The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by Mile High Hockey staff members. Seven writers have ranked players under the age of 25 in the
Colorado Avalanche organization as of September 1, 2026. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.Name: Louka Cloutier
Age: 19
Position: Goaltender
Height: 6’2”
Weight: 173 lbs
Likely 2026-27 Team: Boston College (NCAA)
2025 Rank: #25
Final Rank: #21
High Rank: #11 (Jess)
Low Rank: #29 (multiple)
2025-26 Statistics:
Boston College (NCAA) – 33 GP: 19-13-1, .910 SV
%, 2.34 GAA, 4 SO
When we put together last year’s Top 25 Under 25 at Mile High Hockey, Louka Cloutier was still something of a mystery. The Colorado Avalanche had selected the Sherbrooke, Quebec, native in the fifth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, but there was plenty we didn’t know about the young goaltender. He was headed to Boston College, a powerhouse program that would give him an opportunity to prove himself against better competition and begin taking the next step in his development.
One year later, it’s becoming much easier to see what the Avalanche saw.
Cloutier comes in at No. 21 on this year’s Mile High Hockey Top 25 Under 25, and the biggest reason for that jump in confidence is simple: he got significantly better.
As a freshman at Boston College, Cloutier appeared in 33 games and finished the season with a 19-13-1 record, a 2.33 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage along with four shutouts. Those numbers are especially encouraging when you compare them to where he was just one season earlier with the Chicago Steel.
During the 2024-25 USHL season, Cloutier posted a 4.05 GAA and an .882 save percentage. Those weren’t exactly numbers that screamed future NHL goaltender, but that’s also why development matters so much with a 19-year-old goalie.
The improvement from .882 to .910 is substantial. So is dropping his goals-against average by nearly two full goals per game. And he did it while stepping into one of the better college hockey programs in the country.
That doesn’t mean Cloutier is suddenly knocking on the door of the NHL. Goaltenders are notoriously difficult to project, and even strong statistical seasons at the collegiate level don’t guarantee that a player will eventually become an NHL starter. But the progress is exactly what Colorado wanted to see when it invested a fifth-round pick in him.
Last year, the question surrounding Cloutier was whether he could take that next step.
He answered it — for now.
Now the question becomes how much further he can go.
At 6-foot-2, Cloutier has enough size to work with, while his athleticism and mobility give him another tool that can help him stand out. He doesn’t have the massive frame of some modern NHL goaltenders, but the Avalanche have shown that they’re willing to bet on athleticism and movement in the crease. Ilya Nabokov is another example of a smaller, highly athletic goaltender in Colorado’s system, and he’s slightly shorter, and perhaps a bit more talented.
For Cloutier, though, there’s still improvements to be made.
The encouraging part is that he’s already demonstrated that he can make a significant adjustment. Going from the USHL to Boston College and improving his numbers that dramatically is not something that should be overlooked. He went from a goaltender who was difficult to project into one who now has a legitimate developmental path worth following.
And that’s ultimately what this list is about.
Cloutier is #21 because the trajectory is becoming a lot more interesting
And for a young goaltender, progress is exactly what you want to see.
2026 Top 25 Under 25
#24 Axel Eloffson
#23 Teddy Lechner
#22 Ivan Yunin
