Avalanche development camp observations

Long before the summer ends, there was a glimpse at the current generation of Colorado Avalanche prospects at Family Sports Center this past week. It was three days of practices, the first two in smaller groups and then on the third day Jared Bednar and his staff ran a NHL-style practice with the full group participating.

Arguably the top prospect for the Avalanche in attendance was the newly drafted Beckett Hamilton. The 74th overall pick flashed some individual skill you’d expect for someone taken early in the third round and was one of my top three standouts from the practices. The right handed center has a lot of tools to offer including precise puck handling in traffic, playmaking with good vision, is a volume shooter with a heavy shot and good on his edges. Watching him put a couple plays in sequence together offers an idea of what a well-rounded player Hamilton could be at the next level. As one of the few Avalanche prospects not heading to the NCAA and returning to the CHL this fall, he’s expected to join the Avalanche for NHL training camp in September.

Jake Fisher was my second standout as he really showed the maturity he’s gained in his game through two years playing at DU. There was a polish and poise to his game as well as that consistency and nose for the net, which speaks to his readiness to reach the next level. Drafted in the fourth round in 2024, Fisher is 21-years-old currently and wouldn’t look out of place on the Eagles right now so it will be interesting to see when he decides he’s ready to turn pro.

The third standout from development camp was defenseman Francesco Dell’Elce, who in particular put on a show the third day in the joint practice. He’s gained some confidence and comfort in the process over the last year and was able to show his goal scoring ability the whole morning. Dell’Elce has always reminded of a left handed Malinski but as he begins to round out his game it’s now even more evident. The 2025 third rounder is a good transition player with speed and likes to shoot the puck as well. As he’s heading into his junior year at UMass, perhaps Dell’Elce is not too far off from a pro contract as well.

The rest of the 2026 Avalanche draft class which were in attendance included the two fifth round defenseman Cole Tuminaro and Teddy Lechner. Both have size and are right shots but other than that their games couldn’t be more opposite. Tuminaro has the reputation of being a tough customer and heavy hitter but in this setting with little game action, he didn’t have much opportunity to bring the thunder. I liked that he was able to show other parts of his skill set, and while raw, there were glimpses of speed, puck handling and offense generation that makes him a more interesting prospect than just the token big strong guy in the system. Lechner showed he’s a much more cerebral type and kept up with the group well considering he was drafted just out of high school.

Other prospects of note who were present at development camp was one in Christian Humphreys. He certainly looked confident coming off his Memorial Cup win and was trying to flash a lot of offensive skill. Defenseman Linus Funck had a little more laid back approach but scored on a slap shot in the shootout, which is always fun.

It was an intriguing group of goaltenders with the newly drafted Tobias Tvrznik and Alexandre Raymond on hand. So was 2024 fifth round pick Louka Cloutier who had an outstanding year at Boston College. All the goalies did well but the one who turned heads the most was the newly signed undrafted free agent Nikita Novosyolov. He might impact the organization more than was perceived when he signed.

On the needs some work end of the spectrum was a trio of defenseman. First, the fact that KHL Nikita Ishimnikov was in attendance at the camp was a surprise because he is not signed to the Avalanche nor is expected to be anytime soon. Still, he took his time this year to partake in this annual organizational activity. At first his smooth skating and puck handling were evident but the skating in transition and play with teammates could use some improvement.

Fellow prospect Tory Pitner has been hampered with injuries and only played in six games with the Pioneers in the last year and it showed as his game now needs to get up to speed. Likewise for Chris Romaine who has only played in 27 games over two seasons at Ohio State, which is probably why he’s transferring to Maine next season.

The Avalanche announced that the next time the prospects are scheduled to hit the ice will be at the annual Rookie Tournament, which will be held in San Jose this year. Colorado is expected to play two games at the showcase on September 12th and 13th. It is highly likely that a day of rookie camp practice will be held in Denver on Friday, September 11th. All details including roster will be released much closer to the event.