The Colorado Avalanche, like many NHL contenders, have a pretty thin prospect pool. That’s not the result of mismanagement. It’s just the outcome of years of trading away draft picks and prospects to land critical roster pieces.
The “win-now” mentality generally entails jettisoning potentially promising pieces for assured assets in the present. When thinking about the rationale behind these moves, it’s hard to blame general managers for taking this approach.
Even having the first-overall pick in any given draft does not ensure a franchise-altering player. The New York Islanders got extremely lucky with Matthew Schaefer this season. But how many other teams have drafted first and ended up with nothing to show for it?
Sure, the last time the Avalanche picked first overall, it netted them Nathan MacKinnon in the 2013 NHL Draft. That was a wise move, and a ton of luck. How so? Well, had the Avalanche picked first overall in 2012, the pick could have turned into Nail Yakupov.
Had the Avalanche picked first in 2014, the pick could have been Aaron Ekblad. Ekblad has been a fine choice for the Florida Panthers. But there’s little doubt any GM would prefer to have MacKinnon over Ekblad any day of the week.
That said, this current iteration of the Colorado Avalanche hasn’t had very many high picks. The last time the Avalanche picked in the top 10 was in 2019. That year, Colorado had the Ottawa Senators’ first-round selection as part of the Matt Duchene trade. That pick turned out to be Bowen Byran.
Since then, the Avs have only picked in the first round three times. One of those picks, Calum Ritchie (2023), is now the second-line center for the New York Islanders.
The 2024 NHL Draft, however, landed the Avalanche an interesting pick at #161. That would be Max Curran. Curran landed in The Athletic’s list of top players under 23 at #94. He was the highest-ranked Avalanche player on the list.
(The other was Gavin Brindley at #114.)
The Athletic listed Curran as a middle-of-the-lineup player. That means, at least according to The Athletic’s analysis, Curran could become a middle-six player. That’s not bad for a fifth-round pick. He’s listed as a center. So, if Curran could develop into, say, a decent third-line center, the Avalanche could have a heck of a player on their hands.
The Athletic’s assessment of Curran’s play at the recent World Junior Championships prompted this summary:
“A very respectable tournament. Was a top player earlier in his career and then had a couple of pretty vanilla seasons. He has begun to put it together more.”
Curran had one goal and four assists in seven games for Czechia in their silver-medal run at the World Juniors. That’s not bad, but it isn’t elite-level stuff.
Meanwhile, Elite Prospects projects Curran to end his tenure in the WHL this season with 27 goals and 75 points in 58 games for the Edmonton Oil Kings. Those are respectable numbers for a league that doesn’t play too much defense.
At 19, Curran should take the next step after this season. He’ll likely get a call to rookie camp and an invite to the Avalanche’s main camp. He’ll also likely be among the first cuts and head down to the AHL with the Colorado Eagles.
Curran may not get a call-up next season, either. But there’s little doubt that he will get a shot at some point in the not-too-distant future. Injuries are always an issue. That’s why Avalanche fans could see Curran in the lineup sooner rather than later.
A strong end to this season could see Curran’s stock rise and become one of the Avalanche’s most promising young players.