Colorado Avalanche Prospect Profile: Sheldon Dries

One of the Colorado Avalanche’s low-key AHL signings, Sheldon Dries, might get a chance to prove his worth to the NHL team.

The Colorado Avalanche didn’t make a big splash during Free Agency Frenzy this year — we didn’t really expect them to since they’ve committed fully to their youth movement.

As expected, Colorado picked up a journeyman forward to replace Blake Comeau, Matt Calvert. They also added another journeyman to the defensive corps, Ian Cole.

Also as expected, the Avs made some AHL-level signing after letting half their restricted free agents walk. One of those signings was center Sheldon Dries. He signed with the team on July 2, 2018.

Sheldon Dries Statistics

Position: Center
Shoots: Left
Age: 24
Height: 5’9″
Weight: 185 lbs.

Sheldon Dries is a 24-year-old center out of Macomb Township, Michigan. Dries played two years for the USHL Green Bay Gamblers before moving on to college. He spent four years at Western Michigan University, wearing the C as captain for three of those years.

Dries played last year for the Texas Stars, which is the AHL affiliate of the Dallas Stars. However, Sheldon’s was only an AHL contract. He earned 30 points (19 goals, 11 assists) in 70 games with the Texas Stars.

Sheldon Dries’ contract with the Avalanche is a one-year entry-level deal. It’s worth $925,000 at the NHL level, but Dries will make $70,000 at the AHL level. He did receive $92,500 as a signing bonus.

Sheldon Dries and the Texas Stars

Sheldon Dries impressed in Texas. According to The Athletic, media members and scouts who watch the Texas Stars like what they see in the center.

One scout remarked that the Stars’ GM, Scott White, keeps finding guys like Dries “who can really play.” That same scout remarked that Sheldon usually ends up in his notes.

No telling if it’s one of the Colorado Avalanche’s scouts since they ended up signing him in free agency. That said, one of Dries’ teammates felt the actual Dallas Stars needed to sign the Michiganian.

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In fact, scouts were unofficially fighting over Dries. Another remarked, ““If Dallas doesn’t sign him I’d like us to. He’s the type of guy I’d love to add to our organization.”

Part of what made Sheldon Dries so impressive was his playoff performance. The Texas Stars went 22 games in the playoffs, eventually losing to the Calvin Pickard’s Toronto Marlies in seven games. Dries earned 10 goals in those 22 games. No assists, which is weird, but 10 goals is good.

Former Stars teammate, Jason Dickinson, said he liked playing with Dries because the center is easy to play with because of how he reads the game. Dickinson added, “You look at him and you might not realize how much of an impact he has, but he does every little thing right.”

That was Sheldon Dries’ intention all along. While with Western Michigan, he made a habit of blocking shots and killing penalties while also contributing to the scoring. His best season was his senior year when he earned 30 points (16 goals, 14 assists).

So, when he got the call from the Texas Stars after graduating, he decided to “hit the ground running.” He said of his intent, “That’s your first taste to show everyone in the organization what you’ve got. You can’t dip your toes in the water to see how it feels.”

For whatever reason, the Texas Stars apparently didn’t retain him. However, that kind of attention to detail is also what the Colorado Avalanche like to see.

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Do I think Sheldon Dries is going to make the NHL team. Probably not. However, you never know. If he comes to rookie and training camp with a solid work ethic and a willingness to perfect every aspect of his game, I’m sure the NHL team will at least five him a chance to prove himself.

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