Colorado Avalanche Prospect Watch: CHL

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Hockey season is slowly coming to a close all over the world. In Europe, most playoffs are almost over, while in North America, they are mostly just about to start.

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For us, it means that we get a chance to take a look at how the Colorado Avalanche prospects did, that still play in junior leagues or across the pond. Who got closer to the pros and who did not? Who will be able to make the jump first?

This mini-series starts with the Avalanche’s CHL-prospects and will be continued and finished Sunday, with those prospects that are active in the NCAA and in Europe.

The Colorado Avalanche have a really young core. Coach Roy relies heavily on — and has to rely on — guys like Matt Duchene (24), Gabriel Landeskog (22) and Nathan MacKinnon (19). That is a really good thing, as long-term-planning cannot happen if your team primaril relies on players in their late 30s, that could, well, pack their bags and retire every day.

(Looking at) the Avalanche’s current prospect pool, (…) it does not look too great.

However, it is also always important to have new guys coming up from the prospect pool. The young core gets older, the older players retire, and new quality and depth has to be brought in through the draft. Now, applying that on the Avalanche’s current prospect pool, baearing in mind that the defence currently consists of two quality NHL players, it does not look too great.

But with a little bit of luck, some of the Avalanche prospects can become real gems — and even get NHL playing-time as early as next season.

For those of us that are not familiar with Hockey’s Future’s prospect evaluation or prospect score, here is a little heads up.

Next: Who could the Avs target in the 2015 Draft?

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