The next player Colorado drafted was Red Deer Rebels (WHL) forward Beckett Hamilton, whom Pryor called a high-energy speed player.  

“We like the pace of play that he plays at,” Pryor said about Hamilton. “And the drive that he plays with…Beckett’s north-south game is what was really attractive for us.” 

Additionally, the Avalanche made a mid-draft trade, acquiring forward Fabian Lysell from the Boston Bruins for Ivan Ivan.

With the first of its two fifth-round picks, the Avs traded up to select defenseman Cole Tuminaro from the USHL’s Chicago Steel. Pryor gave a lot of credit to Avalanche Head College Scout/Amateur Scout Mike Battaglia, who has had high praise for Tuminaro since September.  

“Every time I talked to Mike, he always mentioned Cole somehow,” Pryor said. “We could’ve been talking about something totally different, but he would keep coming back to Cole…We just felt with Mike’s level of excitement, like I said, the whole season, from his first viewing of Cole of the year, that this is a guy that we wanted to target and move up and try and get.” 

The two goaltenders the Avs selected were Tobias Tvrznik from the Wenatchee Wild (WHL) and Alexandre Raymond from the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies (QMJHL), both of whom the Avs’ goalie department, led by Director of Goaltending Evaluation/Special Projects Craig Billington, were high on.  

“[Billington] was super ecstatic to get Tobias, and then to get Alexandre late in the Draft,” Pryor said. “Both guys they were higher on than where we got them, which makes you feel good. I gotta give credit to Craig. Craig puts a lot of work into it with his goalie department and [Avalanche Goaltender Scout] Pavel Francouz and Rick Wamsley. They spend a lot of time on that, and they’ve got my full trust and the organization’s full trust when it comes to evaluating the goalies, and they were super excited.” 

Several of the players Colorado’s prospects, including some of the players it drafted on Saturday, will be in attendance at Avalanche Development Camp, which begins its open-to-the-public sessions on Tuesday.