Former 2nd Round pick, Stefan Elliott, has been traded to the Arizona Coyotes for 23-year old Brandon Gormley. The transaction comes as no surprise as Elliott had fallen out of favor with the current Avalanche regime, failing to earn an NHL roster spot the past two seasons despite putting up impressive offensive numbers for Colorado's AHL affiliate.
Gormley is also a highly touted prospect that had fallen out of favor with his former team. The 13th overall draft pick in 2010 has bounced around perhaps even more so, playing for multiple major junior and AHL hockey teams since being selected. He has a grand total of four points over 32 games spread out over two seasons. Much like the recently acquired Mikhail Grigorenko, many see Gormley's development as being mishandled; and having played in the QMJHL, it's easy to draw a line back to coach Patrick Roy's stint observing talent while with the Quebec Remparts.
ESPN analyst Corey Pronmon had this to say about Gormley:
A former not just good, but elite prospect, has seen his stock plummet since turning pro. Gormley's strength as a U20 was his hockey sense, and his ability to control a game at both ends. As a pro, he's struggled with the physicality as well as the speed of the game, often getting exposed with outside speed, but also decision making unlike his Junior incarnation.
Again, we don't have many NHL games to create a great statistical analysis, but Gormley was a positive possession player relative to his teammates last season in the games he played. Compared to some of the lower-performing members of the Avalanche defense last year, this could actually be an immediate improvement.
Name | CF%Rel | CF% | CF%off | C+/- | CF | CA | CF60 | CA60 |
Brandon Gormley | 1.12 | 48.73 | 47.61 | -17 | 327 | 344 | 57.07 | 60.04 |
Nathan Guenin | -4.97 | 39.48 | 44.45 | -398 | 747 | 1145 | 41.93 | 64.27 |
Brad Stuart | -4.36 | 39.13 | 43.48 | -424 | 763 | 1187 | 42.73 | 66.48 |
Couldn't be more excited to be part of the @Avalanche! Looking forward to playing in front of great fans in Colorado #Avs
— Brandon Gormley (@bgormley33) September 10, 2015
More as the story develops.