Colorado Avalanche: Meet The Four Prospects At World Juniors

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The 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship is here, and the Colorado Avalanche have four prospects competing for the gold.

It’s that time of the year again: the world of hockey gives us a belated Christmas present in the shape of the World Junior Championship. It’s a great opportunity to get some extra hockey in our lives and get another look at your team’s prospects and other young talents. In the case of the Colorado Avalanche, they have four prospects representing three countries.

The under-20 tournament is taking place in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, beginning on December 26 and ending on January 5, 2019. We’re just a couple of days into the competition, so there’s still time for you to cheer on these prospects and their respective teams.

But first, let’s meet the younglings. Some of them were drafted by the Avs this summer, others got here through some complicated trades, and a couple of them are spending the season far from Colorado, but they’re all looking to make it to the team’s roster soon.

Czech Republic: Martin Kaut (winger)

DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Martin Kaut poses after being selected sixteenth overall by the Colorado Avalancheduring the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Born in Brno, Czech Republic, Martin Kaut was drafted 16th overall by the Colorado Avalanche at the 2018 NHL Entry Draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract and attended his first training camp with the team this year. He was sent to the Avs’ AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, and made his debut on October 5, collecting an assist (although the team lost in OT to the Chicago Wolves).

In 26 games played, Kaut has a total of 12 points (five goals, seven assists), with a plus/minus of five (if you’re into that particular stat). Not bad for his first season.

The Czech Republic team have their first win on the bag after beating Switzerland 2-1 (OT), with Kaut scoring on the second period to tie the score, and David Kvasnicka scoring the OT winner – thanks to a pass from Kaut.

Look, if he doesn’t get an upgrade and is added to the Avalanche roster next season, then something is clearly wrong in this organization. Until then, you can be sure Kaut will be among the top players to watch out for during World Juniors.

Russia: Nikolai Kovalenko (winger) and Danila Zhuravlyov (defense)

DALLAS, TX – JUNE 23: Nikolai Kovalenko poses for a portrait after being selected 171st overall by the Colorado Avalanche during the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 23, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images) /

Two more 2018 draft picks are joining their country’s team at this year’s Junior Championship: Nikolai Kovalenko (171st overall), and Danila Zhuravlyov (146th overall).

Kovalenko, son of KHL’s chairman Andrei Kovalenko (drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in 1990), is spending the season with the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl of the KHL. In 24 games played so far, he has a total of five points (four goals and one assist). He was also a last-minute addition to Russia’s team as he was added after the initial list was submitted.

Zhuravlyov has been playing with Bars Kazan of the VHL. Although he hasn’t recorded any points in 24 games played with the Bars so far, we hope he will get some points at Juniors and show viewers why he was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche.

Neither Kovalenko not Zhuravlyov got any points at Russia’s first game (a 4-0 win against Denmark), but the tournament is only getting started. However, Kovalenko received the following honor:

Players of the game for CZE/RUS as selected by the teams: Lukas Dostal (ANA) and Nikolai Kovalenko (COL). Dostal has been named Czech's top player in both games of the tournament for them.
— Corey Pronman (@coreypronman) December 29, 2018

He was voted player of the game after recording a short-handed goal in the game.

Also, not much is known about these two (especially Zhuravlyov) so here’s to hoping their performance here will give them a little push and we get to see them with the Avs soon.

Canada: Shane Bowers (center)

ENGLEWOOD, CO – JUNE 29: Colorado Avalanche forward Shane Bowers, #67, skates during the Av’s Development Camp at the Family Sports Center June 29, 2018. (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /

More from Mile High Sticking

Remember the three-team trade from last year? Of course you do: that’s how Matt Duchene was sent to the Ottawa Senators and how we got Sam Girard. Well, Shane Bowers was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche through that trade.

Drafted 28th overall by the Senators in 2017, Bowers is currently playing for the Boston University Terriers, and has registered eight points in 15 games played (three goals, five assists).

At the time of this writing, Canada has only played one game, and it was a big one: a 14-0 win against Denmark. No, it’s not a typo: team Canada scored 14 times and denied Denmark of any goal. Bowers didn’t get points, but as previously mentioned, the tournament is only getting started. We expect a good performance from the guy ranked third at Boston University last season.

Next. Colorado Avalanche Need To Find Their Defensive Play. dark

Now that you know a bit more about the Colorado Avalanche’s prospects playing at this year’s World Junior Championship, maybe you’d want to take a closer look at teams Canada, Russia, and Czech Republic. You can check out the full schedule right here.

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