The Colorado Avalanche announced their 2026 Rookie Camp roster late last week. MHS has already highlighted a trio of intriguing players to watch. The spotlight may come from recent draft status or an eye-opening performance at lower levels. Other times, it comes from a familiar surname.
Two years ago, for instance, Avalanche diehards might remember Marek Hejduk getting ice at development camp. That was perhaps an extreme case, because his dad, Milan Hejduk, is a Colorado legend. The second-generation hopeful graduated from Harvard in 2025-26 and played a handful of games in the ECHL for the Utah Grizzlies.
Taylor Makar is also making a return appearance, but this article is less about him because, to some extent, he has already played for the Avalanche. The younger Makar suited up a dozen times last season when Colorado dealt with injuries to their forward group.
This year, the two new names that jumped out at me on the Rookie Camp roster were Maxim Barbashev and Grant Ahcan. Maxim is the younger brother of Ivan Barbashev of the Vegas Golden Knights. Grant is the younger brother of former Avalanche defenseman Jack Ahcan.
Can ' little brother energy ' be a good thing?
I ask this as a younger brother myself, so there may be some hopeful bias baked into the query. But I am well acquainted with the concept as a motivational factor. Hockey is known for sibling team-ups and rivalries.
Around the league right now, there are the Tkachuks, who will soon play together in Florida. There are the three Hughes brothers and even the recently drafted Ruck twins, who were both drafted by Pittsburgh this summer. Already in Colorado, we have the example of Cale and Taylor Makar.
The elder Makar is fresh off his record-breaking contract extension. Meanwhile, his younger brother Taylor is about to see his role on the Colorado Eagles in the American Hockey League ramped up to greater significance. Early in the offseason, I wrote about the major changes down in Loveland.
Historical examples include the Espositos and the Sedin twins, who now serve as joint executives in Vancouver. For Avalanche fans, the most relevant sibling connection has to be the Stasny brothers. Peter, Anton, and Marian Stasny all defected from the former Czechoslovakia to join the Quebec Nordiques in the early 80's. The trio were major fixtures of the franchise and thus are still attached to Colorado's extended record books.
Again, I stress that it would be unfair to automatically assume that the younger Barbashev or Ahcan are destined to someday make a National Hockey League roster. As fun as all the past cases are to remember, there are many more stories that prove why NHL dreams more often remain unrealized.
What can Barbashev and Ahcan learn from their brothers?
Let me get this out of the way bluntly. As an Avalanche fan, I have learned to really dislike Ivan Barbashev. Yet for those same reasons, VGK fans and Blues fans before them have loved Barbashev. It's about the hits, man. The elder Barbashev is one nasty customer. He's a brutal forward to battle with night in and night out.
People might assume I have sour grapes for the way the Golden Knights eliminated the Avalanche in the postseason. As basic and understandable as that might be, my deeper grudge actually stems from a regular-season contest last year. Barbashev sent fan-favorite and USHL success story from my hometown Tri-City Storm, Gavin Brindley, out with a concussion.
The offending hit wasn't called a penalty either. At least, it didn't draw a whistle, to my recollection. I may have blacked out momentarily, either from anger or too much sugar during the Halloween night tilt.
Thankfully, I can make lighthearted quips about it now. Brindley's concussion was only minor, and he did make a habit of coming back from injury and promptly getting back on the scoresheet.
Obviously, I haven't seen Maxim Barbashev play just yet. I don't know if his game is all that much like his brother's on paper. But if his toughness is at all a comparable, that could bode well down the road. Ivan might not be a production machine, but he has eclipsed 50 points three times in his career and raised the Stanley Cup twice.
Any younger sibling would be lucky to have an example like that to look up to growing up. Ivan is eight years older than Maxim. But as it turns out, he also had a big brother to watch. The eldest Barbashev is actually Sergei, who had a long pro career in Russia.
Grant Ahcan might have a role model of lesser renown, but his big brother Jack has great knowledge of Colorado's prospect system that could prove invaluable. Jack Ahcan joined the Colorado Eagles in 2023 and was a very steady presence for the Eagles' defensive corps.
The elder Ahcan chipped in a good number of points in the AHL and was often on the cusp of a call-up. The unfortunate injury situation last season saw Jack Ahcan get pressed into emergency service, suiting up for a career-high 11NHL games in 2025-26, including a handful of appearances in the playoffs.
That was enough to impress new Predators General Manager Chris MacFarland, who quickly scooped the defenseman as part of his rebuilding plans in Nashville.
Grant Ahcan is five years younger than his older brother. But one thing to note is how playing opposing positions might have helped them each learn the game in a deeper way. After all, it's a different task trying to figure out your mentor than simply attempting to mirror them.
Grant Ahcan was the first-ever signing for Colorado's brand-new ECHL affiliate, the New Mexico Goatheads. Barbashev was added to the inaugural roster a month later. The Goatheads, of course, will replace the aforementioned Utah Grizzlies in Colorado's organizational tree. The Grizzlies were moved to Trenton, New Jersey, and have been renamed the Ironhawks. They are now affiliated with the Islanders.
As of now, Barbashev is listed as a LW and Ahcan is listed as a RW. Considering that they are soon to be teammates down in New Mexico, I am hoping they see significant minutes on the same line. With time and no small amount of luck, either one could become the younger half of pro hockey's next sibling duo.
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