It’s hard to predict where this season is going to go in terms of roster build. Often times, the storylines in August or September have no bearing on the roster by January, let alone after the trade deadline and into the postseason. But that doesn’t take away from the competitive nature of some of the talent in the pipeline.

The Avs have struggled with developing homegrown talent and prospects in recent years. This is well documented. They’ve not had much luck with guys on entry-level contracts making an impact since Alex Newhook and Bowen Byram.

But they’re hoping that could change this year.

Here are four inexperienced skaters that could make a difference at camp, and earn a permanent role in the lineup.

Zakhar Bardakov

This is the most obvious choice. Not necessarily because he’s already the best of the bunch; he might be. But because general manager Chris MacFarland went out of his way twice in June to mention Bardakov as a possible opening night player without even being asked.

Bardakov is a center, which the Avs need. He’s also 24 years old and has years of experience playing against top talent in the KHL. So he’s not necessarily a true pro hockey rookie.

At his age, and coming from the KHL, he’s likely not interested in being a full-time AHL player. He’ll have to earn his roster spot and after that, trust with Jared Bednar to get the ice time he wants. But that starts with a strong first impression at training camp.

If Bardakov cracks the opening night roster, he’d likely play with Joel Kiviranta and Parker Kelly. That’s not a bad pair of hard-working players to learn from. It could help him develop his game and trust with the coach.

Nikita Prishchepov

This might be the most intriguing one, at least to me. I’d argue that, of all the AHL regulars who are probably going to get called up at some point this season, Prishchepov is the most talented. He’s got the most finesse, skill, and probably even potential to be a legitimate middle six point producer in the NHL.

But we’ve seen this story before. The Avs have had talented prospects come through the pipeline that haven’t developed into NHL regulars. Guys like Sampo Ranta, Shane Bowers, and Martin Kaut come to mind.

Could Prishchepov be different? I know the production wasn’t there, but he was up there with Ivan Ivan as one of the more impressive AHL depth options last season. He’s also been skating at Family Sports for weeks and working hard to really ensure he can make an impression at training camp.

Gavin Brindley

This is a player we probably should be talking about more. Brindley wasn’t just a throw-in from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood deal. He’s a 21-year-old prospect that the Avs had high on their draft list in 2023 when they selected Calum Ritchie and Mikhail Gulyayev late in the first round.

Brindley ended up getting selected No. 34 overall — just seven spots after Ritchie and three behind Gulyayev.

Listed at just 5’8, 173 lbs, Brindley is going to have his work cut out for him. At that size, he’ll need to be strong on the forecheck and play a fearless brand of hockey to stick out, especially with Bednar.

He’s probably the only guy I’d put up there with Prishchepov in terms of raw talent.

Ivan Ivan

I mentioned him earlier, but if anyone was closest to achieving this goal in 2024-25, it was him. Ivan dressed in 40 games for the Avalanche in a depth role. He had flashes of offensive production early in the season, but that went away as the season progressed.

But just having that experience will work in Ivan’s favor. He did enough last year to earn Bednar’s trust, and he likely has the most insider information from this group on what the head coach wants from a depth forward. Can he capitalize on that?

The post 4 Prospects That Could Earn a Permanent Roster Spot With Avalanche appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Thanks again to everyone who submitted a question!

Read More: Avalanche Mailbag 1.0: Stanley Cup Window, Offseason vs Mid-Season Trades, and the Landeskog Effect

Question from Taro Tsujimoto

The post Avalanche Mailbag 2.0: Necas’ Next Contract, Trade Value, and Bottom-Six Depth Uncertainty appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

That was the message from the start of the offseason, as soon as teams started to call for Colorado’s veteran third-line center. Given the lack of options on the market, any team needing depth at the position was going to need to overpay for what would usually be the cost for someone of Coyle’s caliber.

Read More: Avalanche UFA Board: Bottom Six Depth Options Remain on The Market

But there was more to it.

NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman recently said on Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts podcast that the Avalanche were leveraging Coyle to clear another contract off the books.

“The thing I heard about Coyle is that, Colorado made it very clear that if you were going to get him, you were probably going to have to take Miles Wood, too,” Friedman said. “Wood needed a change of scenery, it just didn’t work out in Colorado.

“Columbus could do that. That is one way that Columbus’ cap flexibility won the day for them. They got Coyle because they were willing to take Wood.”

Ultimately, in the span of three months, the Avalanche used Coyle’s value to rid themselves of two contracts that weren’t working out for them. Colorado got Coyle and a fifth-round draft pick from the Boston Bruins in a deal for Will Zellers, a second-round draft pick, and Casey Mittelstadt, who was on the first of a three-year deal paying him $5.75 million per season. Mittelstadt is already slotted in as the third-best center on Boston’s depth chart, behind Elias Lindholm and Pavel Zacha. There’s no saying if he’ll fit in on that team.

Was it an overpay? Sure, if you consider who Colorado gave up to get Mittelstadt in the first place. But selling off a mid-level prospect and a second-round draft pick was great to get off a player that wasn’t working for them, and eating a large portion of their cap.

Wood was in a similar situation. His first year with the Avs was fine, but last season was a mess. He’s now dealing with back issues and might never be the same player, at least not in Colorado. With four years remaining at $2.5 million per season, getting off of his deal without having to pay to do so, was something Chris MacFarland needed to do.

When you consider that Columbus gave up a prospect better than Zellers in Gavin Brindley, in addition to a second-round draft pick and a third-round draft pick, it’s a great deal for Coyle, who was slotted in as a third-line center. And it also meant moving on from Wood.

If you combine all the trades, the Avs basically swapped Zellers for Brindley, swapped second-round draft picks, and gained a third and fifth round pick to get off of Mittelstadt and Wood’s combined $8.25 million in cap space, and in the process they got Coyle for a playoff run that admittedly should’ve gone better than it did this past season.

It’s a tidy bit of business that finally gives Colorado cap flexibility for the first time since they won the Stanley Cup in 2022.

The post Report: Avalanche Used Charlie Coyle to Solve Their Miles Wood Problem appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

“Going back to his draft year, he’s a high-motor, tenacious player that plays with really good pace. That book has just traveled and followed him to pro hockey,” Avs GM Chris MacFarland said about the 20-year-old Florida native on Friday at a media conference. “When we were talking with them, he was a player that our pro scouts piggybacked on to what our amateur side was seeing and thought it was a good player that plays the way we like to play.”

The move freed up $7.75 million and added a highly-touted prospect to the development pool. But there are still moves to be made for the team to solidify its bottom six. The top six are locked in with Gabe Landeskog’s return and multi-year contracts for Nathan MacKinnon, Valeri Nichushkin, Artturi Lehkonen and Brock Nelson. Martin Necas is in the final year of his contract this upcoming season. The unknown is Jonathan Drouin, who is an unrestricted free agent come July 1.

The Avs were eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs in seven games by the Dallas Stars. MacFarland and president of hockey operations, Joe Sakic, said in their end-of-the-season exit conference that they felt they had the team to win a Stanley Cup. Offseason changes were undoubtedly going to be made.

“When you have expectations to try and win, you’re going to make decisions on trying to win. I think that’s what we’ve done and this year it didn’t work,” MacFarland said. “We all still feel the sting of that, but we feel we have a good hockey team and a competitive team, and it just didn’t work.”

Avalanche management still has work to do. MacFarland mentioned that a qualifying offer needed to be made to defenseman Sam Malinski, along with “holes” in the roster requiring attention.

“We’ve got (Zakhar) Bardakov coming over, so we’re excited to see what he can do in that mix in training camp. We know what we’ve got in terms of cap space and roster holes, so you do the math, you try and figure out what’s the average that we can spend and how do we put it together and make the math work,” MacFarland said. “We’ll look at anything we can to improve, including the back end. The only area really that we’re probably set as we sit tonight is in net.”

Colorado has one pick each in the third, fourth, and seventh rounds in this year’s draft. Stay tuned for more action in the near future.

The post Avs Still Have Work to Do After Coyle, Wood, and Brindley Trade appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.

Brindley, was drafted No. 34 overall in 2023. The 20-year-old was available when the Avs selected Calum Ritchie and Mikhail Gulyayev late in the first round that year, and Colorado was very interested.

Listed at 5’9, 168 lbs, Brindley spent two years with the Michigan Wolverines, capped off with a 53-point season in 40 games in 2024. He played one NHL game for the Jackets after signing his entry level deal.

Last season, Brindley played 53 games for the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and had 17 points. He spent the majority of the year as a right-winger but played center a handful of games, too.

So basically…

OUT:
Casey Mittelstadt
Miles Wood
Will Zellers
2nd Round Pick

IN:
Gavin Brindley
2nd Round Pick
3rd Round Pick
(Coyle for one playoff run)

5 months ago the Avs had a struggling $5.75 million center and a $2.5 million winger. Both now off the books.

— Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) June 27, 2025

Coyle, 33, is in the final year of a contract paying him $5.25 million. He was acquired by the Avs at the March 7 trade deadline in a deal that sent Casey Mittelstadt, prospect Will Zellers and a second-round draft pick to the Boston Bruins.

Coyle finished the regular season strong after a slow offensive start with the Avs. He had two goals and 13 points in 19 regular-season games before scoring just one goal in a seven-game series loss to the Dallas Stars.

The Avs locked up Brock Nelson for $7.5 million earlier in the month to center the second line, and Coyle’s salary was likely too much of a luxury. Before the trade, Colorado had just $1.2 million in available cap space and still had a handful of spots that needed to be filled.

With Nelson and eventually John Tavares both signing before the first day of free agency, a weak center market become even weaker. Coyle, who is a strong middle-six center, likely became an asset that the Avs could cash in on.

And they did. They used Coyle’s value to rid themselves of Wood’s contract. Wood has four years and a $2.5 million AAV remaining on his deal. He struggled with injuries for most of the 2024-25 season, and was a healthy scratch in the playoffs for all but one game.

The Avs are clearing $7.75 million of cap space with this trade, which means they have nearly $9 million in space heading into tonight’s NHL Draft.

The second-round pick in 2027 will be the lower of the two picks the Jackets own that year.

The post Avalanche Clear Cap Space, Trade Coyle and Wood to Columbus For Prospect, Two Draft Picks appeared first on Colorado Hockey Now.