the big club again this year. Louka Cloutier is also quite interesting – the 19-year-old college puckstopper will absolutely be one worth watching down the line.

Biggest Weakness

This team just doesn’t have a difference-maker at forward or on the blueline. I like Shilov, but he’s far from a sure thing. It feels like he might be more of a boom-bust prospect who doesn’t excel unless he’s in a scoring role. Beckett Hamilton projects more as a bottom-six forward, or, more realistically, as an energetic fourth-liner. Beyond that, I don’t see anyone who I think is capable of scoring goals, either up front or from the point. That’s what happens when you never draft early.

Fast Facts:

NHL GM: Joe Sakic
Dir. of Amateur Scouting: Nick Pryor
Dir. of Player Development: Brian Willsie
AHL Affiliate: Colorado Eagles
ECHL Affiliate: New Mexico Goatheads
Recent Graduates: Gavin Brindley, C

TOP 10 PROSPECTS

1. Ilya Nabokov, G, 23 (Colorado Eagles, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 38th overall, second round in 2024

Nabokov built an impressive three-year CV with Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, and now he’s off to the AHL. Nabokov has shown unbelievable athleticism and post-to-post movement, and he has only gotten quicker with time. Scouts love his ability to move fluently in the crease, and his raw talent is going to excite quite a bit of people. His numbers did fall a bit this past year, despite still having a solid record. But overall, there’s a lot of hype for a goaltender who isn’t too far from getting an NHL look. The Avs have one of the better goaltending duos in the NHL, but if Nabokov has a strong campaign, it could make it easier to move on from pending UFA Scott Wedgewood next summer, if needed.

2. Egor Shilov, C, 18 (Victoriaville Tigres, QMJHL)

Acquired: Drafted 43rd overall, second round in 2026

Shilov was one of the QMJHL’s most proficient offensive generators this past year. The Tigres finished second last in the West and were ultimately bounced in four games in the playoffs. But Shilov finished the season with 32 goals and 82 points, putting him among the top in CHL rookie scoring. Nobody else came close to even reaching 50 points, so Shilov was exceptionally important. He dominates the puck game, and he’s as skilled as you’ll find in the CHL. There’s no lack of talent here – but he can get caught watching the puck far too often and simply lacks the pace to thrive at the next level. That’ll be a big sticking point for scouts over the next few seasons.

3. Beckett Hamilton, C, 18 (Red Deer Rebels, WHL)

Acquired: Drafted 74th overall, third round in 2026

*Beckett Hamilton (#20) (Steven Ellis/Daily Faceoff)*

Hamilton is a mid-sized forward who has received a ton of love in the scouting community this year. That’s because of his extremely productive campaign in Red Deer – 24 goals and 62 points in 67 games on a team that just made the playoffs is nothing to sneeze at. He gets a ton of shots on net, and he plays with solid pace, too. I like his game in transition, and he plays with so much pace. Hamilton was a top-line player with Red Deer, but I liked his energetic style of play more with Canada on the U-18 team.

4. Tobiáš Tvrzník, G, 18 (Wenatchee Wild, WHL)

Acquired: Drafted 126th overall, fourth round in 2026

Tvrzník was one of my favorite goalies this year, and one I felt was highly underrated. At 6-foot-4, Tvrzník has the size teams crave. He also proved he can clearly handle pressure with ease, and many scouts like guys who can handle a heavy workload at a young age. It shows you can be a difference-maker when there isn’t much to work with. Tvrzník’s athleticism is already high-end, although he lacks elite speed in the crease. He’s also prone to ugly rebounds, but that’s something an NHL goalie coach can address. The Wild struggled to win consistently, but Tvrzník was often the reason why the team managed to steal some game along the way. He was 3-2-2 when making at least 40 saves this year, which is incredible – he stole more than a handful of games overall. There’s a good base here for the Ohio State University commit.

5. Mikhail Gulyayev, LHD, 21 (Avangard Omsk, KHL)

Acquired: Drafted 31st overall, first round in 2023

Gulyayev primarily played deep in Omsk’s lineup and only really started to see an ice time boost in the playoffs. So it’s easy to understand the one goal, three-point stat line – easily the worst of his pro hockey career. That’s concerning, because the 21-year-old looked so advanced for his age at one point. But there hasn’t been much natural progression, which hurts given he’s only 5-foot-10. I was kind of iffy on Gulyayev as a prospect before, but I always loved his skating. I’m just worried he has stagnated too much, and he’s signed until 2028. I wish there was an easy way to get him over to North America and under Colorado’s control.

6. Francesco Dell’Elce, LHD, 21 (UMass, NCAA)

Acquired: Drafted 77th overall, third round in 2025

Dell’Elce was a personal favorite of mine from his days at St. Andrew’s College. He was productive at all lower levels of hockey, and that didn’t change once he jumped up to UMass. He has 45 points over two seasons while averaging over 21 minutes per game. The numbers are good, but the more I watch him, the more I wonder what type of player he’ll be at the next level. There’s nothing about his game that really stands out, and he can get caught trying to do too much under pressure, thus making easily avoidable mistakes. But as a raw defender, Dell’elce is one of the best options in Colorado’s system. I wonder if Dell’Elce turns pro after another year of college.

7. Axel Elofsson, RHD, 18 (IK Oskarshamn, Allsvenskan)

Acquired: Drafted 128th overall, fourth round in 2026

*Axel Elofsson (Steven Ellis/The Nation Network)*

Elofsson has intrigued me for a few years now, and I think I liked him more than most others would claim to this year. He was truly one of the most fascinating puck-movers in the 2026 draft class. With the puck, Elofsson is outstanding. The numbers have been incredible in both domestic and international competition. When he’s at his best, he can lead the power play and create quality chances through traffic. He’s very elusive with the puck overall. Defensively, though, he needs work, and he’s undersized at 5-foot-10. He has to limit the giveaways, too.

8. Fabian Lysell, RW, 23 (Colorado Eagles, AHL)

Acquired: Traded by Boston Bruins in 2026

At one point, Lysell – a first-round pick in 2021 – looked like a potential middle-six scorer for the Bruins. But aside from a 12-game run in 2024-25, Lysell has spent most of his pro career in the AHL, where he has been a decent contributor. But it was clear his time in Boston was never going to pan out, and the Avalanche sent Ivan Ivan the other way to take a chance on the Swedish winger. Lysell plays with skill and loves to shoot the puck, and he’s also a bit tenacious for an undersized forward. But I’m not sure I’ve seen enough to suggest he’s more than the occasional call-up candidate at this point.

9. Sean Behrens, LHD, 23 (Colorado Eagles, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 61st overall, second round in 2021

Behrens missed all of 2024-25 due to injury, and it took a bit of time for him to get back up to speed in 2025-26. A lost season would be tough for anyone to overcome. Before that, I really liked Behrens, who was a star in college and with the USNTDP. But as an undersized defenseman, Behrens was always going to need to find creative ways to stay ahead of the competition. That ACL injury really didn’t help his cause, though. I still think Behrens has the playreads and the natural skill to get some NHL action under his belt over the next few years, but I think he’s destined for more of a solid minor-pro career instead, unfortunately.

10. Nikita Prishchepov, LW, 22 (Colorado Eagles, AHL)

Acquired: Drafted 217th overall, seventh round in 2024

*Nikita Prishchepov (Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images)*

It’s always exciting to see a seventh-rounder make the NHL, and Prishchepov debuted a few months after being selected. Prishchepov didn’t return to the NHL last season, and injuries unfortunately limited him to just 22 AHL games. Had he remained healthy, though, he was bound to double his 23-point output as a pro rookie. For the most part, I still see someone who’s capable of hitting hard, skating harder and winning faceoffs. He’ll never be a big-time point-producer in the NHL, but I could see him carving out a role as a bottom-line checker. He never stops moving, and guys like that can often figure it out at the next level.

Other Prospects: Matthew DiMarsico, C (22), Nolan Roed, C (20), Jake Fisher, C (21), Christian Humphreys, C (20), Shawn Carrier, LW (19), Alex Gagne, LHD (23), Saige Weinstein, LHD (21), Ondrej Ruml, LHD (18), Cole Tuminaro, RHD (19), Theodore Lechner, RHD (17), Tory Pitner, RHD (20), Nikita Ishimnikov, RHD (21), Chris Romaine, RHD (22), Gustav Stjernberg, RHD (23), Linus Funck, D (19), Nikita Novosyolov, G (22), Alexandre Raymond, G (18), Ivan Yunin, G (20), Louka Cloutier, G (19), Trent Miner, G (25)

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