Cal Ritchie tops the Colorado Avalanche Prospect Pyramid | DNVR Avalanche Podcast

Cal Ritchie tops the Colorado Avalanche Prospect Pyramid | DNVR Avalanche Podcast

[Music] talking prospects we’re going to be talking a lot of a lot of different guys I don’t think it’s any secret who’s going to be at the top of the list seeing as how I put it in the title but just to start things off we do a prospect pyramid mostly because I think it’s stupid to argue well I think this guy’s number two and this guy’s number three there’s a bunch of prospects that are good that are in the same tier of prospect whether you rank them two three four whatever it might be so why not put them in a tiered pyramid of like here’s this level of prospects tier by tier so we can talk about them that way instead of wasting time arguing semantics over a number next to their name generally speaking just makes more sense Eric I’m curious because I I got this idea years and years and years ago Steve dangle did a prospect pyamid for the Leafs and me and him and a bunch of other guys do it on YouTube ever since how do organ ganizations look at their Prospect pools do they have kind of like a tiered system like that or do they really dig in and and number it out well you can do bull I mean you can do whatever you want numbers or I like to just look at it like the way you just mentioned it right you know a little pyramid little visualization of where each and every guy’s at and and I can promise you that let’s say that the pyramid that we have uh let’s say cmax has that one and organization um it won’t look the same uh four months from now won’t look the same six months from now and for all the reasons right there’s plateaus it’s it’s you know rookie Camp then there’s oh there’s training camp then the start of the respective Seasons wherever you end up are you in the American League are you on your junior team or you know did you make the NHL I don’t know um but I’ll tell you one thing is some guys move at Turtle Pace they really do and then some guys move like rabbits right I mean they just go you know I mean they they go they climb up that ladder you know from two three months and as a player you want to do that you don’t want to just plateau and oh I’m probably a dep guy you know what I mean like I’m projected to maybe be a de guy and maybe call up the American League level you want to make sure that you prove everybody wrong and and I think that if you’re first of all you’ll never know where they have you slotted at but you you kind of know where you’re slotted at but I’ll tell you one thing if you know that you’re not in those top tier groups then do the things that make you get in those top tier group and if you don’t then at the end of the day there’s no regrets and you did everything you can that’s just you didn’t pan out right it’s not easy to be a National Hockey League player it’s not and it’s not like oh just do the right things and it will happen no there’s a lot of factors into it but the good thing is once you’re in those pyramids that means that you’ve done something right up to where you are today and now it’s what you do with it to to climb up and I always say the funnel right the funnel always gets th it’s thinner and thinner and thinner and thinner and everybody always fall out the funnel so it’s it’s fun to see uh what the pyramid is and it’s fun to see where you’re at in the pyramid I imagine it’s it’s more fun for some than others but you know that’s that’s part of like I guess uh we can uh bring up the pyramid if we if we have it ready to go I put six different tiers on it and just to be specific about it we only took players under 25 that have less than 15 NHL games that would be mostly just to eliminate players like Sam molinsky and eustus Ann and then Nikolai kovalenko as well because let’s be honest having those as prospects is kind of cheating at a certain point uh in your organization so we only have players that you know we can actually consider prospects in my opinion at the very least uh we start at the bottom here we’re probably not going to spend a whole lot of time on this steer because if I’m honest when you look at tier six this is mostly guys where at least in my opinion it’s difficult to see a path for the NHL for them that includes the carb barakov uh Andre bolski Mar jishka sampo rant Shamil shakov and Ivan yunin now the two interesting names here are jishka and sampo ranta jishka coming off of a injury that essentially held them out all of last season there was some interesting stuff from him in the uh the prospect face off and and and otherwise and then s rant a really weird case where he has NHL games with the ABS his time in the NHL he did not really look ready but then ultimately decided to leave the NHL and go play over in Sweden are is there realistically any hope for someone like aranta to come back to the NHL or is that just a pipe dream it it seems like a challenging path back just to have made the commitment to move to moto hockey yeah as young as he did you know there are players because the AVS are scouting overseas and have a lot of European represent presentation that will still be following what he’s doing overseas but I think the greatest way to have made an impression would have been sticking around um so I don’t know what the path back looks like for samp rant and for what it’s worth he had an interesting time acclimating to the Pro game like at the North American um like the American League level it was good but at the NHL level the processing was challenging for him and so that’s the other part that I’m sort of leaving out of the equation that I think is challenging for sampar rant to come back over and make an NHL impact because that was the part of his game that I think needed to grow the most and he has removed himself from the system that could help him the most agreed yeah uh Jed Lea I think he can be you know I think as model should be Ivan right give and take you know forget about the type of player I’m talking about the situation make the best out of it do something uh which it sound like he was about to do last year and then the injury slowed it down but um yeah I mean this is a guy that he should look at what happened to Ivan Ivan last year and try to duplicate that um you know who knows where it’s going to take them who knows where it’s going to go who knows what’s you know what’s the ceiling what’s the floor with them not too sure because again we don’t have a big sample of him we liked him like rudo said at the rookie face off but besides that which you know there’s not much to go on um as far as sample ranta um for me he’s the typical guy that he looks like a player he I mean you go watch a practice you’re like wow this guy this guy’s good this guy can play uh he looks the part uh and I’ll be very harsh when I say this and I hate saying this I think this is where he tops off the American League I think at the NHL can’t do it um if you’re going to you know tell me that I got to give you a decision right now I would tell you yeah see he will never be able to process it in the NHL it’s not even a a matter of Bo he needs reps or whatever I I don’t think he’s able it’s again it’s the National Hockey League it is so fast is so much faster than the American League and the American League is a great League I think I’ve seen enough I think coaches seen enough where they’re they in their mind if I was his agent uh I I would have suggested to do what he did which is you know what he’ll probably have a better career if you go back overseas um that’s what I would do uh and like I said no offense to the pur I don’t know no offense to the player I think that’s where he topped off was the American League I don’t think he’s an everyday National Hockey League player I think he he’s barely a call up uh and I think that yeah OB see that way and I think that his representation probably sees it that way too or maybe I’m wrong maybe they think he’s getting screwed or whatever I just don’t think he’s an NHL NHL player and I don’t think he ever will be the definition of a player all tools no toolbox there his raw skills certainly has NHL caliber abilities but look you put a lot of players in open Ice with nobody covering them they can do stuff at an NHL level you put a guy bearing down on him things change pretty quickly he Cronin described him as you know a puzzle piece or a puzzle with all the pieces that just couldn’t quite come together cuz you’re right the physical tools are pretty impressive he’s a really heavy physical player a lot of power in his stride yep and has a great head on his shoulders too like attitudinally also just a really great person but it was just everyone is saying it here the processing was challenging for S panta yep on Jed liska’s side I I think he’s probably the most interesting one in this category if you look four months down the line maybe he gets an AHL deal or or an ELC or whatever you want to call it maybe he just plays with the Eagles this year he does well at the AHL level it wouldn’t be hard to see him jump up a couple of tiers in this pyramid as Eric you were talking about before we started with the hey look guys move up and down this thing quickly all the time Jed lka would be the one to watch for me there assuming can he can have a healthy season just because we don’t really know what he is certainly not in North America at very least and if I can if I can add one more thing for that because you’re bang on and I think if you’re the player the best way to ascend to go upwards in in that pyramid is to know where you’re at you know what I mean and I I think you have to have a fair evaluation of what you are and what you need to do to to move forward and I think he’s that ex type of kid like we talked about him I remember last year ran into him and got him an Uber whatever it was and you can tell this kid sharp you can tell this kid is he’s like a sponge he wants to learn and those you’re right those are the types of guys he knows where he’s at he knows what he’s up against wants to get to the top there you know where there’s no more echelons you know to to to climb except you know being in everyday NHL so there I think he knows exactly where he’s at and I think he knows exactly what he want wants to do and this is your right this is the type of guy that could go and climb two three steps there in a matter of like 6 to8 months could has to actually go out and do it still but yeah I hope he considers like right now he’s committed to play in a Czech men’s league next year I hope he considers though making the North American transition you know at 21 years old it seems like a fine time to begin getting acclimated to North American ice and make that adjustment um and play alongside Ivan Ivan and there were rumors last year before his injury that the ads were looking for ways to keep him in North America so I think it’s a real possibility and it’d be a great next stop for him yep agreed that’s tier six that is the are way too small for me to read so let me uh let me pull up my notes here and I’ll tell you the 10 people I put into tier five because I put a lot of people in tier five this time uh all right so this includes luk Clutier laa Clutier Max Karan Christian humph Ivan Ivan Taylor marar Nikita pish shipov Tory pittner Chris Roma and Matt Steinberg this is uh essentially a list of a lot of the new new guys drafted later in the draft as well as some of the guys in previous drafts that maybe have been a little bit slower on their development path as far as Avalanche rights are concerned when you look at the guys I don’t want to say Never As far as their path to the NHL like I might feel about some of the guys deeper on this lineup but most of them probably still have a a long way to go to realistically see them in an NHL game the thing about this tier is you look at a Clutier you look at a Tory pittner you look at guys like Humphries and pris chopov there’s a lot of room for movement out of tier five in in Pre previous years of the pyramid they’re guys that have one year in tier five and the next year they could be as high as tier two so guys in tier five it’s still kind of figuring out who they are as prospects I don’t know Eric how how how many guys in these late round draft pick style of of of players really get opportunities it’s funny because I was talking to someone today and then they gave me the announce like yeah you know you’re drafting these guys and you’re really just getting the uh the outside of the car right you’re not getting the engine you you don’t know the engine you don’t know what they’re made out of and all you you’re looking at just oh it’s a Buick or it’s a you know but you don’t really know what it is because you have you’re not driving them and and I think that in that tier there the the best way to describe it is you you don’t really know what you’re what you got you’re Bang on like you’re juggling with that and you’re like okay what are these guys what is Luca Kucha really going to do you know I’ll use him for an example like really young really raw 17 years old like all you know is he’s a goalie right you know that I’m talking about us as fans and you know really the coaching staff here like you know the only one people that really starting to know it’s more like uh uh Frankie you know that that that that that saw him a lot this year and and the goal tending development people like Billington those guys and and that’s why they decided to take a draic on them you know now to what extent do you know what kind of engine do you have I mean the more you live with it the more you gonna you know deal with them on a daily basis here how’s he going to react to his second year in Chicago and the USHL how’s he going to react after that to move on to you know Omaha and the in NCAA there a lot of steps lot lot of time needed lots of um self uh motivation self- evaluation on on where you want to be so a guy like that yeah I mean it’s it might take a while it might take you know five seven years you know before you and again he’s 17 years old you know I mean it’s it’s not that crazy um and but there’s a lot of guys in there that in that tier right there that probably can make the biggest jump in a matter of like 24 to 36 months you know what I mean because you know use pitner for example I don’t know he’s going to you know du boo sorry Megan and then you know he’s going to Du and then who knows what steps he’s going to take you know what I mean and and you know what is he fifth rounder whatever he was low highi I mean not a high-risk pick you know I mean like right shot defenseman can develop smart he’s gonna go with David Carl and and the great coaching staff had you know Denver Pioneers and then where does he fit where does he what does he what does he look like 36 months from now so those guys have a great ability to jump up a couple steps on that ladder that you’re looking at on that pyramid and then there’s a couple guys there that the law of averages they’ll die there they’ll never move from there they are what they are and and you might even throw them down the tier six and you know for example like uh you know you had the what’s his name buosi I hate the names but you buosi that was at Vermont that you know he transferred this year somewhere as a fifth year or something like that but you’ll probably never come out of that that sixth tier or fifth tier so yeah law of averages you’re going to see some guys there take major steps and then you’re going to see guys they’re absolutely just that’s where they top off it’s uh it’s how it works we’ll get Megan’s thoughts and move into some guys that might actually be pushing for NHL jobs here but if you have a pyramid of applications to get through for a job you’re hiring for make sure you get with indeed if you need to hire you need indeed indeed is your matching and hiring platform with over 350 million Global monthly visitors according to indeed data you can ditch all the busy work and use indeed for scheduling screening and 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Taylor marar and Matt Steinberg in this tier kind of stand out as the players that have the most pressure on them in terms clock shorter for sure yeah exactly that Runway is a lot shorter for them a lot more is known about them you for Steinberg he’s made his Pro debut already and so his challenge right now is separating from his peers in the American Hockey League and that’s really challenging to do to get those minutes we’ve watched players like s ranta get buried in American League lineups so it’s a different sort of challenge than some of these players who just need to go to college and crush it like Chris rain is an intriguing Prospect he’s had maybe some shuffling in where he has landed and is destined now for Ohio State and a lot more just needs to be viewed to know what Chris Roma might become and similarly for Taylor mcar he is very smartly elected to take the longer route because his path to the pros requires it y whereas someone like Ivan Ivan on the younger side makes his Pro debut in this last season earns an NHL contract ra he has a little bit more Runway to play with than say a Taylor ma but it does make the amount of pressure that each of these players face a little bit different it presents unique challenges um and so I’m excited to see what Ma does in his next year with Maine and he talked a little bit about the decision at Dev camp and I think it was the right decision for his path to the pros because that is what he his sight set on and it was awesome to hear talking about working with Andrew kagano over Dev Camp to because it is someone he could really learn from his path to the NHL is going to look different from Ivan Ivans and Matt Steinberg hopefully leaning on someone like Andrew cogliano as well there’re going to be things that they have to do in this next year especially Matt Steinberg playing another year with the Eagles that I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that he gets an NHL debut but it’s a very short Leash too you know Sant earned NH games too and we’re already discussing that his path back to the NHL looks pretty unlikely so it’s a challenging tier for them to be in for someone like Christian humph there’s still so much onway left too same with Clutier the goalie so it’s an intriguing tier um and as we move up I think it starts to get a little clearer or like they’re more aligned in the stages in their development that they’re in um but it is interesting how different it is in this one certainly a lot of different question mark but question marks nonetheless and and I don’t want to be harsh but the reality is of these two tiers there’s what 15 names across these two tiers if one of them plays NHL games even semi-regularly for the AVS it’s a win for the organization so it’s really hard to make the NHL put it to you that way uh I think we can move on to tier number four now and start getting into and you know maybe some of the more realistic prospects tier four is one where look I’ll be honest some of these guys are in tier four just because of pedigree maybe being dra drafted a little bit higher than some of the other guys on this list uh Sage Weinstein the ABS actively sought out and gave a contract to and then Trent Miner the one who’s really probably worked his way into this tier more than some of these other guys as he’s been in the organization for a while but just to go over it we have Jake fiser we have Sage Weinstein we have William Z and we have Trent Miner in this category let’s be let’s be real I don’t know that any of these guys are particularly close to the NHL today no matter how I maybe particularly feel about any of these guys the Avalanche as an organization in Weinstein’s case went out and give him a contract in Minor’s case have consistently been giving him more and more responsibility every year and in the in the case of fiser and zers have been willing to spend higher round picks on these guys so they at least see NHL upside in some of these players but for for them I guess what do the paths start to look like if these guys are going to push for an NHL job well for Trent Miner it’s to secure the net in Loveland and become the starting goal tender there you know for a seventh round I believe pick to even get a full-time American leag goal tender out of the deal is not a bad result and to his credit too that path for a goal tender always is a little bit long and winding and let me see how old is Trent Miner 23 and he’s right at where he needs to be um in terms of where a goal tender should be in that stage of their career and the next step is just to make that net his own and not really allow for there to be too much Vision between who gets the starts if they’re pretty evenly split between him and a vet I could see that happening but it’s his to lose at this point because I think he hasn’t always been given the fairest showings honestly I think he’s done everything asked of him through this point and made a really great case for him in this last year he gets a little bit injured at the end of it but it was otherwise his net and so he did a great job of that I think that’s his path forward which still requires though another year in the American League before we’re even talking about anything NHL related yep and even then the a seem to favor someone with a little bit more experience for like third string call up options more of an ab’s problem than a minor problem there maybe but exactly so I’m not necessarily even envisioning that in the next year but he’ll make a better Case by assuming the net in Loveland and then a player like Sage Weinstein another young player with so much runway like another years of Junior eligibility so his path forward is to just continue taking his time with it um as far as fer Anders like zers I I think is one all of these that kind of hinder on both of these tiers the one below and right where they’re at just because I haven’t seen enough of him um I think that once he gets to college I’ll start to be able to speak on it a little more clearly and same for Jake fiser because Jake fiser the way that he plays hockey right now you can see the Avalanche fit in a depth role someday but you saw that in Matt Steinberg in college that’s exact what he did in college and what he did well and so there’s a lot of layers ahead for even a jake fer he kind of has to surpass what Matt Steinberg has accomplished through this point and Steinberg still fighting to improve his ranking in these tiers it and again the the margins of tier to tier are razor thin you could certainly argue some guys should be swapped as the person who put the list together the reason I give zelers up drafted a little bit higher than a lot of these guys and I don’t want to talk down about someone like Matt Steinberg but the reality of prospect pools often times is guess what William zers is the new shiny and the the shine of him Matt steinber being the new prospect that has upside has worn off a little bit as he now starts to grind through trying to earn more opportunity in a pro level um Sage Weinstein literally on this tier just because he has a contract where a bunch of these other prospects don’t the ABS kind of win off the books and gave him one out of a a prospect face off something that they don’t normally do but if he did something good enough in the abiz to earn that contract I have to put him up a tier kind of my thought process in a in a tier like that Eric do do organizations run into the uh the new shiny problem do they do they maybe move on from prospects a little quicker than they should just because they get new batches in well I think you have to look at the longevity of just look at coaching in the NHL like oh my God you don’t win you’re gone right you know so so it’s the same thing with front office you know I think we’re lucky here in Denver we’ve seen a lot of uh longevity right with coach bnar and then caac’s been around and Joe’s been around for a while now so there’s a little bit of stability but it’s not always like that it’s not always like that and you need results and I I think there’s a fine line between being patient uh uh with with players and then and moving on too quickly from them and then yeah there is the new shiny to aspect of it it’s life right it’s human nature um I think Trent Miner you were just talking about him I I I love that it’s the hardest thing to do is put your head down and get the work done you know Trent Miner uh you know sees right now it’s like oh okay I pretty solid right now in net and then you know the ABS are going to either sign a third goenda or get someone on waivers or before the season starts and all of a sudden it’s like oh God you feel like you’ve been knocked down and and that’s the hardest thing to do is to keep your head down go do the work don’t analyze and it’s the simplest thing to say is to say don’t analyze but it’s the toughest thing to do it is hard not to analyze it is hard to just look at your inside your little bubble and go do what you can do and control what you can control which is you know your your mindset of of of being a goalie that’s an everyday goalie in the American League it is hard but he was at the bottom he moved on to the next he earned a new contract therefore he’s in that box right now yeah to Megan’s point he’s probably hasn’t had his fair Shake but life’s not fair uh you know hockey is not fair and and I agree you know that’s but that’s where he’s at somewhere somehow he’s done the work because they gave him another contract you know what I mean this is the type of guy you can just move on after his ELC and you know what I mean and just kind of whatever but yeah I’m correct right they did give him a new contract so it’s like you know they got it I don’t care if it’s a qualifying offer it’s still an NHL contract that means you’re still alive to get to the top of that pyramid to get to an NHL roster um so it’s a lot of work it’s a lot of mental work we talked about it with Sly a couple days ago gold tending like those guys have a lot of pavement you know a lot of Runway to to to move and it’s you can be a little bit more patient with goalies and and they need a net and sometimes the net is in the um you know Utah which was the case for him a little bit last couple Seasons now like I said I don’t know him sounds like a great kid um but he can’t get down on himself when they go get exra because they will go get another goal it’s not if it’s when um for all the reasons because he doesn’t have the experience he’s not a number three goal the nhsh if something happens uh he’s not he’s not ready that’s not his fault he’s just not ready to be put in that situation to go between the pipes of the National Hockey League level he’s not now with that said what you can do is prepare yourself to be ready to go and if there is an injury which there will be it’s just life then that third goalie goes on then you get the pipes in the American League you’re ready to go and you haven’t been just moaning and being mad for a few months because your your playing time’s not there now if you just control what you can control you’re ready to go you’re a great teammate and all of a sudden your opportunity comes whoops now you’re more ready for it so he’s a typical guy that I wouldn’t push aside and obviously you know the Fisher is a little intriguing he’s a little more shiny maybe than his roommate pittner you know for for whatever reason you know he’s different position he’s a different type of draft pick I mean where was he just a couple rounds before whatever I don’t have the list in front of me but it’s a little shinier um we’ll see what he’s going to do University of Denver again great program I hate to say it but those guys are they’re great great coaching staff great place to to develop and and to become a pro and it’s the same with zers like we didn’t see him last week but who knows uh you know not big guy I don’t mind that it’s okay but he’s going to North Dakota straight you know out of the ntdp it’s a big jump we’ll see um College hockey is a good freaking League it’s a good league so we’ll see what he can do with you know the type of career that he’s at he’s just he’s just scratching the surface right now he’s just starting so who knows how he’s going to do but you know and then Weinstein like you said yeah I agree it’s like great now it’s what’s next you know want to stay in that Plateau right there you want to move forward so if you’re a bunch of hockey dorks who are sitting around talking prospects like us or maybe you’re talking lineup or whatever it might be make sure you’re chilling while you’re doing it crack A’s light open and then enjoy your time doing whatever it is you’re talking about doesn’t even have to be hockey I’m sure plenty of people this time of year talking college football rosters or or regular football rosters or you know I mean look the Olympics is like two weeks away so I don’t know the US men’s basketball team they beat Canada right soon we’ll be able to talk about hockey rosters in the Olympics it’ll be great yeah like two years from now soon I mean we can talk about the for nation rosters we’ll probably do that like in a couple weeks but anyway when you’re doing it make sure you got a Coors Light in your hand it’s the beer I choose when I chill so go get yourself some brew right here in Golden Colorado and you can get it delivered right to your front door when you go to light.com dnvr thanks to instacart you can get all of that delicious Coors Light delivered to your front door of course please party responsibly Golden Colorado Kors Brewing Company make sure you go check them out and W drinking beer and enjoying yourself is a fun time you also got to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself especially on the mental side that’s where better help comes in uh a common misconception about relationships is that they is that they have to be easy to be right but sometimes the best ones happen when both people put in the work to make them great obviously better help is a great way to go and get a therapy it’s entirely online you don’t have to go anywhere to do it and it’s super fast and easy to get in on all you have to do is fill out a brief questionnaire to get match with a licensed therapist and you can switch your therapist at any time if you decide you want to try a different different one for no additional charge they can get you in very quickly usually within a week so make sure you become your own soulmate whether you’re looking for one or not visit betterhelp.com dnvr today and get 10% off your first month that’s betterhelp hp.com dnvr to jump in with Better Health today uh all right getting back to the prospect pyramid here and getting into tier three these top tier these three top tiers are the players that if you’re more interested in guys that could potentially have impact for the Colorado Avalanche this year next you should you should focus in on the top three tiers of this pyramid a lot of the guys below this we’ve talked about have maybe pretty long paths but starting with tier three these are guys that should be pushing with four NHL jobs and some of them likely will get NHL roles today uh you don’t have to if if they can see it it’s fine uh tier three includes Chase Bradley Jean Luke Foody Oscar oon uh and of course Andre pavell for the record Jason Poland eliminated too old to be on the pyramid eliminated yeah too old doesn’t doesn’t make the pyramid because he’s too old but you look at these guys Foody and olon if you follow ABS prospects are pretty known quantities at this point as they continue to try and get over that hump of making an NHL roster more often then kind of being a a call up level guy pavl we’ve talked about maybe the guy on this list that makes more sense as a bottom six player and then Chase Bradley jumping right into the AHL as out of college with a contract from the AVS I don’t know let me ask you guys do you think the AVS see Chase Bradley is a legitimate call up option this season not how even wiie talked about him just to be direct it sounded like he really needs to solidify an American League job sure and that’s the conversation right now and I think that’s fair because even though Jason Poland’s too old to make this list he still exists he does and so he’s still going to be competing with the likes of Jason Paul and pavl Steinberg so Oscar Lon foodie and that mix to somewhere I think that is not the conversation or the room that we’re in right now with Chase Bradley all right fair enough um here’s what I’ll say about Bradley um not knowing him obviously just seeing him mean as a not knowing him as a player saw him play twice this year and honestly I don’t remember um wasn’t watching him I watched collegate game that he was in and then you know watching different guys and you know he’s not a guy that and that doesn’t mean that he wasn’t good it’s just wasn’t leisurely watching you know the game and not like notes in front of me and looking at guys and and and uh with that said um you know again development Camp uh this is the type of guy though that you’re gonna see and from the get-go from the get-go when I say get-go is rookie face off you know bit older uh he’s played against you know bigger guys men you know the last couple years in college and not in the USL or or Junior Hockey or you know he seems to have some good speed he’s got some decent hands um not the NHL level I think he’s a he’s a Crusher I I believe if he I don’t think he’s a rusher um boy would I’d love to get my hands on a guy like that and then just talk to him and say Hey listen it’s very simple you want to make it this is how you do it uh but he’s the typical guy like Megan just said like you just said know Brian wil oh let’s see if he can secure a job at the American League level well I’m going to compare him to a guy I you’re talking to him um started the season out of college as a draft pick and and went to the American League and really thought the American League was going to be a cakewalk and uh you know I think I had three points in my first period um you know long story short I ended up with one shift in the third period and we won the game and I was like you know whatever third star I’m the man you know this American League is easy you know what I mean uh you know whatever I’m the cat’s ass and this Mark Crawford has no idea what he’s talking about whatever and then the next game came around and didn’t play much and by the third game I was a scratch and and I was a scratch eight times of the first 11 games and when I say scratch is not even dressed right um it is tough it is tough mentally and then it’s tough to but you have to figure out what you are and for him that’s I say God I’d love to get my hands on I’m like you know if I if I work with the ABS again which I don’t want to that’s not what I’m saying I’m but it’s such an easy conversation but it’s a hard concept to grasp easy conversation to have hard concept to grasp and and it’s like buddy you got to know what you are and and and go and do it and you’re a corridor player you got some speed and you know this is the type of guy that can move up those echelons because he is not 18 and because he can show he’s kind of an unknown commodity he can show very quickly very quickly Megan said that earlier about sample rant quickly after a few games you’re tight cast like you can’t play right or wrong that that’s life and that’s that’s life in the NHL I mean honestly coaches don’t have time to wait don’t have time to babysit if a guy doesn’t grasp it then I don’t know he might never grasp it and and yeah some teams have been wrong but a lot of times teams are right you know what I mean there’s a reason why all of a sudden guys are not in the but yeah there’s always that odd guy that all of a sudden makes it but but Bradley like if he can go like I said by the end of my first year from being a scratch you know I got called up in the NHL and I was in that playoff room with the Maple Leafs and all those guys that were playing ahead of me that were way ahead of me in that pyramid right there I blew by because of understanding what I was and and and again we’ll talk about a guy right after maybe all of sudden that’s it’s an identity thing you have to know what you are if you’re in that column of that pyramid right there in order to get out of there you have to have an identity I think Chase Bradley if can get it done he can get there so a few things I wanted to touch on with Bradley number one recent history in the AVS organization College ufas have gotten opportunity in the NHL Poland Pavel both played at least one NHL game last year probably in a higher tier than I would put Chase Bradley but guys like Ben Meers and Sam melinsky also got NHL opportunity on the other side maybe the guy most comparable to Bradley and Logan o Conor it did take a couple years of AHL playing before he really started to get those NHL roles and opportunities the thing with Bradley though is I get what came out of the mouths as far as the ABS organization is saying but if you don’t believe a guy can make your AHL roster why are you giving him an ELC I agree and I’m going to jump in and and I’m going to use Logan LLC I I’m fairly I’m convinced LLC is a better NHL than he was an American Hockey League player he is he’s a better NHL than he was in you know than he was a college hockey player sorry you know that’s what Logan did he wasn’t okay you know college hockey play he’s good college player way more value today in the National Hockey League than he ever did at the Collegiate level and it’s because when he turned Pro he really knew his identity really knew where he was going to fit in those boxes you know once you look at a pyramid you want to get out of the pyramid to get into the boxes which are what lineup boxes where do I fit in the lineup that’s how I keep climbing you know and then this guy was brilliant brilliant and I know I had a conversation with him that one summer and it was like he told me don’t worry I know what I am and if I do that I’m GNA make it and I’m like buddy you’re going to make it not only that if it don’t work here if it does not work here you’re not going to clear waivers because guys at the American League level press boxes that that go around the freaking games and they’re like oh this guy can play and trust me he wasn’t going to clear waivers so that year that he made the ABS roster it was his time it was time for him to stick and if they sent him down he wasn’t freaking staying here as a call remember he was gone because I can tell you that a lot of teams including Cal FL we’re going to claim him so you have to know where you’re at and you’re right about Bradley if you don’t believe that he he can become one of those guys then you don’t you don’t waste any ELC on him but yes I agree with sure what wiy said like to Megan’s Point like yeah I mean who knows if he can stick around again they’re unknown you know they’re unknown but like I said that’s why I’m like God I’m hoping which I really like he’s a poor man in the sense that he’s younger than uh Poland was last year you know what I mean like I I do believe Bradley’s a bit bit younger maybe I’m wrong but again don’t have the birthday in front of me so I shouldn’t talk like that but Poland in a sense I really saw something there got injured and I was like God you know I would have liked to seen uh what he could have done not get injured there in rookie camp and really start on the right foot who knows what he could have done but you know I I again Poland’s not on this less but I don’t throw him on the left field I agree why he’s not on those the list but I think it’s a name to to keep an eye out and Megan’s right when you know for a guy like Bradley and you know a guy like Poland is there in the way you know what I mean and and if you’re Bradley you want to make noise you got to show that you got to beat out those guys the Steinberg’s and uh you know polands and and guys like that but there’s a way to do it and and it’s it’s full throttle and and and again it’s I’ll say it again you have to know what you are as a player and I’ve been hard on Chase Bradley I do want to say the thing about him just shown in development camp that could separate him from his peers is his skating y I think that he also was another player with a powerful stride and a powerful rer in tight if these kinds of things allow him to separate from his peers at the American League level there’s absolutely reason for Intrigue I feel I’ve been a little bit hard on him and it’s it’s interesting to the conversation about why would the ads give him an ELC right out the gate and I think that wiie has to discuss it as an opportunity that has not yet been earned to create competition you know he does need to go out there and earn that role of course um it’s really the only way for him to even enter NHL conversations down the line yep uh all right I can I just have one more thing sorry like Logan I remember talking to some RS guys because I when Logan came came in I just left the ABS and you know still befriend those people and you know and I remember to a couple ABS I won’t say who but like amateur guys and they’re like ah whatever college free agent yeah whatever huff and puff and it’s like oh was wrong it’s like well I mean you know because they don’t like that because it’s like it’s showing that you missed out on on drafting the guy when he was draft eligible you know what I mean and and again when you draft the guy because you draft a guy and now you want to show everyone especially in the organization that job justification right oh he deserves a contract but we don’t have enough contracts anymore because we gave it to this freaking College FR but you know what I mean so it’s funny how internally there’s always those uh displeasure of depending on what department you’re in you know what I mean and and I think Bradley fits right into that freaking ball just like Logan did when he joined the apps yeah as as opposed to a foodie or an olon who look would not surprise me if either or both of those guys get NHL games this year again but when you have a Poland when you have a pavl when you have a a Chase Bradley guys that make sense in a bottom six role it becomes harder to see the paths for for a foodie or a lowon at least in the Avalanche organization now that isn’t to say it’s six months from now John Luke Foody could be playing in anaheim’s lineup every single night if a trade happens this is just a hypothetical but my point being is not that I believe that both owkin and Foody could find NHL roles I’m just not sure that they fit in Colorado right now and it’s you know in talking about like okay these are some things that chase Bradley does well the calling card for foodie is his skating in a different way he’s so quick north south he’s gotten better within traffic to and Oscar Lon obviously the shot is nhal caliber and has been for some time he’s had trouble utilizing it as much as he should um and he’s had to try to build in other aspects of his game to become a little bit more well-rounded but both belong in this tier because they are A Cut Above the Rest with where they’re at right now what’s challenging though is the role that’s available to them doesn’t really fit what their claim to fame has been so far and so it’s been challenging for both of them to try and adapt to playing lower in the lineup in the NHL compared to the top six minutes that they play in Loveland yep and for someone like alen with uncertainty around nushin there could be opportunity for him to get second third line minutes um but it’s a short leash yeah and what’s unfortunate for both of these players is both have missed significant time due to injury true that was true Santa too I want to shout out samp ranta missing a really significant year um in his transition to Pro Hockey as well due to injury and it can be detrimental to what the NHL team thinks of them because they just have limited viewings and so they both have a really big mountain to climb ahead of them because it it does feel kind of make or break do you make sense in Colorado can you impact our NHL team right now and with the way both of these players Bill and play this off season is going to be incredibly important for them um for lowon too who still wasn’t 100 100% back to game form it stinks for him there’s a lot of work ahead and I like both these players I like the head that they have on their shoulders so I’m not riding them off just yet but they’re competing with players who have built in parts of their game to your point are already designed for a bottom six role and that’s kind of all that’s available for them long term yep well I if I can talk about Oscar like the one thing Oscar has got is it’s time you know he went in because of the European rule right that he can go play as a teenager in the American League level so you know um it’s a little bit like C right you know again we all know where C ended uh you know C couldn’t play in my book um I don’t think he had the head to to the the the decisionmaking process it wasn’t youth in this game it wasn’t it just I think that’s where he topped off it just he wasn’t GNA be a good an sheller he was more suited for the American League and or over overseas and that’s exactly where he’s at now all of sudden I like I don’t want to write him off because he’s still young um I I do believe that there’s an identity problem there um and I’m god um I don’t want to use the t-word you know because it’s like man he’s still young and the t word meaning a tweener you know what I mean like is he just like a good you know good player in the American League he just not good enough for the NHL like I I don’t know he’s a fifth guy he’s a fifth guy in the puzzle uh he would have to be the perfect fifth like you just said is you know the tkin not I don’t know uh but that’s how he he would make it to the NHL um I I think it’s it’s a long shot still uh not here to bag on the pick but it’s it’s a long shot uh where foodie again the injury and if I’m John Luke foodie uh the non-french guy uh with the French name um I would definitely speak to him sit him down and say Hey listen if I’m like part of the American League staff right or you know which they get their hands on them every day and who know is it going to be Dan higho is it going to be you know whatever that’s going to be it’s going to be there um sure sounds like it but I mean man it’s like hey let’s make a deal together let’s make you a player and when I say let’s make you a player I listen what I just said I didn’t say let’s make you a Colorado Avalanche let’s make you a player and and Mark Crawford made that deal with me and again I’m talking about my days in American League because it’s kind of what we’re talking about prospects and and how to become full-time NHL or even a higher Prospect than you are in that pyramid like it’s Let’s Make a Deal oh you you want to play in NL and the answer is yes well you’re going to do what I’m going to tell you and don’t argue me I know what it takes I know what you need to do to be a player and if it doesn’t fit here because like rudo just said it’s not your time with the Colorado Avalanche it that’s that’s okay mine was with Tonto map Poli it’s the oldest team in hockey they’re all like freaking ancient they were a great team but they were old there was no room you know but there might be room somewhere else and and if I look back like I said in my mind I was like oh it doesn’t matter they make room for me and then next year you know I was telling all my friends and teammates oh we got to do it you know like they’re right you know it’s not just about the parenting we can there’s a lot of people in the stands at every American League game and you know that from different teams and you’re talking about probably a dozen teams a night in the American League um watching your games and you know hey you could be part of those teams you know always thinking no I’m going to make it next thing you know it’s I’m the one that ended up playing for a different team and it worked out because they didn’t lie to me like they were like you’re going to be a player but sometimes it might not be with the parenting but guess what you’re still valuable because you were used as an asset in a trade or whatever it is and and that’s what you have to understand it’s a business but you have to go do what’s needed to ascend in those pyramids and if you don’t you will die there in that tier you’re in and that that’s okay and if I need to move on to period two on to tier two right now we’re running out of time Sor uh I can go on on tier two is in my opinion other than the guy at the top the guys that have the highest ceilings in the ABS organizational Prospect pool uh that being sha Barons Mel guv and Ilan iakov second round picks first round picks Baron’s probably the one closest to the NHL as he’s going to play his first full year in the AHL this season there’s a world where he gets called up to the NHL this year I don’t really see it just because of guys like Sam molinsky Jacob McDonald Cali Rosen probably all ahead of him in the call up list at least to start the season uh but a big year for him to prove that he can do it at the pro level day in and day out GV I you already know me I love him still in the KHL going to be in the k for a couple more years but outside of Baron’s the only other defensive guy that I see as top four potential in the ABS organization not that I don’t like guys like I think Tory pitner can be an NHL but maybe more of a bottom pairing guy and then Nabokov their second round pick from this year de facto becomes their best goalie Prospect giving that ananin has now graduated plus has already proven at the pro level he’s a pretty good Prospect another guy of just a okay when do we get them to North America and and what does that look like so to me these are the types of guys that if you want to be a successful organization developing prospects you need to get nhlers out of this tier and the plan with Barons has always been a patient one you know I think he would have liked to consider going pro after his sophomore year but he needed to have a procedure and the ABS had him do his junior year he gets another National Title out of it and it was always a part of the plan from the outside I think a full league in a full year in the American League is also part of his plan there’s no reason to abandon that plan and it it would be detrimental to Barons to start skipping ahead cutting Corners it’s just not necessary with Barons iakov being a little bit older and kind of jump starts where he’s at in the goal tending Pipeline and then gulv kind of similarly to Baron’s in knowing that he is going to be playing overseas for a couple Seasons another player with a patient plan by Design there’s no need to jump ahead and I think this sets all of these players up to have more likely NHL success than some of these other tiers and it’s relied on patience for sure I’ll go I’ll go quick I got one word for that tier and then one word for the next tier this tier is uh you talked about it earlier Shiny Toys it is and and forget about Baron like you know what he’s got two he’s got two championships in three years um more ready so he is he is considered a shiny toy for me the other two you know he a first round pick who knows he’s in Russia but he’s going to be given every opportunity to make them look good with that pick same with Nabokov he’s not a first round pick but he is a first pick he is the first pick of that draft for the Avalanche I call that Shiny Toys yeah for sure it’s it these are the guys that you absolutely should care about this season and I get it’s going to be hard for the average guy to watch the KHL stuff but at very least keep an eye on Barons in the AHL this year and then the guy at the top is Cal Richie I really don’t think we have a ton to say about him in this show just because he’s separated so much from the rest of the Avalanche Prospect pool especially this off season we’re already talking about him as a guy who may legitimately make the Avalanche lineup and and that’s why for me in this show yeah he’s at the top of the list but the conversation about Cal Richie really starts in training camp to see where if realistically he can make the NHL he’s just that far ahead of everyone else in this list so I agree I mean if I can jump in my word is silver Spooner he’s a silver Spooner that’s what you call that in in NHL world and and there’s no offense to that I’m not being rude when I say that I used to call Adam dear sh Spooner because you never played one game in the American League so all the respect in the world but he will be given every opportun in the world every what he does with the opportunity I don’t know but his opportunity is going to come way easier than everybody else in that tier for all the reasons because he is shinier because he is a silver Spooner because he is a first round pick and he’s a guy that slipped through the draft because of his injury and now he’s that far ahead of everybody else let’s see where he goes but yeah Silver Spoon run with it run with it hope he does anything else we want to add to the pyramid no we’re good all right then we are going to wrap up today’s show we appreciate yall hanging out with us that is the full Avalanche Prospect pyramid for now ask again in six months and it’ll probably look completely different so that’s the way it goes sometimes but we hope yall enjoyed make sure you keep an eye out on the website the D the dvr.com our Avalanche takeovers tickets should be going up tomorrow morning I believe so if you want to if you want to be part of our takeovers if you want to come ride the bus with us enjoy a game with us get some free beers make sure you keep your eyes out on the website for that of course like And subscribe here on YouTube go check out all our other YouTube content uh I should have a short drop in later today talking about some of the things the have still need to do this offseason we’ve got a ton more content coming your way so we appreciate y’all check us out on Spotify if you’re more of a podcast person and we’ll talk to you tomorrow mailbag go get your questions in [Music] [Applause] City like the May sorry Tiff I thought I was by myself here in a dungeon in the corner and then

Cal Ritchie tops the Colorado Avalanche Prospect Pyramid

Intro – 0:00
Tier 6 – 4:00
Tier 5 – 12:43
Tier 4 – 23:30
Tier 3 – 35:55
Tier 2 – 55:22
Tier 1 – 58:40

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