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Avalanche Draft Class Still Looks Like a Win Despite Top-100 Snub

The Colorado Avalanche were snubbed from The Athletic's top-100 prospect list, but that doesn't mean their 2026 draft class was a failure.

Nathan Smith

Colorado Avalanche jersey
Colorado Avalanche jersey / USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Over the past several years, the Colorado Avalanche have been one of the National Hockey League's most consistent teams in the regular season, and in 2025/26, they clinched the Presidents’ Trophy for the second time since 2021.

While they failed to replicate that success in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Avalanche are still a team that's set up to compete in 2026/27, and with the moves they've made in the off-season, it's clear they have just one thing on their mind ahead of the new season.

Unfortunately, all of the moves this team has made have impacted their future, and after trading away several key draft picks to acquire the likes of Nicolas Roy, Brett Kulak and Nazem Kadri, the prospect cupboard and draft capital situation is looking dire.

Colorado Avalanche Snubbed in Top-100 Prospect Rankings

That was reflected recently when Scott Wheeler of The Athletic put together his annual Top-100 Prospect rankings list, and unsurprisingly, the Avalanche were one of three teams in the NHL to not feature a single prospect on the list.

That's not to say that Colorado doesn't have solid prospects for the future, as T.J. Hughes was a great NCAA Free Agency pickup at the end of the 2025/26 season, along with former second-round pick Gavin Brindley, who has the best case as a snub from Wheeler's list.

On paper, the Avs prospect group is one of the worst in the NHL, but as has been proven throughout the history of the sport, not all great players who make it are highly lauded throughout their junior careers.

For the Avalanche, the hope is that their under-the-radar prospects can grow and develop into potential NHLers of the future, but to have a player or two on this list certainly would have helped their future.

Colorado Avalanche Landed Several Good Prospects in the 2026 NHL Draft

The 2026 NHL draft was the perfect time for Colorado to restock that prospect cupboard and potentially land a top-100 prospect, but without a first-round pick due to the acquisition of Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders, it was a scenario made tough for general manager Joe Sakic.

While they didn't feature in the top 100, that doesn't make the draft a failure, however, as the team has now added some very intriguing prospects, with the organization earning solid reviews for its 2026 NHL draft class.

While Colorado didn't have a first-round pick, their most promising pickup came at No. 43 overall in the form of Yegor Shilov, a 6-foot-1 center out of the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL, who finished his first season in the league with an impressive 32 goals and 82 points in 63 games played.

The criticism of Shilov is that his style of play is slow and methodical, but with high hockey IQ, elite puck skills, and playmaking ability, he could find himself as a very good middle-six player in the NHL one day.

With their next pick, the Avalanche selected Beckett Hamilton of the Red Deer Rebels in the Western Hockey League No. 73 overall after the 18-year-old took a huge leap during the 2025/26 regular season.

In that time, Hamilton posted 24 goals and 62 points in 67 games played, with many noting his high motor, strong skating and his ability to drive offense as reasons why a team should have taken a chance on him.

Those are all positives, and while he's no guarantee to make an NHL roster one day, the Avalanche are betting on Hamilton's upside as a potential steal in the third round.

The Colorado Avalanche 2026 NHL Draft Class was a Solid Success

Beyond the two headline names, the Avalanche also added WHL goaltender Tobias Tvrznik in the fourth round and Swedish defenseman Axel Elofsson two picks later, along with five other prospects that add quantity, rather than high-level quality, to this group.

Of this draft class, at least two players will make their way into Colorado's top-10 prospect rankings list, with the front office optimistic that they've added some future NHLers to support their core group already at the NHL level.

Heading into 2026/27, the Avalanche are arguably the Stanley Cup favorites in the Western Conference, and because of that, the team didn't have the draft capital to add a blue-chip prospect; instead, they were looking for steals later in the draft.

It wasn't a home run class like the Toronto Maple Leafs adding Gavin McKenna or the San Jose Sharks adding two top-10 prospects, but the Avalanche did good business at the 2026 NHL draft, and in the long run, that should pay off with patience and good development.

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Nathan Smith
NATHAN SMITH

Nathan Smith is a Sportswriter from Australia, currently residing in Canada with over a decade of experience. In that time, he has covered the MLB, NHL, NBA and NFL with various publications, with a particular focus and passion for Baseball and Hockey. Highlights • Working as a Trending News Writer with Athlon Sports, covering the latest news stories in the National Hockey League • Working as a Site Expert with FanSided for Flame For Thought, covering all things Calgary Flames • Consistent coverage of all four major North American sports with H&L Media, SportsKeeda, PFSN and other FanSided publications Experience Over 10 years of experience writing Evergreen content, list based articles, news stories, predictions and analysis of the NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA, reaching millions of sports fans worldwide in the process.

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