Avalanche Prospect Portfolio: WJC looms

December is here and that means WJC selection camps are starting up around the world. The Avs are certain to have a handful of prospects at the tournament this year and it’s shaping up to be an exciting and important look at them on the national stage.

Prospect of the Week:

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

Timmins is long overdue for the prospect of the week honors. Timmins is not only the top prospect on the Eagles, but he’s also the best defenseman on the team even when you include the veterans. He might just be the best player on the team as only two players have a higher point total on the season. He has excelled with every opportunity given to him at the AHL level and the Avs will not be able to keep him out of the NHL for much longer.

Pro Standouts:

Sheldon Dries – C (Colorado Eagles) Free agent signing

While I am not sure if I consider Dries a real prospect at this point, he has been a key contributor for the Eagles while they have been missing multiple pieces due to all of the Avs callups. He is more or less a known quantity at the NHL level but with still the majority of the forward callups failing to produce he may still get an NHL game or two this year.

WJC camp invites:

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

Annunen has still yet to record a loss in the Liiga this year. Given his past success with team Finland in tournaments like the U18’s and his absurd stat lines as a 19-year-old in the Liiga, he has to have the inside line to the starter job for Suomi. If the tournament goes well for him you can expect the hype to break out of the Avalanche bubble.

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

KHL:

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

Halfway through November Kovalenko found the scoring touch that everyone has been waiting to see at the KHL level. His role has been expanded to a middle-six or even second-line one and he is feasting while continuing to bring a physical, hard-working presence. What’s not to love here?

NCAA:

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

Notre Dame lost three straight in the back half of November and Clurman has felt the struggle. His point production has disappeared and he finds himself catching a lot of minuses on the back end as a shutdown defenseman. The lack of scoring is not particularly surprising but he has to be more consistent on the other side of the puck.

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

Leivermann continues to prove he is an antipode to the Notre Dame way of playing hockey as he has found consistent offense while the team struggles around him. He leads the defense in scoring and is showing flashes of the player we saw in the BCHL two years ago. There might just be something here to keep tabs on.

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

As a senior Morrison continues to show the consistency you would expect of an upperclassman. I don’t have much to say here; the expectation is still that he will receive a contract at the end of his season and what he looks like at the professional level will be the jumping-off point.

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

The good news is Smirnov rattled off a six-game point streak in November. The bad news is most of those were single point games in blowout wins. I just don’t think there is much chance of him receiving a contract offer at this point.

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

The lack of offense at the next level was the biggest fear with Stienburg and so far it’s been an issue. Not having point production is one thing but he is struggling to even get involved in the offense regularly going full games without registering a shot. Cornell is a perfect 9 – 0 with a good number of blowout wins as well and Stienburg just can’t find the action.

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

UNO’s schedule is a bit of an oddity. They haven’t played a game since November 23rd but will be one of the few NCAA teams to actually play through December and the holiday break. More updates on him once they get back on the ice.

QMJHL:

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

Beaucage sits just shy of a 50-goal pace which would be a nice little milestone for him to hit if he can keep it up. By now everyone knows he has a shot good enough for the pro level, but the inconsistencies are still cropping up. He hasn’t been able to rattle off a long point streak because he seems to disappear every third game or so.

WHL:

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

How good is Luka Burzan? I struggle with that question. He is clearly quite talented, managing over a point per game in the WHL is impressive, but he’s not dominant. He doesn’t take over games, he just kind of chugs along doing his thing playing smooth and effective. A change of scenery may or may not help him but it would certainly help viewers get a better grasp of what he is.