The Avs are trying to rebuild their farm system.
Cornell hockey defenseman Sam Malinski signed a two-year contract with the Avalanche on Thursday morning, and Minnesota State forward Ondrej Pavel followed suit later in the day, the second and third NCAA free agents to sign with the organization in the past two days.
Like Western Michigan’s Jason Polin, who signed Wednesday, Malinski was his college team’s captain during the 2022-23 season. He led Cornell to a 2-0-first-round upset of the DU Pioneers in the NCAA Regional this month. Pavel just finished up his junior year at Minnesota State, and was a team captain with the Fargo Force of the USHL in 2019-20.
The Avalanche’s prospect pool was ranked last in the NHL by The Athletic’s Scott Wheeler in January, a natural toll taken by Colorado’s all-in approach to win the 2022 Stanley Cup championship.
A year later, president of hockey operations Joe Sakic and general manager Chris MacFarland are trying to walk the fine line between maintaining the win-now mindset while a championship window remains open and investing in the organization’s future. Former top prospects Bo Byram and Alex Newhook are no longer prospects. The 2019 first-round draft picks are both wrapping up their entry-level deals this season at the NHL level, preparing for restricted free agency in the offseason.
Malinski finished this season with 26 points (eight goals) in 34 games. The 24-year-old is valued for his offensive traits at the blue line, creating for his teammates. He registered 65 points in 91 career college games across three seasons. Pavel tallied 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists) in 94 games over the past three seasons with Minnesota State, and was a key figure in the Mavs’ run to the Frozen Four last year.
Malinski, Pavel and Polin are all reporting to AHL Loveland for a professional tryout with the Colorado Eagles for the remainder of the season. The Avalanche targeted top NCAA players last year as well, signing Hobey Baker finalist Ben Meyers from Minnesota. Meyers ended up appearing in five games during the 2021-22 regular season and 33 more this year. The center, currently playing for the Eagles, got a Stanley Cup ring.
The Avalanche’s top prospect, defenseman Sean Behrens, is the big NCAA name to watch in the team’s system with his college season over. He will either sign an entry-level contract or return to DU for another year.
“He’s the easiest prospect for us to keep tabs on,” MacFarland said in March. “We’re very excited about him, and at the appropriate time at the end of the year we’ll touch base with Sean on sort of a pro plan, whether that’s in the near future or one more year.”
The Avs were open to trading their 2023 first-round draft pick at the deadline but ultimately didn’t. They don’t have a second-, third- or fourth-round pick in the upcoming NHL Draft.
Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.
