Avalanche Prospect Portfolio: Goalie gains

As most players settle into their seasons, those that have found consistency stand out in this week’s Prospect Portfolio. The goalie prospects dominated the landscape, particularly for the Avs professional prospects.

Prospect of the Week:

Adam Werner – G (Colorado Eagles) round 5, pick 131, 2016

Pro Standouts:

Conor Timmins – D (Colorado Eagles) round 2, pick 32, 2017

One of the few Avs prospects getting consistent ice, Timmins has done a good job taking advantage of it picking up two points despite the Eagles struggling to score up and down the lineup. If solid play continues for him, you can expect to see Timmins in an Avs jersey again as soon as an opportunity presents itself.

Josh Dickinson – C (Utah Grizzlies) round 7, pick 191, 2016

Dickinson recorded hat-tricks in consecutive games this week and currently leads the entire ECHL in goals. While the numbers are fun to look at, the quality of competition in the ECHL is not up to par and I question if any developmental gains are happening here.

KHL:

Nikolai Kovalenko – RW (Lokomotiv Yaroslavl) round 6, pick 171, 2018

Steady as ever for Kovalenko this week. The lack of offensive consistency is starting to become a bit of a concern but what he lacks in production he regularly makes up in physicality. He’s averaging a shot per game so he’s getting involved offensively, the points just aren’t there yet.

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

Following along in the same style of Kovalenko, Zhuravlyov saw a random scratching this week. This just seems to be part of the plan for young Russians in the KHL. As his production has waned so have his minutes and he seems to be settling into a third-pairing role.

Liiga (Finland):

Justus Annunen – G (Oulun Kärpät) round 3, pick 64, 2018

Annnunen is on the cusp of doing something incredible. He posted his fourth consecutive shutout and needs just three more minutes without a goal to break the Liiga record. He continues to get quality games from the players in front of him but still for a 19-year-old goalie that is incredible.

He also played in a Champions Hockey League game which doesn’t count on his Liiga stats. He gave up four goals but still managed to pull out a shootout win.

NCAA:

Notre Dame (Nate Clurman, Nicky Leivermann, Cam Morrison)

Notre Dame had the week off leaving the three Avs prospects on the squad without an update.

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

BC found it’s footing offensive footing a bit over the weekend. Helleson managed to get in on the scoring with a seeing-eye floated wrister from the blue line. He seems like an ideal fit for the grindy NCAA style of play and therefore has looked a bit out of place so far in some of BC’s high scoring games.

Alex Newhook – C (Boston College) round 1, pick 16, 2019

Newhook got the goal monkey off his back slamming, home a rebound in BC’s second game of the weekend. His role on the team still seems unclear as BC has tried to use him at wing more so than center so far. If he hasn’t found something more by mid-November it will be pretty easy to focus on a two-year path for him.

Sampo Ranta – LW (Minnesota) round 3, pick 78, 2018

A goal every other game so far is good but not great for Ranta. The good news is he has remained fairly involved offensively with 13 shots on goal so far. He is also getting some utilization as a net-front body which could be a nice tool in his bag if he can’t put other parts of his game together. His goal this week was a jumping deflection which you can see here:

Denis Smirnov – LW (Penn State) round 6, pick 156, 2017

Smirnov seems to have two speeds: all or nothing. When the offensive talent shines through it is impressive but it comes off the back of complete blowouts and the lack of consistency is a pretty big red flag for a college senior.

Tyler Weiss – LW (Nebraska Omaha) round 4, pick 109, 2018

Weiss managed to play in both games over the weekend so that is a positive step but his offensive involvement was relatively limited. He’s never going to be a big shooter but for a guy as small as he is, he has to be able to get on the stat sheet positively almost every night. He doesn’t have the luxury of patience like some others do.

QMJHL:

Alex Beaucage – RW (Rouyn-Noranda Huskies) round 3, pick 78, 2019

After a bit of up and down, Beaucage seems to be settling in nicely and clicking with his teammates picking a goal and two assists in two games this week. With that comfort level, he continues to flash some impressive playmaking ability. He gets a lot of time and space to create in the Q and time will tell if he can translate that to pro.

WHL:

Luka Burzan – RW (Brandon Wheat Kings) round 6, pick 171, 2019

It’s been a bit of struggle recently for Burzan as his pointless streak extended to six games. The Brandon team around him is still fairly low-scoring but it is starting to see some goals come from depth. Burzan has missed an opportunity to emerge as a star for Brandon in the early part of the season and needs to find his feet soon. As a 19-year-old he is fighting for a contract at the end of this season.

Bowen Byram – D (Vancouver Giants) round 1, pick 4, 2019