Avalanche sign intriguing defensive prospect

The Colorado Avalanche announced on Friday the signing of an intriguing defensive prospect.

The club inked 23-year-old Gustav Stjernberg to a two-year entry-level contract (ELC) worth $955K per season.

The move is one of those under-the-radar signings that could turn into something out of nothing.

The undrafted Swedish blueliner is coming off his third season in the NCAA with Bowling Green State. This past season, he scored six goals and 10 points in 25 games.

All right, nothing to write home about. But what makes Stjernberg an intriguing prospect is his size and profile. Stjernberg stands at 6’4” and weighs 209 pounds. That’s the sort of size the Avalanche could be looking for in a future shutdown defenseman.

This move makes sense in the long run. The Avalanche may need some beef on the blueline with Brent Burns potentially playing his final season. Also, Josh Manson is 34 and not getting any younger.

Additionally, trade deadline acquisitions Brett Kulak and Nick Blankenburg are set to become UFAs at the end of the season. So, there’s no guarantee they’ll be back next year.

That situation opens the door for a prospect like Stjernberg to earn a long look at training camp next fall.

In the meantime, he’ll get some playing time with the Colorado Eagles. It’ll be interesting to see how he fits in. Judging from Stjernberg’s offensive numbers, he won’t likely be an offensive powerhouse.

But then again, you never know what sort of NHLer he can grow into.

Avalanche could find another gem in NCAA rough

The Avalanche have had luck in finding overlooked players in the NCAA rough. One of the most recent hits for Colorado has been Sam Malinski. The 27-year-old spent three seasons at Cornell University, eventually going undrafted.

The Avalanche took a flyer on Malinski, signing him out of college. And look at what Malinski has become in the NHL.

While Malinski had better offensive numbers than Stjernberg in the NCAA, that doesn’t take away from the potential of finding another solid undrafted blueliner.

The Avalanche have been masters at finding value in overlooked players. The organization’s player development system is excellent, giving the team plenty of decent prospects despite not having an abundance of high draft picks.

Still, there’s plenty of upside to Stjernberg’s signings. This could be one of those low-risk, massive-reward moves that make the organization look like geniuses.