The month of August marks the beginning of an annual tradition at Mile High Hockey, our Top 25 Under 25 series. This is a list of the highest ranked Colorado Avalanche organizational players who are 25 years of age or younger as of September 1st, 2026 as determined by a seven-person staff vote.
This year there are 35 eligible players to list, which is a substantial increase from the 2025 exercise, and therefore not everyone will get a full profile write-up. Each player received top 25 support from at
least one voter, which indicates the wide variety of opinion this year. The best of the rest kicks off with the Honorable Mentions tomorrow and then on Monday the road from #25 to #1 will begin with five players highlighted each week for five weeks until we reach the top Avalanche player under 25. Six different players received a vote for number one in what might be our most unpredictable list yet!
As always, the Avalanche organization experienced a lot of turnover in the past year. However, recent additions through trade, undrafted free agent signings and a nine-pick 2026 draft class will offer a lot of new players to profile. There were also multiple departures and a couple players who aged out by celebrating their 25th birthday. Therefore we must say goodbye to the following from the 2025 Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25:
#3 Ivan Ivan (traded)
#6 Trent Miner (aged out)
#8 Danil Gushchin (free agent)
#9 Matt Stienburg (free agent)
#10 Chase Bradley (traded)
#11 Zakhar Bardakov (free agent)
#12 Taylor Makar (aged out)
#19 Max Curran (traded)
HM Isak Posch (traded)
Who is on your list? What’s your guess for number one? Let us know in the comments!
