Colorado Avalanche hockey returns today with the opening of rookie camp ahead of the annual Rookie Showcase, held this year in San Jose, which will see the Avalanche send their youngsters off for two games on Saturday and Sunday.

Here’s a quick look at the roster:

With the goings-on underway by the time you’re reading this, the Avalanche beat had a few thoughts about this weekend.

Which player are you most excited to watch at camp and during the weekend games?

AJ:

It has to be T.J. Hughes for me. There are several players on this roster that I find intriguing, from Hughes to Alex Gagne and, frankly, all four goaltenders, but Hughes is the headliner.

He is a guy whose age (24) dictates that his moment is right now. This isn’t a guy who can wait another year or two and then find his game. It has to happen right away for him. The track to follow is what we saw from Sam Malinski, who signed when he was 25 and was a standout for the Avalanche in his lone time at the Rookie Showcase.

Hughes has to be Colorado’s best player this weekend, but as an offensively-oriented depth forward (and potentially center), Hughes has to show a well-rounded side to his game to be taken seriously.

Bailey:

The obvious answer here would be T.J. Hughes, and I’m riding the wave for as long as I possibly can.

He, justifiably so, created a lot of excitement after his showing with the Eagles during the postseason. I think I’m just as excited to see his stylistic fit within the organization among other prospects as I am to see just how repeatable a performance like that can be. If he has the capabilities to be a consistent performer, this is his first chance to prove it.

Also, considering he’s one of a few players in the projected revolving door of call-ups for the Avs, this showcase is truly his first chance to show just how brightly he can shine. If he can prove it in the showcase and at the beginning of the season with the Eagles, I’ll be even more excited to see what he can potentially do on Jared Bednar‘s roster during the regular season.

Rudo:

Beckett Hamilton. Yes, there are plenty of guys who are more interesting to the Avs in the immediate future, but Hamilton comes from a less-than-stellar Red Deer team. This will be a first look at the guy with pro-caliber teammates around him. While other players like Hughes need to dominate this event, Hamilton just needs to go out there and do his thing, which is playing harder than everybody else and finding ways to be surprisingly effective.

Who is your darkhorse candidate to keep an eye on?

AJ:

Beckett Hamilton.

As Rudo mentioned above, Hamilton was a one-man show in Red Deer. I want to see what he looks like against the kind of talent that he doesn’t currently have waiting for him back on the Rebels roster. He’s an all-heart player who was a big arrow-up prospect with the season he had.

His skill level probably won’t wow any of us, but I’m ready to fall in love with the compete level of a guy who thrives on the action. He personifies intensity and that’s something the Avalanche prospect pool has been in dire need of for years.

Bailey:

The rookies are only playing two games. Two. And considering we’re only seeing these guys for one practice before they head off to San Jose, that’s a ridiculously small sample size to judge from.

That said, there’s always one guy who wasn’t on my radar that seems to catch my eye during things like this… and I certainly hope that guy can be Linus Funck.

I was pleasantly surprised by the difference in Funck’s performance in drills vs. game scenarios during Dev Camp. If he can do that again, except in a real game setting, I’d love to see him stand out among the talent on this roster, especially considering a lot of them already have professional hockey experience under their belts.

Rudo:

It’s hard to quantify what a dark horse is at this event. The Avs are bringing a lot of older, pro-experienced players that should look good at something like this. With a lot of the Avs best defensive prospects missing from this event maybe someone like Ondrej Ruml or Linus Funck can open some doors for themselves with a good showing. Neither of them is making the Avs anytime soon, but that’s true of the majority of these guys.

What’s your scale, 1-10 (ten being highest), of excitement to see top prospect Ilya Nabokov for the first time?

AJ:

Give me an 8 on this. Sure, he’s likely only going to play half of one of the two games and this won’t ultimately mean anything, but he’s the highest draft pick the Avs have had over the last handful of years.

He has hardware in his trophy cabinet from stints of excellence in the KHL. He is, in theory, Colorado’s goaltender of the future. He’s stuck behind the tandem that just won the William Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in a season. He’s also contending with an entrenched quality starter in the AHL in Trent Miner, who has been quite good for the Eagles over the last few seasons and has done well for himself in his limited NHL opportunities.

It won’t mean a lot in the bigger picture, but it’s been a bit of a wait for Nabokov. I’m going to enjoy the moment for once.

Bailey:

With the Avs bringing four goalies, I have a feeling people are going to be extremely underwhelmed by our first look at the Avs’ top guy in the prospect pool.

But I love goalies, so a roster like this for the showcase is my bread and butter. I’m thrilled to see all of them, especially considering at least one of them is still a bit of a question mark in my book (I’m looking at you, Novosyolov).

For Nabokov specifically, though? I think I’m sitting at a solid 5. If we see more than just half a game of him, that number goes up significantly. I get the feeling that the organization is much more excited to see what he can do for the Eagles than they are to see what he can do in San Jose this weekend, and I’m kind of in the same boat.

Rudo:

6? Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to see him, but this event means very little for him beyond just getting more time on North American ice. We’ll be lucky to see more than 30 minutes of him, given the Avs brought four goalies and the caliber of competition here should be well below the KHL for the most part. I hope he looks good, but I’m much more excited to see what he does in the AHL.

Which of the five 2026 draft picks will you be keeping the closest eye on this weekend?

AJ:

If you’ve been listening to the podcast, you know I am unironically a big Tobias Tvrznik guy, but I know next to nothing about Ondrej Ruml and I want to see what kind of game he brings to the weekend. He’s a late-round pick with essentially zero hype (unlike Shawn Carrier, who had a very vocal fan base after such a great season with Halifax).

I want to sink my teeth into a profile that I just don’t know a lot about because he wasn’t at development camp. If the goalies were going to play more, it would be Tvrznik, but they aren’t, so I want to learn about Ruml.

Bailey:

Give me Beckett Hamilton aaalllllll day.

We only saw a sliver of his capabilities during Development Camp, but I think there’s so much left on the table for a guy like him, especially within this organization.

He’s still a few years off from spending significant time in the pros, I think, but he’s got everything I want to see in a developing prospect, and given what Brian Willsie had to say about him following Dev Camp, I think the ceiling is high for him if he wants it badly enough. Performing well this weekend is a nice next step for a guy like Hamilton.

Rudo:

I already tipped my hand with Hamilton, but I’m also tracking Shawn Carrier. Organizationally, the Avs are just going to have a lot more turnover in the forward corps over the next couple of years, and opportunity will be there for guys who earn it.