Avalanche Prospect Portfolio: Enter Stienburg

With most prospects hitting the ten-game mark of the season trajectories for the year are starting to become clear and many of them are of the very positive variety. Despite having just one first-round pick in their unsigned ranks the Avs prospect pool remains strong.

Prospect of the Week:

Sampo Ranta – LW

After a slow start to his season in the NHL Ranta is back with the Eagles and settling into the AHL finding his first few points of the season. Be sure to check out Meghan Angley’s interview with him where he talks about becoming a more complete player.

AHL:

Despite going 6-2-2 in their last ten the Eagles are having trouble making up ground in a Pacific Division that has just two teams under .500. With players returning from both callup and injury the Eagles are finally starting to see some stability and the new playoff format would make it difficult for them to miss but there is still plenty of room for improvement.

Justin Barron – D

Back from injury, Barron looks to be settling into professional hockey nicely. Seeing the offensive production start to shine through is a boon of confidence for him but he still needs to prove he can be effective on the physical side of the game. The Avs are in no rush to get him to the NHL and can let him develop for as long as is needed.

Europe:

Nils Aman – C (Leksands) round 6, pick 167, 2020

It looks like Aman may have run out of steam on the offensive end of the ice. He’s still seeing playing time north of 16 minutes so it’s not for lack of opportunity but he’s just not generating much individually. These types of lulls are quick and easy to point to when the Avs (likely) don’t give him a contract this offseason.

OHL:

Oskar Olausson – RW (Barrie Colts) round 1, pick 27, 2021

Six points in six games is marked down as a slow stretch for Olausson. What is most impressive about Oskar’s scoring is its consistency, he’s not relying on big games against weaker opponents to keep his production up and has only been held pointless in three of his 20 OHL games so far. Plus watching this never gets old:

NCAA:

Colby Ambrosio – C (Boston College) round 4, pick 118, 2020

A light section of the schedule for BC with just two games over the last three weeks due to a few COVID postponements. Ambrosio got his, snagging two assists. He’s always been more of a goal scorer but it would do a lot for his game if he could find ways to distribute the puck more effectively. He hasn’t exploded this year enough to really consider giving him a contract yet but is setting himself up nicely to earn one in his junior year.

Sean Behrens – D (Denver) round 2, pick 61, 2021

Another week of steady production for Behrens and he finally managed to notch his first NCAA goal. His current rate of scoring is good enough to put him in the top 15 defensemen for scoring in the NCAA and third for freshman defenders. Wade Klippenstein and the Avs amateur scout staff should be patting themselves on the back for this one.

Andrei Buyalsky – C (Vermont) round 3, pick 92, 2021

Disaster news for Buyalsky as it has been confirmed that he will be out until March (cause unknown) missing the vast majority of the NCAA season. This may end up essentially being a lost year, not a good look for a 20-year-old third-round pick.

Drew Helleson – D (Boston College) round 2, pick 47, 2019

Helleson was held out of the second game for BC this season but it’s unclear as to why exactly. Not going to make too much of it unless he starts missing more games.

Nicky Leivermann – D (Notre Dame) round 7, pick 187, 2017

The offensive production has found itself a bit of a rhythm for Leivermann. It’s still not realistic that he finds his way to a contract with the Avs but if he can keep up this type of pace for the rest of the year maybe some team will jump.

Taylor Makar – C (UMASS) round 7, pick 220, 2021

Taylor Makar played in four hockey games! Taylor Makar did nothing but take penalties in four hockey games.

Matt Stienburg – C (Cornell) round 3, pick 63, 2019

Stienburg is now on a 10-game point streak with 18 points across that stretch including a hat trick. This is the type of quantum leap that turns a throwaway prospect into a very real one in a hurry. His point per game pace is currently the best in the entire NCAA. I dunno what clicked for him but it’s time we start taking this kid seriously.

Tyler Weiss – C (University of Omaha Nebraska) round 4, pick 109, 2020

Weiss continues to produce at a point per game rate and we are starting to see that goal total climb. Now just one shy of his colligate high of seven, I’ve said already some team is going to give this kid a contract. The Avs get first crack at it and at this point if it were me I would have one ready for him at the end of his season.

Russia:

Nikolai Kovalenko – RW (Ak Bars Kazan) round 6, pick 171, 2018

Kovalenko has been confirmed to be injured and will miss at least another week. It’s unclear exactly what the injury is but the hope is Kovy will pick up where left off when he does return.

Shamil Shmakov – G (Toros Neftekamsk) round 7, pick 202, 2018

Shmakov has played in more games and has looked pretty solid in them including one shutout. The reality of the Avs goalie situation still means there is really no chance of him being signed, but at least he exists again.

Daniil Zhuravlyov – D (Ak Bars Kazan) round 5, pick 146, 2018

The lack of production from Zhuravlyov has been pretty disheartening. Producing at a lower rate than his first season in the KHL his offense was supposed to be part of the allure in bringing him over to North America. At this point, if there was interest in coming over, Zhruavlyov may have played his way out of a contract.