Top prospects for Colorado Avalanche

NHL.com is providing in-depth roster, prospect and fantasy analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, the top five prospects for the Colorado Avalanche, according to NHL.com.

1. Mikhail Gulyayev, D

How acquired: Selected with No. 31 pick in 2023 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Omsk (KHL): 67 GP, 7-8-15

The Avalanche are excited by the progress the 20-year-old (5-foot-10, 172 pounds) has made entering his fourth season in the Kontinental Hockey League.

"When you draft him young like that, at 18, you just wait for them to get stronger and sturdy over pucks, and we've seen that," director of player development Brian Willsie said. "His skating, believe it or not, has kept improving. So that has made him a more dynamic player. Playing against men in that league the way he has and getting the ice he has is great for him and a great precursor to coming to North America. Watching him improve his puck game, his skating and inserting his strength has been great for us."

Willsie said there's no timetable for Gulyayev to come to North America. The hope is he'll be ready for the NHL when he does.

"When the time is right to get him here and when he's ready to come, then we'll have him,” he said. “We had him over for our development camp a couple years ago, so he's familiar with us and our facilities and Colorado and everything we have going on. ... But knowing he's on a top-tier team in that league, and being well coached, is reassuring for us."

Projected NHL arrival: 2026-27

2. Gavin Brindley, F

How acquired: Traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets on June 27

2024-25 season: Cleveland (AHL): 52 GP, 6-11-17

Brindley (5-8, 173), a second-round pick (No. 34) in the 2023 NHL Draft, was acquired from the Blue Jackets in the trade that sent forwards Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood to Columbus.

"That's a player that we liked in his draft year, and then watched closely in Cleveland last year," Willsie said. "So getting him over to us excites us."

Brindley's first pro season had ups and downs, but Willsie believes the 20-year-old will be better for the experience and wouldn't be surprised to see him earn games in the NHL this season.

"Going back to his draft year, he was a high-motor, tenacious player who plays with really good pace," general manager Chris MacFarland said. "That book has just traveled and followed him to pro hockey. When we were talking with [the Blue Jackets], he was a player that our pro scouts just piggybacked on to what our amateur side was seeing and thought it was a good player that plays the way we like to play."

Projected NHL arrival: This season

3. Sean Behrens, D

How acquired: Selected with No. 61 pick in 2021 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Did not play; 2023-24: Denver (NCAA): 44 GP, 4-27-31

Behrens (5-10, 177) sustained a season-ending knee injury during an October scrimmage, leaving the 22-year-old to spend his first professional season rehabilitating rather than playing.

But Behrens skated at Avalanche development camp in July and is on track to be fully cleared to participate in training camp.

"To have that injury, it's a setback,” Willsie said, “but he's a very mentally strong kid, a young man that's driven, understands the game very, very well.”

Projected NHL arrival: 2027-28

4. Ilya Nabokov, G

How acquired: Selected with No. 38 pick in 2024 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Magnitogorsk (KHL): 49 GP, 23-17-6, 2.22 GAA, .923 SV%, 3 SO

Nabokov (6-0, 179) signed a two-year, entry-level contract on May 30. The plan is for the 22-year-old to play one more season in the KHL.

"You look at the overall development path, what fits for him, where is he going to develop best, and he felt developing best would be one more year in Russia," Willsie said.

Projected NHL arrival: 2026-27

5. Nikita Prishchepov, F

How acquired: Selected with No. 217 pick in 2024 NHL Draft

2024-25 season: Colorado (NHL): 10 GP, 0-0-0; Colorado (AHL): 51 GP, 9-14-23

Prishchepov (6-1, 194) impressed during his first professional season, including 10 games with the Avalanche in a bottom-six role, and the 21-year-old enters training camp with a chance for a full-time spot.

"He's a strong and sturdy player," Willsie said. "He gets in over pucks, he's tough to move off them, really heavy stick. And he was dependable in the NHL. ... He's working on his skating a ton this summer to get a little bit quicker, and we're excited for him in training camp this year."

Projected NHL arrival: This season