The Colorado Avalanche were wheeling and dealing leading up to the 2026 NHL Draft. Less than 10 days after sending Ross Colton to Nashville, Colorado again did business with their ex-General Manager Chris MacFarland. The Wednesday deal sent Jack Drury and prospect Chase Bradley to the Predators. This was a tough pill to swallow for Avalanche fans, but Drury's subsequent contract shows why it was necessary.
There was simply no way the Avalanche could afford that kind of deal for a fourth-line center. Drury signed for five years and $22.5 million in Nashville. It's always hard knowing you are giving up the most talented player in a transaction, which was definitely the case here. But what kind of return did Colorado get in the swap? They got a pair of 2021 first-round talents.
Fedor Svechkov: Grit or skill?
The first of those players is Fedor Svechkov. He was drafted 19th overall in 2021. Scouting reports noted that the Russian center was smart with the puck, and sound when it comes to defensive positioning. Svechkov is active off the puck too, always looking for open ice. These kinds of traits are likely what made Sakic remark that he was "like a Drury". Now, nobody here is going to argue he's as good, but he is a player the club can mold into similar form.
Obviously, when the Avalanche lose their best faceoff man in Drury, someone who‘s slotted in to eventually vie for that spot is going to get scrutinized. Drury was elite at the dot, winning 57% of draws. Svechkov is a long way from matching that number, yet he did improve his win rate by six percentage points from 36.7% to 42.8% last season. This was also while significantly increasing his NHL experience in games played. Svechkov dressed in 52 games as a rookie in 2024-25. Last year, he took a major stride and appeared in 70 total games.
Make no mistake, that availability is a key factor, especially for a projected fourth liner. Svechkov also played 10 games in AHL Milwaukee in 2025-26. That means he only rested twice. Again, not perfect, but a solid indicator of readiness.
Svechkov has modest production as far as points. In 122 games with the Predators, he has amassed 12 goals and 22 assists. Keep in mind though, Nashville has scored far less than Colorado. In 2024-25, when Svechkov was a rookie, they ranked 31st among all teams in goals. That's one up from rock bottom. 2025-26 was an improvement for the Predators, but only to 20th overall. How much does playing on a scoring behemoth like Colorado help a young player?
For now, we can only guess. But comparing Svechkov to Drury, one thing did catch my eye on pure stats. Svechkov scored eight times as a rookie. His scoring was cut in half last year, presumably as he settled into a bottom-six role.
Prior to last year's career-high of 10 goals for Drury, his previous best was also eight, early in his stint with Carolina. I bring this up because it seems relevant to remember that the Avalanche could indeed help unlock some of that latent skill in the 23-year-old. When you gamble on what was once a high value prospect, even for a fourth-line role, reliability is the first priority. But believing there is more to refine is what makes a move intriguing.
Zachary L'Heureux: Goon or something more?
The second piece that Colorado acquired in the Drury trade is winger Zachary L'Heureux. His name translates to Happy in French. L'Heureux's game has been called a lot of things but the most colorful description came from @JFreshHockey on X.
Zachary L'Heureux, acquired by COL, is a depth defensive winger who happens to also be a bit of a violent psychopath on the ice pic.twitter.com/vHFIArPB6F
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) June 24, 2026
I saw this and immediately thought the Avalanche might have a Happy Gilmore on their hands. Or, 'L'Heureux Gilmore' if you want to get French with it. This was all before I saw comments about his lengthy suspension history.
L'Heureux has drawn league ire at every level. Most notably, he was suspended for 10 games while in the QMJHL. This came after an incident where he allegedly jabbed a stick at a fan while exiting the ice.
More recently, L'Heureux has gotten in trouble at the pro level, for a slewfoot trip on Wild captain Jared Spurgeon. This kind of behavior definitely sounds concerning to me. But at the same time, Colorado could certainly use some guys who play on the edge of acceptability. Joe Sakic alluded to this when he said we could have used that in the playoffs.
L'Heureux has to find a way to walk the line carefully. As his player card above shows, he's got defensive metrics that might make him sneakily good in Colorado. Jared Bednar is known to give his fourth line some run. If the young winger can prove dependable he could become another Joel Kiviranta type.
The Avalanche need physical defensive-minded forwards. This is doubly true considering the departures of Colton, Drury and Valeri Nichushkin. Physicality is the defining feature of L'Heureux. He's a guy who delights in being a pest.
Bednar might be willing to give L'Heureux ice time, but he's also not a bench boss who puts up with foolishness. If Happy finds himself living in the penalty box too often, he'll get squeezed out of the lineup quickly.
With L'Heureux, the offensive numbers are perhaps less important. Still, he's not without potential. He tallied four goals and an assist in 25 contests last season. In 2024-25, as a rookie, L'Heureux scored five goals and added 10 assists in 62 appearances.
Finally, one more interesting note on L'Heureux, he was selected one spot ahead of Oskar Olausson, Colorado's initial 2021 pick. Perhaps these are not so long ago targets that Super Joe has been tracking their whole careers. Not to pile on Olausson, but both additions from the Drury trade have already lapped him just by seeing significant NHL starts.
The Avalanche were not done trading for former 2021 first-round picks until the middle of the afternoon Saturday. Colorado made a one-for-one swap with Boston during the draft. This transaction sent Ivan Ivan to the Bruins for Swedish forward Fabian Lysell.
Fabian Lysell: An unknown upside
Fabian Lysell was selected 21st overall by Boston in 2021. He has the least amount of experience of the three players I'm featuring. Where Svechkov and L'Heureux will certainly see starts this upcoming season, Lysell might be more of a dark horse.
This is because the two players coming in from Nashville would have to clear waivers to be sent to the Colorado Eagles in the AHL. Fabian Lysell may be the hockey player I'm most curious about in the whole trio.
Why? Because he's the type of profile on paper that seems most like a fit for Avalanche hockey. He was described in scouting reports as having " nearly perfect " skating form. Lysell was lauded for speed and ability to find teammates.
If you look at Lysell's numbers for Providence in the AHL: 37 points in 54 games as a rookie, and 50 points in 56 games the following year in 2023-24. He seemed primed for a chance. But in 2024-25, he saw just a dozen starts with the big club up in Boston. In that time, he had one goal and two assists.
Lysell was then shipped back down to Providence where he tallied 38 points and 51 points each of the last two seasons. Not knowing the ins-and-outs of the Bruins organization, those limited data points suggest untapped potential. It reads like the story of a player who was simply not given the chance to show what he has in the tank.
The Avalanche have a good history with minor reclamation projects like Evan Rodrigues and Jonathan Drouin. I'd put Svechkov and L'Heureux in that category. They also have a history of turning an outright castoff into veritable gold. The biggest comparable there is none other than Nichushkin.
What strikes me most about the one-for-one nature of the Lysell trade isn't that the Avs lost Ivan. It's that they flipped an undrafted guy like Ivan for what could be a massive coup. To be clear, I liked Ivan a lot. He has the makings of a solid NHL player. But with more exciting players like Gavin Brindley and T.J. Hughes on the fringes of Colorado's lineup? At that point, swapping Ivan for Lysell becomes almost zero risk.
On a draft weekend where Colorado reloaded the organizational pipeline with nine selections, they also shook up their forward depth chart considerably. It's true that perennial contenders like the Avalanche aren't normally in a position to take top-tier talents.
It's also true that they get knocked for not developing players at lower levels. For players who have a bit of experience and a small or even large chip on their shoulder, what better organization is there than Colorado? At the top level, this club expects to win. For a trio of guys just waiting to blossom into their full potential, elevated expectations might be the perfect environment.
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