The Colorado Avalanche have an awesome roster at the top, with Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Gabriel Landeskog, just to name a few. However, at some point in the upcoming season, they will have to call on some players to make more noise than in the past.
We all want to see every player on the team score 30 goals. Sadly, that just isn’t realistic. Some will finish the year with 5-10–some with perhaps two. Heck, some will be mainstays with the Avalanche’s AHL squad, the Colorado Eagles. Depending on the player, that is just the nature of the game. It’s how the cookie crumbles. But, with the blink of an eye, their name could be called.
Here are three players that I would love to see make an impact at the NHL level instead of spending the entire year with the Avalanche’s AHL affiliate.
Nikita Prishchepov
If you have been following along with me, you’d realize that I’ve been calling for the Avalanche to call up Nikita Prishchepov again ever since his first taste of NHL action.
I thought he played extremely well in the limited time he got—10 games in 2024-25. Although he did not record a single point, he was everywhere on the ice.
Unfortunately, Prishchepov has been injured quite a lot. In 2024-25 with the Eagles, he played in 51 games. In 2025-26, he was limited to just 22, where he scored three goals and had nine assists.
In the AHL, each team has a 72-game regular season. That means that Prishchepov missed 50 games this past year and 21 in 2024-25. He needs to find ways to stay healthy for the duration of a season. That’s easier said than done, but if soomething there doesn’t change, he’s never going to find his footing in the NHL.
It’s easier to move on from a seventh-round pick than it is a first-round pick. That is another disadvantage Prishchepov has. But, with some luck and continued hard work, I believe he can take the next step.
Sean Behrens
Sean Behrens was a second-round pick of the Avalanche in 2021. He’s 23-years-old, but has only participated in 56 AHL games—55 of those games coming in 2025-26. He was injured for the entire 2024-25 season, so like Prishchepov, it doesn’t help his case at all.
What does help his case, however, is his five goals and 18 assists he put up this past year. That’s not too bad for a defenseman. He also had one goal and three assists in 15 games during the AHL postseason this year.
With the amount of time Behrens has missed during his professional career, it’s easy to lose track of a player’s progress—even for them. Remaining on his feet will be crucial in his development. I don’t know what the Avalanche’s timeline is on him, but I have to imagine that time could be running out for him.
Behrens is under pressure this upcoming season. Can he take the next step?
Gavin Brindley
Yes, Gavin Brindley played in 56 games for the Avalanche this past season. Yes, he put up six goals and seven assists as a depth forward.
However, the last NHL game he appeared in was in late-March. Besides that, he only played in nine games with the Eagles. He had two goals and four assists.
I don’t know what the Avalanche’s plan is for him. Maybe it is to be with the Eagles long-term. Perhaps the departures of Ross Colton and Jack Drury open a spot up for Brindley to make some noise in 2026-27.
The fact that he is undersized really hurts, but I think that he was still able to make an impact. We’ll see if he gets another chance this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google