Colorado Avalanche 2020 class: Where are they now?

Last month, I took a look at where the Colorado Avalanche 2021 draft class was at this point. Today, we’re going to look at the team’s 2020 draft class. Where are they now? Like the last article, there is some NHL experience already from this class. Unlike the last article, there’s more than one player from this class that has reached the NHL, at least temporarily.

We start off with their first-round pick of the class, defenceman Justin Barron. Barron is now 21 years old but has been with the Montreal Canadiens for the past two seasons after spending just one with the Colorado Avalanche. During his one year with Colorado, Barron played in just two games. Barron found his way onto the ice for Montreal, playing in 39 games, and recording four goals and 11 assists.

Barron was traded to Montreal for Artturi Lehkonen, which ultimately has worked out for the Colorado Avalanche as Lehkonen has 27 goals and 33 assists in his two years since arriving. Sometimes that’s just the way to go about business: trade younger players for more-experienced ones.

The team’s second pick in this class was Jean-Luc Foudy. Foudy found his way into the lineup for Colorado last season nine times. During those nine games, he did not record a single goal or assist. He had 12 shot attempts. All but one game Foudy played for the Avalanche last season came in December due to the number of injuries the Avalanche went through. I am excited to see how much Foudy can improve in the 2023-24 season.

Colby Ambrosio has yet to make it to the NHL level. He has spent the last three seasons at Boston College, where he has played in 98 games, with 26 goals with 32 assists. One thing going against Ambrosio is his size as he is only 5-foot-9, 170 pounds. That being said, there are other short players currently in the NHL, Alex Debrincat just to name one. Ambrosio’s size won’t necessarily be his downfall if he can improve his game.

As Kerry Collins of The Hockey Writers points out, Ambrosio does need to work on his vision. That, along with his size, is something that is holding him back from making it into the NHL.

Next up is Ryder Rolston. Well, not much to say about Rolston. He was a fifth-round pick in 2020 and never suited up for the Colorado Avalanche. Instead, he played 42 games for the Waterloo Black Hawks before playing three seasons at the University of Notre Dame. He was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Carl Soderberg, who spent a couple of years with the Avalanche in the past. (Happy retirement, Soder!).

With their last pick in this draft, the Avalanche took Nils Aman. Now with the Vancouver Canucks, Aman spent his time over in Sweden playing for Leksands IF of the Champions Hockey League and the Karlskrona HK team of the Swe-1 league. Aman never played for the Avalanche. For the Canucks last season, Aman played in 68 games and recorded four goals and 12 assists.