Colorado Avalanche: Top 10 prospects entering the 2018 season

9. Denis Smirnov, RW/LW [20 years old]

Stats (Penn State University, NCAA): 30 gp, 15 g, 12 a, 27 p, 6 PPG, 3 GWG, .90 pts/g.

A good season in the NCAA can get it all back, however, and could mean a bigger step towards being a member of the Avalanche.

Denis Smirnov is close to the rear on this list not because of a bad season – no, he did quite well in the NCAA, but because he took a step back from what was an extremely excellent freshman year.

Smirnov went from 47 points to 27 points, dropping four goals from 19 to 15. That kind of step back, especially in a prospect pool as deep as the Colorado Avalanche’s, is a bad sign for development.

Smirnov still has the ceiling of being an NHL player and remains a decent goal scorer. His NHL readiness is clearly nowhere near where it should be, and the chance that he plays for the Colorado Avalanche is slipping away. A good season in the NCAA can get it all back, however, and could mean a bigger step towards being a member of the Avalanche.