What Avalanche Fans Need to Know About the Colorado Eagles in 2026-27
The Colorado Eagles — which serves as the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche — recently announced they will be competing in a pair of preseason games as part of the inaugural Southwest Showdown.
The event is to be hosted by the Tucson Roadrunners on Sept. 26th and 27th at Tucson Arena in Tucson, Arizona. The four-team exhibition will also include the Roadrunners, Texas Stars and Henderson Silver Knights, with the Eagles facing the Stars on Sept. 26 at 4:00 p.m. MDT, before squaring off with the Silver Knights on Sept. 27th at 4:00 p.m. MDT.
Colorado finished with a 41-20-6-5 record across the AHL regular season in 2025-26 and concluded the year by dropping Game 7 of the Western Conference Final at home to the Chicago Wolves.
Colorado Eagles's 2026-27 to Serve as Turning Point With New Head Coach
The Eagles will also see their 2026-27 season with a new head coach behind the bench, with Jussi Ahokas's hiring having been announced in mid-July.
We would like to welcome Jussi Ahokas as the new Head Coach of the Colorado Eagles! pic.twitter.com/tfBjuu1beQ
— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) July 17, 2026
Ahokas will replace Mark Letestu, who was hired by the Vegas Golden Knights as an assistant coach. Ahokas now becomes the fourth head coach in the Eagles’ AHL history.
"Jussi has done a great job with every team and every league he’s been a part of as a head coach, and we’re excited to welcome him into the Avalanche and Eagles family," said Avalanche Assistant General Manager and Eagles General Manager Kevin McDonald via the Avalanche.
"His track record of winning games in a variety of leagues and international tournaments is impressive, and he’ll be a great fit for our team in Loveland."
Ahokas, who is 45, most recently served as the head coach of the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers from 2023-24 to 2025-26. That specific club won at least 40 games every season under his watch, compiling a 135-52-13-4 record in that span, and culminated his tenure with both a 2025-26 Memorial Cup Championship and a 2025-26 OHL championship.
Per the Eagles' press release announcing his hiring, the 2025-26 campaign saw Kitchener post the best record in the Western Conference in the regular season, and Ahokas was rewarded by being selected as the coach representative on the Second All-Star Team.
That followed 2024-25 when he took home the Matt Leyden Trophy as coach of the year as well as First Team All-Star coaching honors.
The Colorado Eagles' regular season will begin when the Eagles take on Tucson on Oct. 3 — which will then see the Eagles make their home debut at Blue Arena on Oct. 9 against the Abbotsford Canucks.
Jennifer Streeter graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M and received her Master of Science from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. At both schools, she focused on an emphasis of sports reporting. A former athlete herself, "Jenny" was a varsity soccer player and comes from a family who participated in NCAA athletics. She has covered hockey since 2023 and is credentialed for the Seattle Kraken, New Jersey Devils and PWHL in addition to having covered the 2026 Frozen Four.