It’s not every year that there are late-round NHL Draft picks that amount to much once they are selected. Oftentimes, these players get selected and then go on to play a couple of years at the collegiate level while technically having their rights owned by the team that takes them. Other times, players can end up working out pretty nicely. One of the examples is Colorado Avalanche 2024 seventh-round pick, center Nikita Prishchepov.
Prishchepov spent the 2020-21 season with the Chekhov Russkie Vityaz in the Rus-MHL, where he played in 37 games, recording two goals and nine assists. He then joined the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL, where he spent three years, playing 191 games and scoring 35 goals, while assisting on 90 goals. Those numbers aren’t too shabby, if you ask me.
Prishchepov spent 2024-25 with the Colorado Eagles, where he played in 51 games, recording one goals and 14 assists. He got to play in 10 games for the Avalanche this past season, and while he did not record a goal nor an assist in that time, he was incredibly noticeable. He was after the puck every time he was out on the ice. While that’s obviously a trait you want in the center position, sometimes it takes rookies longer to catch on and play well. Not him.
Surprisingly, Prishchepov did not get more time on the Avalanche despite his high-IQ play in the league. Though his presence was forced because of injuries to the team, I felt that he earned his way into the lineup more often than the chances he got.
Even putting aside his time in the NHL, having an impact on an AHL team is still pretty neat. It gives hope to late-round draft picks, past and future. It should be a big motivator for late-round picks from now on. While there are a long of things that are out of a draftee’s control, not everything is. They just have to take the opportunity they are given and make the most out of it. If the Avalanche’s 2025 draft picks, whoever they may be, do that, they could see some time in the AHL and perhaps the NHL, giving them a likelier chance of sticking around.
I expect that he will see more time in the NHL in the 2025-26 season. It would make sense to start him out at the fourth-line center spot so he can get more experience without burning out or something. If he turns out to be even more productive than this past season, the Avalanche would have someone that can play a decent role while not costing a lot against their salary cap. That would be the best-case scenario for Colorado, who have just $1.2 million at this current time.