The Colorado Avalanche are adding to their defensive depth, perhaps for the Colorado Eagles of the AHL. They have selected Cole Tuminaro, a defenseman out of Cornell University.
Tuminaro is a right-shot defenseman who had six goals in three seasons between the Sioux Falls Muskateers and the Chicago Steel of the USHL throughout 97 games.
This scouting report from USHL.com says the following about Tuminaro:
"Tuminaro, initially a W-rated defenseman in October, appeared at No. 115 among North American skaters in the mid-term rankings. Listed at 6’4” and 230 pounds, the Cornell commit has two goals and eight points in 26 games with the Chicago Steel this season."
Tuminaro applied for the 2025 NHL Draft, but obviously was not selected. So, he’s an “over-ager” as we like to call those types of prospects. That is a sign that he has a chip on his shoulder heading into the next stages of his hockey career.
He apparently played a lot of the 2023-24 season with a torn labrum, putting up six points in 42 games. That’s some hockey dedication right there. You don’t want your players to do that often, but as long as it doesn’t hinder his development, it’s a pure sign for the love of the game.
With their second pick in the fith round, the Avalanche took defenseman Theodore Lechner out of HIGH-MIN.
Per DraftProspectsHockey, some of his best traits are his development upside, blue-line reads, projectable frame, and draft-day value. As a fifth-round pick, that is the start of the definition of “value” in the NHL.
He’s a 6’2”, 164 lb defender who has good reach due to his size, so his pursuit of the puck could be something to watch.
Lechner played games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks three for the U.S. National Development team. He projects as a bottom-pair defenseman.
He won’t be a scoring threat, but that isn’t a deal breaker because that’s what the Avalanche/Eagles have forwards for. He’ll also be a solid penalty killer for the Eagles, and if he develops enough, might be able to do the same in the NHL one day.
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