Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #14 Shane Bowers

The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Mile High Hockey community. Eight writers have ranked players under the age of 25 as of July 1, 2021 in the Colorado Avalanche organization. Each participant used their own metric of current ability and production against future projection to rank each player. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.

Shane Bowers comes in at #14 on our T25U25 list this year. Bowers has the capability of being a top player, being drafted in the first round by the Ottawa Senators in 2017. Bowers has flirted with a call-up to the Avalanche in the past, but has not yet gotten an NHL game under his belt.

Unfortunately, his game has fallen off the last couple of years. In 2019/20, he recorded 47 GP with 10G and 17A, with a .57 PPG% . However, in 2020/21 he recorded 28 GP with 7G and 2A, with a .32 PPG%.

This is a worry for him if he wants to break into the fourth line of the Avs, which would be a hard feat with others in front of him such as Sampo Ranta, Martin Kaut and Logan O’Brien who have all gotten NHL time.

Despite this, he is still only 22 years old in a competitive Center position. If Joe Sakic sees no future for Bowers for the Avalanche, it is possible to get a good trade deal using him as a tool. However, he does need to improve his game to get further up the rankings to help the Avs if there are injury woes.

Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images

Bowers plays a very good game along the wall, and can come off the wall quickly to keep the play going. Not only this, but he works well behind the net and trying to get the puck out in front of the crease for a scoring opportunity. This mindset would fit in very well in an Avalanche fourth line that can play rough behind the net and along the boards to earn him and his team some extra points on the night.

Bowers has certainly been successful in the past before breaking into the AHL/NHL scene. at Boston College over two years, he had 28G and 25A in 77 games with a .68 PPG%. Before this, in his two USHL seasons he played 116 games where he had 37G and 47A with a .72 PPG%. He has the talent, he just needs to rekindle it to break through to the NHL level.

As he enters the final year of his Entry-Level Contract, Bowers should be on his toes and prove that he deserves another contract with the Eagles and Avs. Expect him to take his game to the next level and rekindle his USHL form in his final year to be resigned with the organization.

T25U25

#15: Drew Helleson

#16: Sean Behrens

#17: Mikhail Maltsev

#18: Alex Beaucage

#19: Trent Miner

#20: Colby Ambrosio

#21: Dennis Gilbert

#22: Daniil Zhuravlyov

#23: Tyler Weiss

#24: Nikolai Kovalenko

#25: Nick Henry