Getting to know the 2026 Avalanche draft class

The Colorado Avalanche added nine players to their prospect pipeline on a busy second day of the NHL Draft after they sat out the opening night after years of trading first-round picks. Thanks to the trades of Ross Colton and Val Nichushkin, the Avs ended up with two picks inside the top 100.

Let’s go through them as best we can and get to know the newest members of the Avalanche organization.

43rd overall – Egor Shilov, C, Victoriaville Tigres (QMJHL)

An electric offensive talent, Shilov is the Avalanche using their early second-round selection to take a swing on a high-risk, high-reward type of prospect. Shilov’s offense popped in the QMJHL this season as he racked up 82 points (32G, 50A) in 63 games before adding five points (2G, 3A) in four playoff games.

The talent is the appeal with Shilov as he’s far from the safe pick the Avs have been known for making in recent years, but the Avs don’t have many picks in the top 50 so they decided to roll the dice with a player whose upside is that of a future second-line center.

One of the more popular player comparisons for Shilov was Mikael Granlund. Needless to say that if he becomes that type of player, the Avalanche hit this pick out of the park.

Shilov’s size is almost irrelevant as his 6’1″, 176-pound frame mostly goes to waste because Shilov is averse to physical contact on most nights. Driving home what an odd profile he has, Shilov is actually an effective defensive player despite not liking to touch other players. He uses his stick well and the high-end vision that makes him such a wonderful playmaker offensively translates defensively because he reads passing lanes and has great spatial awareness.

The skating isn’t good enough to make me think that he sticks at center long term, but if he can clean up his stride and add some pace to his game, his value would go up significantly.

Shilov will play one more year in the Q before heading to Penn State University for 2027.

My good friend Jesse Marshall, who covers the Pittsburgh Penguins, made a YouTube video of some of his highlights. Enjoy!

74th overall – Beckett Hamilton, Red Deer Rebels (WHL)

Like Shilov, Hamilton is currently a center who probably transitions to the wing in pro hockey. Hamilton does what he can to play with pace and energy every second he’s on the ice. At 5’11”, 170 pounds, Hamilton doesn’t have great size, but he makes the most of it with an extreme tryhard attitude.

The skating isn’t great, but he makes up for it with pure hustle. If you’re sensing the theme that his playstyle is defined by how hard he works, that’s because it is his defining trait as a hockey player.

We aren’t talking about an overly gifted offensive player despite scoring 62 points (24G, 38A) in 67 games with five points (2G, 3A) in five playoff games, but his attitude is all about going hard to the net and shooting, shooting, and some more shooting. His shot is his best physical ability, but it isn’t a skill that looks like it’s going to translate to pro hockey at the same level.

That’s the rub with a lot of Hamilton’s game.

How much is actually translatable? I’m not sure that a lot of it will be, but because he’s such a smart player who plays his tail off, who has a decent enough shot to chip in with some offense, he has a chance.

Hamilton is clearly a guy who “gets it” and will be a coaching staff‘s dream. He’s coachable, has an insane work ethic, and will do anything he can to get where he wants to go. There’s a lot of love for Hamilton in the scouting community because of the intagibles, but there’s also a tacit admission that the odds are stacked against him because of limited physical tools.

If you wanna do some YouTube scouting, I have you covered.

126th overall – Tobias Tvrznik, Wenatchee Wild (WHL)

Sticking to their habit of taking players who have been eligible for the draft at least once already, the Avs drafted Tvrnik in his second draft-eligible season.

He is committed to Ohio State University beginning in the fall of 2027.

He had a solid year in the WHL. I don’t know a whole lot to say about goaltending prospects, so I’ll turn this over to the Elite Prospects Draft Guide.

Here’s a YouTube scouting piece.

The player comparison of former Avs goaltender Jonas Johansson is kind of amusing, too.

128th overall – Axel Elofsson, D, Orebro HK U20 (U20 Nationell)

Now this is an Avalanche draft pick.

A 5’10”, 169-pound defenseman, Elofsson is the classic Avalanche archetype of defender – small, quick, and electric with the puck. Elofsson was wildly productive in the Swedish Under-20 league, producing 41 points (9G, 32A) in just 32 games played. His mobility and puck-moving acumen are the selling points with Elofsson.

He’s an ace moving the puck thanks to his vision and hockey IQ, but he doesn’t play the game with an ounce of physicality thanks to his diminutive stature. He plays an Avalanche brand of hockey already as his mindset with the puck is attack, attack, attack. He does it through the neutral zone with possession and by creating passing lanes by drawing in defenders and exploiting the space they vacated.

He’s great on his skates with good balance, though he isn’t as explosive a skater as you’d like from a player whose size is going to be his greatest limiting factor. In order for those guys to succeed in the NHL, they usually need a truly standout trait and it normally needs to start with skating. While good, he isn’t elite on his feet and it will make breakouts and retrievals an area of concern as he gets into higher levels.

Elofsson’s defensive game is a major concern as his tryhard and execution were both lacking. If that’s the case against fellow under-20 players, how will it look against bigger, stronger, and more skilled players awaiting him in pro hockey?

He’s got a fun offensive upside, but the limitations are a serious concern.

Check out some of the YouTube scouting on him and see how you feel coming out of it.

140th overall – Cole Tuminaro, D, Chicago Steel (USHL)

The stylistically opposite of Elofsson, Tuminaro is a behemoth of a defenseman at 6’4″, 225 pounds and he plays the way you want a person with his build to play. Just about the only similarity he and Elofsson has is they’re both right-shot defensemen going into an organization where the right side is already stacked at the NHL level.

Tuminaro is a hammer on the back end who lacks offensive punch, having recorded just 16 points (5G, 11A) in 54 games for Chicago in the USHL. While he’s technically going through his second draft cycle, he missed all but one game of his first draft season because of a dislocated shoulder.

That makes his most recent season his truest “draft season”, if you will, and he took advantage of the opportunity. It’s hard to say that Tuminaro plays with a mean streak because a streak implies that it stops at some point, but Tuminaro’s nastiness does not ever really cease. Despite his size, he bucks the archetype with a strong skating skillset that allows him to excel in transition defense.

Tuminaro will play for Cornell University beginning in the fall.

There’s a lot to like about a defenseman with great size, good mobility, and a nasty edge to his game. There aren’t a lot of clips of him floating around online, but there are a few from the Steel’s Twitter account.

Cole Tuminaro sends a great feed to Chorlton to open the scoring https://t.co/LhAdtycbwz pic.twitter.com/o6rBMDwny8

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) September 6, 2025

Cole Tuminaro hammers a one-timer bomb for a power play goal#FeelSteel #USHL pic.twitter.com/pqxoeFsq0r

— Chicago Steel (@ChicagoSteel) January 24, 2026

152nd overall – Teddy Lechner, D, Academy of Holy Angels (USHS-MN)

Lechner is one of the youngest players in the draft class, as he’s just 17 with an August 22nd birthday, which made him barely eligible for this draft to begin with. With that in mind, it’s not a surprise that such a young player moved around as much as he did as he split time between several places. He played the most games in the same high school that produced Erik Johnson, so the Avs probably have an inside line on Lechner.

Lechner is committed to Augusta University in 2027, so I would expect him to get more reps in the USHL this season where the Muskegon Lumberjacks own his rights and he played 21 games for them this past year.

I don’t have much on him, so I’ll turn it over to Elite Prospects:

195th overall – Shawn Carrier, LW, Halifax Mooseheads (QMJHL)

The Avs opened the first of their three seventh-round picks by taking a player from a familiar locale as they drafted another Halifax Moosehead, this time a left wing named Shawn Carrier.

Carrier was an arrow-up guy throughout the season after going undrafted in his first go-round of the draft cycle last season. He went from a respectable 44 points in 59 games to 65 points (37G, 28A) in 61 games this year. He did fail to score a goal in four playoff games, but he snagged two assists so he wasn’t shutout entirely.

Carrier’s game is simple and repeatable, which is a big part of the appeal in the seventh round. He moves well enough to make his aggressive forechecking mentality work. He isn’t going to wow anyone with his skill level, but he is a player whose game translates well to pro hockey. He seeks out contact, then takes the puck and looks to make a play to the middle of the ice.

If he can up his pace a bit and develop a consistent scorer’s touch around the net, he could be a factor for the Avs. He is headed to Boston University in the fall of 2027, so he’ll have one more year of play in the QMJHL.

Here’s video of a hat trick he recorded this season.

214th overall – Ondrej Ruml, D, Ottawa 67s (OHL)

Ruml made a successful transition from the Czech U-17 leagues to the OHL, a task that is harder than it sounds when you consider that the transition to North American hockey is a rocky one for many.

Ruml wasn’t overly productive with 28 points (10G, 16A) in 66 games, but he showed a scorer’s touch from the blueline but also an ability to generate offense as part of a connected unit. That’s great, but draft prospects typically standout because they drive play with individual traits that create the offense.

That wasn’t the case with Ruml and will be a big part of his development track next season. He needs to be looking to use his solid mobility to generate heat on offense. If he can do that, this could be a legit steal in the seventh round for the Avalanche.

It’s YouTube scouting time!

215th overall – Alexandre Raymond, G, Rouyn-Noranda (QMJHL)

The second goaltender of this draft class, Raymond adds to a prospect cupboard full of intriguing netminders. Here’s what Elite Prospects had to say, followed by some YouTube highlights.