Colorado Avalanche Forward Mikko Rantanen is Set for a Huge Season in 2017-18

Mikko Rantanen is having a great tournament at the IIHF World Championships and is set for a big campaign in 2017-18 for the Colorado Avalanche.

The Colorado Avalanche forwards are having success internationally, with the exception of Matt Duchene, who is pointless in five games with Canada. However, the next wave of forwards — specifically Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen — are having a ton of success at the IIHF Worlds.

Nathan MacKinnon has eight points (5g, 3a) in five games, and Mikko Rantanen has seven points (2g, 5a) in six games.

Those two are the future of the Colorado Avalanche, and both are likely to play on the same line with one another for quite some time. So, it’s exciting to see both of them producing at such a high clip for their respective teams.

I’ve already written about Nathan MacKinnon’s likely breakout campaign next season, and you can read that post below. However, now it’s time to write about Mikko Rantanen’s likely breakout campaign.

When players get to play on lines with superior talent, their skills are evident. Mikko Rantanen is currently playing with superior talent, and is benefiting from his linemates.

Next season, he’ll get to play the whole season (hopefully) with Nathan MacKinnon and Sven Andrighetto. Having both MacKinnon and Andrighetto as linemates should set him up to score a bunch of goals.

Mikko Rantanen is Ready to Get to 30 goals, At the Very Least

Right now, Mikko Rantanen is the best sniper on the Colorado Avalanche. And boy do we need him. For a team that scored the fewest goals by a country mile last season, having goal scorers is a necessity.

Make no mistake, Mikko Rantanen had an incredible rookie season. If it weren’t for the likes of Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews, Rantanen would have turned more heads as a rookie. Still, he was fifth overall in goals scored by a rookie, and tenth in overall scoring.

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Couple those stats with the fact that Rantanen only had three points in his first 11 games — putting him at 35 over the course of 64 games — and you see the potential there.

Rantanen also had two different five game stretches where he put up seven points and six points during those separate frames. That’s 13 of his 38 total points in ten games. He also scored 20 of his 38 points in the final 35 games of his season.

The point is, he needs to develop consistency to his production, and he was starting to do so near the end of his season. So, if he finds that consistency early next year, he is likely to produce at a much higher rate.

Furthermore, he seems to have found his groove internationally, and that success should translate to next season.

Conclusion

The Colorado Avalanche had a dismal year. They got robbed of all the lottery picks, and have no chance of luring a big name free agent player. Trading Matt Duchene is going to be difficult too, especially for the return they seek.

In other words, it’s tough to be a fan of burgundy and blue right now. However, watching the young future of the Avs is exciting. Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon are the cornerstone pieces of that future.

Next: Exploring a Matt Duchene Trade with the St. Louis Blues

Both players are set for a big year next season as well, and they should feed off one another. The only variable in the equation is the future of Sven Andrighetto, but the Avs would be crazy not to sign him.

Change is in the winds folks. Hopefully Joe Sakic is able to surround players like Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen with superior talent next season and see how far they can take this team.

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