Colorado Avalanche analysis of 2023 first-round picks

The Colorado Avalanche had two picks in the first round of the 2023 NHL Draft (they had two because of the Alex Newhook trade) on Wednesday and opted to select center Calum Ritchie from Oshawa, Ontario in the Ontario Hockey League and defenceman Mikhail Gulyayev, a defenceman from Omsk Jr. (RUS-JR). Ritchie had 59 points in 59 games played while at Oshawa.

Unfortunately, Ritchie suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery but at the end of the day, that could prove to have been a blessing in disguise, as if not for the injury, Ritchie would have been drafted higher than he was.

Ritchie is listed at 6-foot-2, 184 pounds and with some time to bulk up, he could potentially turn into a more physical player. Ritchie is projected to eventually be a top-six forward in the future but he’ll have time to get his feet wet in the AHL with the trade acquisitions the Avalanche made recently to potentially replace someone like Evan Rodrigues (although there’s still a chance Rodrigues re-signs) or J.T. Compher.

As some have stated, Ritchie doesn’t do anything great right now. But what do you expect from an 18-year-old? That’s just how things go in the NHL. Draftees are 17-18 years old at the time of being selected, and usually get sent down to the team’s minor league team. Sportsnet even suggests that Ritchie could be a potential power-play asset in the future.

Mikhail Gulyayev was the team’s second first-round pick of the 2023 NHL Draft. Gulyayev is a Russian-born defenceman who will eventually be part of the Colorado Avalanche third or fourth-line defence, as some have said.

Gulyayev had six points (1 goal, 5 assists) in his last ten games.

As Kyle Sullivan of LockedOn Avalanche stated, we might not even see Gulyayev until around 2025. It’s perfectly okay, as this team is filling out its holes through trades and we’ll see what happens in free agency. There are many moves that will be made in the future.

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