EP Rinkside 2021-22 Prospect Pool Rankings: No. 8-ranked Colorado Avalanche

Few teams bridge the gap between rebuilding and contending as smoothly as the Colorado Avalanche, and done so while maintaining a top-flight prospect pool. It's quite the feat.

Blessed with an incredibly talented young core, the Avs have manoeuvred their way to the very top of the Western Conference hierarchy. And yet, here they sit with a top-10 prospect pool. This is in part thanks to the shrewd managerial moves that Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic and Co. have made during the team's elevation and part due to some wise drafting. 

The Avalanche pool is driven by their two top dogs in Bowen Byram and Alex Newhook, who are both placed among the top-12 prospects in the league when we ranked the 100 best affiliated prospects ahead of this exercise. Those two are insulated by a near-miss in the top-50 and an honourable mention. 

After that, there are several players who have more limited upsides but could still end up donning the Colorado sweater in the future. It's a deep pool and one that we've justly ranked among the very best in the league.