DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club made nine selections at the 2026 NHL Draft, held at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, N.Y. The nine draft picks are tied for the most the Avalanche have made since the Draft was reduced to seven rounds in 2005, matching the 2024, 2007 and 2005 Draft classes.
Colorado’s 2026 Draft Class features four defensemen, three forwards and two goaltenders.
After acquiring the 43rd overall pick on Thursday, the Avalanche used the second-round selection on forward Egor Shilov from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League’s Victoriaville Tigres. Shilov, 18, skated in 63 games for Victoriaville in 2025-26 and registered 82 points (32g/50a). He paced the club in points and assists while checking in second in goals and power-play points (31). Additionally, Shilov appeared in four QMJHL playoff games and chipped in five points (2g/3a).
The 6-foot-1, 176-pound forward was selected as the winner of the Michel Bergeron Trophy, awarded to the QMJHL offensive rookie of the year. He paced the circuit in points among first-year players while earning a spot on the league’s All-Rookie Team. Additionally, the forward’s 82 points ranked seventh among all QMJHL skaters. Entering the draft, Shilov was ranked 19th in Central Scouting’s final prospect rankings of North American skaters.
Prior to joining the QMJHL, Shilov played one season for the United States Hockey League’s Green Bay Gamblers and recorded 28 points (11g/17a) in 39 regular-season games and added two points (1g/1a) in two Clark Cup Playoff showings in 2024-25. The Tyumen, Russia, native competed in the Yunost Yekaterinburg minor hockey program before coming to North America ahead of 2024-25.
Shilov is expected to return to Victoriaville in 2026-27 and has committed to Penn State University for 2027-28.
With their next pick, also acquired in a trade, the Avalanche chose forward Beckett Hamilton from the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels in the third round (74th overall). Hamilton, who ranked 33rd among North American skaters by Central Scouting, posted 62 points (24g/38a) in 67 regular-season games and added five points (2g/3a) in five playoff contests. He led Red Deer in both goals and assists in his age-17 season and ranked ninth in scoring among all draft-eligible WHL prospects.
From Jan. 9 on of this past season, Hamilton found the scoresheet in 25 of Red Deer’s final 32 regular-season games, producing 36 points (14g/22a) in that span. That stretch saw the forward improve from 75th in Central Scouting’s midseason’s rankings to the final No. 33 slot he finished with.
A native of Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hamilton has skated in 137 career WHL regular-season games from 2023-26 and put up 87 points (38g/49a). In 2024-25, the centerman notched 25 points (14g/11a) as a rookie and produced the fifth-most tallies by a 16-year-old in Rebels history.
The 2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship was Hamilton’s first experience representing his country and he recorded three points (3g/0a) in five games, finishing tied for second on Team Canada in tallies.
The 126th overall pick was the first and only of Colorado’s own that the team selected in 2026, and it was used on goaltender Tobias Tvrznik in the fourth round. Tvrznik played for the WHL’s Wenatchee Wild in 2025-26 and sported a 16-18-4 record, a .913 save percentage, a 3.10 goals against average and one shutout over 39 games. The campaign earned him a spot on the WHL’s Second All-Star Team for the Western Conference.
Tvrznik is a native of Litomerice, Czechia but ranked eighth among North American goaltenders according to Central Scouting’s final 2026 rankings. In 2024-25, he played the bulk of the season with HC Sparta Praha’s under-20 team and registered a 17-7-0 regular-season record, a .926 Sv%, a 2.59 GAA and two shutouts over 24 contests. That campaign also saw six playoff games in the under-20 circuit – where the right-handed-catching netminder went 3-3 with a .927 Sv% and a 2.59 GAA – as well as his professional debut when he got in on game for HC Stadion Litomerice in Czechia’s second tier league.
2025-26 was Tvrznik’s first season in North America. He is expected to return to Wenatchee for 2026-27 and is committed to Ohio State University for the 2027-28 season. He represents Colorado’s first of two goaltending draft choices in 2026.
Colorado on the clock two picks later and chose defenseman Axel Elofsson with the 128th overall selection. Elofsson, 18, played the majority of the 2025-26 season with Orebro HK in the Swedish Jr. league. He rang up 41 points (9g/32a) in 32 U20 Nationell games and added 11 points (2g/9a) in 14 postseason contests in that league. He was tabbed the U20 Nationell Best Defenseman after leading the circuit in assists and points by rearguards and checked in fifth in goals. He also made his professional debut and suited up in six SHL games for Orebro.
The Ulricehamn, Sweden, native made his J20 Nationell debut in 2024-25 and has produced at over a point per game in his two combined under-20 campaigns, recording an 18g/55a scoring line in 70 such contests. Ranked 29th for international skaters by Central Scouting, Elofsson has two more seasons of junior eligibility in Sweden’s under-20 circuit.
Elofsson captured gold at the 2026 IIHF U-18 World Championship and contributed four points (0g/4a) in seven games. He also medaled at the 2025 Hlinka Gretzky Cup where he paced the tournament in assists (2g/9a) in five games en route to winning silver.
In the fifth round, the Avalanche traded picks No. 149 and 222 to New Jersey for No. 140, and took defenseman Cole Tuminaro from the USHL’s Chicago Steel. Tuminaro, 19, ranked 96th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting. He collected 16 points (5g/11a) in 54 regular-season games this past season and shared the team-lead among defensemen in goals in addition to checking in tied for second among that cohort in scoring. He also ranked second among Chicago skaters in shorthanded assists with two.
A native of South Beloit, Ill., Tuminaro spent the 2023-24 season with Sioux Falls (USHL) before joining the Steel. He picked up six points (1g/5a) in 42 regular-season games and dressed in one playoff contest where he was kept off the scoresheet. After suffering an upper body injury, Tuminaro played one game and missed the rest of the 2024-25 season recovering from surgery.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound defenseman has committed to Cornell University for 2026-27.
With the 152nd overall selection, Colorado picked defenseman Teddy Lechner. Officially taken from the Minnesota High School hockey circuit, Lechner, 17, made appearances on four teams in 2025-26, including 23 games for the Academy of Holy Angels where he recorded 38 points (7g/31a). Ranked 136th among North American skaters by Central Scouting, Lechner also played 21 games for the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks, recording two points (0g/2a), but was with them during their playoff run and recorded two points (0g/2a) in 14 Clark Cup postseason contests. He also dressed in three games for the National Team Development Program’s Under-17 club (0g/0a) and saw 15 games of action for Team APX in the Upper Midwest HS Elite League Hockey circuit, contributing 10 points (1g/9a).
Including the previous two campaigns prior to his draft season, Lechner recorded 82 points (17g/65a) in 73 games with Academy of Holy Angels from 2023-26. The Bloomington, Minn., native is committed to Augustana University for 2027-28.
Lechner’s cousin, David Shute, was an eighth-round pick by the Penguins in the 1989 NHL Draft (163rd overall) and enjoyed a professional hockey career in the ECHL, CHL and Germany.
For the first of three seventh-round selections, Colorado drafted forward Shawn Carrier from the QMJHL’s Halifax Mooseheads with the 195th overall pick. Carrier, 19, recorded 65 points (37g/28a) in 61 regular-season games with Halifax this past season and added two points (0g/2a) in four postseason showings. The 5-foot-11, 187-pound forward led the Mooseheads in tallies and finished second in points and third in helpers. Ranked 178th among North American skaters in Central Scouting’s Final rankings, Carrier served as an alternate captain in what was his second season with the organization.
A native of Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, Carrier has registered 120 points (63g/57a) in 179 career QMJHL contests as well as seven points (1g/6a) in 19 career postseason games. He spent the 2024-25 campaign with Halifax but suited up for Moncton the season before that which kick-started his QMJHL career. Carrier is committed to Boston University for 2027-28.
The middle of two Colorado’s three seventh-round picks was defenseman Ondrej Ruml of the Ottawa 67’s in the Ontario Hockey League. Ruml, 18, recorded 28 points (10g/18a) in 66 regular-season OHL games in 2025-26 and added one point (0g/1a) in nine OHL postseason contests. He ranked 10th on the 67s in points and tied for eighth in goals.
Ranked 157th among North American skaters by Central Scouting, Ruml’s 2025-26 was his first season in North America after playing his minor hockey in the Czech Republic. The 6-foot, 172-pound forward played five games for HC Dynamo Pardubice’s under-20 club and notched two points (0g/2a) in 2024-25. He also spent part of that season on the under-17 team where he compiled 40 points (9g/31a) in 41 showings.
A native of Boskovice, Czechia, Ruml represented his country at the 2026 IIHF Under-18 World Championship and grabbed six points (0g/6a) in seven contests to help the Czechs claim bronze. In that showcase, Ruml finished with the most points (6) and assists (6) by a defenseman.
Colorado’s final pick, (215th overall) was used to select a second goaltender in Alexandre Raymond. Raymond, 18, spent the last season with the QMJHL’s Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and registered a 7-4-4 record, a .914 save percentage, a league-leading 2.09 goals against average and two shutouts through 18 regular-season contests. Among qualified League netminders, the 6-foot-4, 201-pound goaltender also ranked tied for fifth in Sv%.
Ranked 27th among North American Goalies by NHL Central Scouting, Raymond was a product of the Magog Cantonniers Quebec AAA program before making the jump to the QMJHL. He spent parts of three seasons with Magog (2022-25) and won a Telus Cup Championship.
Raymound, along with Tvrznik, were a part of an NHL record 32 goaltenders selected in a seven-round NHL Draft.
