Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25 Recap

The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Mile High Hockey staff. Eight writers have ranked players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2022, in the Colorado Avalanche organization. Each participant used their own metric of value to rank each player.

The price of a Stanley Cup has taken it’s toll on the depth of the youth in the Avalanche organization and system with several AHLers and long shot prospects now making the list, in fact only three names were even eligible for the Honorable Mentions list. Graduations from Mikko Rantanen, the trade departures of Tyson Jost, Justin Barron and Drew Helleson plus the two-pick 2022 draft class all thinned this list from the 2021 version.

However the top of this group shows the strength of the organization with multiple key contributors to that championship still under 25-years of age. Headlined by the superstar himself Cale Makar but also the top three trio with Bowen Byram and Sam Girard is an exciting and formidable group which rivals any team in the league. They are the backbone of the Avalanche and will pay dividends for years to come.

There’s still hope among the rest with some intriguing names hoping to establish themselves on the Avalanche roster sooner than later. Ben Meyers is the newcomer but an anticipated contributor and Alex Newhook is expected to take a step after a productive rookie season. Oskar Olausson could be in a position to make his NHL debut this season and there’s always a chance another prospect will surprise and get an opportunity.

How does your list differ? Any surprises in the rankings? Or predictions for the 2023 list? Let us know in the comments.

2022 Top 25 Under 25

#1: Cale Makar

#2: Bowen Byram

#3: Sam Girard

#4: Alex Newhook

#5: Ben Meyers

#6: Oskar Olausson

#7: Justus Annunen

#8: Sean Behrens

#9: Jean-Luc Foudy

#10: Sampo Ranta

#11: Martin Kaut

#12: Alex Beaucage

#13: Mikhail Maltsev

#14: Shane Bowers

#15: Colby Ambrosio

#16: Danila Zhuravlyov

#17: Andrei Buyalsky

#18: Matthew Steinburg

#19: Nikolai Kovalenko

#20: Trent Miner

#21: Keaton Middleton

#21: Wyatt Aamodt

#23: Taylor Makar

#24: Nathan Clurman

#25: Ivan Zhigalov