Avalanche Prospect Portfolio: Taking steps

It boggles my mind how quickly this season has gone by. With World Junior’s in the rearview most of the Avs’ prospects are starting in on their push for the playoffs and many of them hold the keys to their team’s success.

Pro Standouts:

Shane Bowers – C (Colorado Eagles) Matt Duchene trade piece

Bowers has been a machine for the Eagles over the last month and a half. Since returning from injury he has put up 15 points in 17 games and has moved into a top-six role as well as getting time on the top PP. These are the type of stretches that make it hard to keep a guy out of the NHL and a recent move to the wing for Bowers could indicate a potential callup.

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

After being sidelined for over a month with a lower-body injury Timmins showed his resiliency returning to the lineup and immediately adding two assists to help the Eagles to a win this weekend. Nearly every defenseman in the Avs org has been hit by the injury bug this season. Hopefully, for Timmins, he is over it and can now push for a callup if someone with the big club goes down.

KHL:

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

The key for Kovalenko in the second half has been offensive consistency. His numbers don’t jump off the page and wow you but he has been able to pick up a point here a goal there and settle into a middle-six role for Lokomotiv. His playstyle is built for the NHL and as he continues to fill out has become a bit of a wrecking ball. Loko is a middling team in the Western Conference of the KHL but should make the playoffs and Kovalenko could be a key depth contributor for them.

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

Zhuravlyov was on the middle pairing for Russia at the WJC. He had a solid but unspectacular tournament netting just two assists and being a reliable defenseman on the back end. He regularly deferred to his partner when it came to the offensive zone which is fine but it feels like a missed opportunity to show some of his offensive flash on a global stage. Russia would ultimately take home the silver medal falling just short to Canada.

Liiga (Finland):

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

Finland, unfortunately, did not medal losing in the bronze medal match to Sweden but it would be tough to fault Annunen for that. Annunen did have one stinker against Switzerland but beyond that was very solid and kept an underpowered Finnish team competitive. His crown jewel was shutting out Team USA in the quarter-finals which certainly turned some heads. He was selected as the best player from Finland at the tournament and has since returned to crushing the Liiga, including his sixth shutout of the season last week.

NCAA:

Nate Clurman – D (Notre Dame) round 6, pick 161, 2016

Notre Dame has had a tough go post-winter break, winning just one of their last seven games. Clurman has chipped in points on occasion but has settled in more as a preventer on the back end which is a role he has filled nicely. His pace of play is going to need to take an upturn to make it to the next level and I’m not sure that is something Notre Dame’s systems can give him.

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

Helleson continues to be a steady presence on BC’s blue line which is encouraging to see for a freshman. However, his lack of involvement in the offense is starting to become noticeable. You hardly ever notice him in the offensive zone and he is averaging less than a SOG per game. Still, his smooth and effective defense combined with a solid ability to move the puck intelligently up and out of the zone should not be overlooked. He likely fits the mold of a shutdown type defenseman but can do so with modern stylings of being able to possess the puck.

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

It has been a rough go for Leivermann in January. His scoring dried up entirely and he was not dressed in the last three games. It’s unclear if the scratch is injury-related or not. After a very solid first half, this is a tough setback to take and one that Leivermann needs to overcome in short order if he wants to stay on the path to a contract.

Cam Morrison – LW (Notre Dame) round 2, pick 40, 2016

Morrison has seen himself go cold with no points over his last five games while Notre Dame has floundered. The consistent production he showed to start the year has faltered quite a bit which is no doubt in part due to the fact that the team has scored more than two goals just three times in the last 15 games and Morrison rarely seems able to create for himself.

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

After being cut from Team Canada, Newhook has continued to prove them foolish by crushing the NCAA with seven points in his last six games. He is the highest producing underclassmen on the team and is arguably the team MVP when it comes to in-conference play. His play speaks for itself; he is living up to the 16th pick so far.

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

Ranta was an interesting case at the WJC. The box score looks a bit disappointing with just two assists for a high-octane offensive player but if you saw his games there was a lot more to him. He was consistently able to create opportunities with his speed and strength and was regularly noticeable. The puck just wasn’t going in for him. He also looked passable in his own end, he’s never going to wow anyone there but it wasn’t painful to watch.

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

With just a single point in his last seven games, Smirnov has fallen off quite heavily in the second half. Not much left to say on him, he was a flier pick that just never put it together.

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

After injuring his thumb at the start of December, Stienburg managed to fully rehab over the winter break and return to action with the team. Whatever he did to recover seemed to have worked as he has been significantly more productive in January including notching his first NCAA goal. He still has a long way to go but playing for Cornell as the top-ranked team in the country and a few steps in the right direction are a start.

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

Weiss has settled in as a key forward for UNO leading the team in assists as they try to run the half-court offense through him as much as possible. His size is always going to be a concern but having managed to stay healthy this season is nice and he’s proven he can make his playstyle work even as an underclassman in the usually heavy NCAA. I have reservations about his play driving individually but I do wonder if some of that is the lack of talent around him.

QMJHL:

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

I really didn’t think there was much more to Beaucage’s offensive game then what we had already seen but through January he has shown more of an affinity for setting up his teammates. Having that in the bag keeps teams honest as they can’t just commit to the shot every time he touches the puck. The Huskies have found themselves as a middle of the road team this year but Beaucage has stepped up and become their star player sitting top 5 in the Q for goals.

WHL:

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

The ever consistent now 20-year-old has been a key goal scorer for the Wheaties as they have battled back into contention for the East Division. With Brandon’s younger talents starting to hit their stride, Burzan has found some consistency now that he has quality linemates to work with. After hoping for Burzan to be traded for most of the season, what he can do in the playoffs with this team may be far more interesting.

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

Trent Miner – G (Vancouver Giants) round 7, pick 202, 2019