The Colorado Avalanche will be more active in the 2026 NHL Entry Draft than they were scheduled to be now that they own a second-round pick. They don’t have a ton of holes, and most players selected outside of the first round will most certainly take a few years to develop. That being said, where should they look to with the 74th overall pick?
One possibility is defenseman Ethan MacKenzie. Mackenzie is 19-years-old, will become 20-years-old this September, so he’s not the typical 18-year-old player who would generally take several years to develop in college. While he still could be, the Avalanche could look to get him on the Colorado Eagles a year sooner than expected.
MacKenzie is a 6-foot, 188 pound left-shot defenseman who was passed over in the 2025 Draft due to the fact that he suffered some injuries that cost him some games in 2023-24 and 2024-25. Now, he is in position to be a top-80 selection.
He is known to have an impact on all stages of the game, having some impact on offense, defense, and both penalty kill and power play.
He really stepped up his game over the past two seasons for the Edmonton Oil Kings. In his first 76 games over the first two years as an Oil King, he had just two goals. However, in 2024-25, he had five goals and 27 assists in 54 games and in 2025-26, he had 22 goals and 36 assists in 59 games.
The Avalanche are going to need some defensemen to step up within the next couple of years. With Brent Burns and Josh Manson nearing the end of their careers, it would be good to have another defenseman ready sooner than later.
They’ve got former 31st overall pick defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev in the system, as well as Francesco Dell'elce, Tory Pitner, and Chris Romaine. Dell’elce was just selected this past draft, with Pitner in 2024 and Gulyayev in 2023.
Having another left-shot defenseman in the system could lead to something positive in a few years. His versatility makes him a prospect the Colorado Avalanche must take a look at.
MacKenzie is committed to UND (University of North Dakota) for the 2026-27 season.
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