DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche were a top line team this season. And that is not a compliment. The Avs’ top line this season was shouldered with seemingly, the entire offense for the campaign.
Shut down the line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Gabriel Landeskog and the opposition would be better able to take the two points.
That said, the top line carried the Avs all the way to the second round of the playoffs after ousting the heavily favored Calgary Flames in the opening series.
The Avalanche need help to decentralize the scoring off the first line and give teams something to think about.
Sitting in the fourth spot for the NHL Entry Draft, Colorado has eyes for United States Hockey League, USHL, product, Trevor Zegras.
Born in Bedford, NY, the 18-year-old won bronze with team USA in the U18 2019 World Junior Championships in January. Zegras picked up nine assists during the tournament. He has a history of performing well on the big stage; Zegras had two goals and six points in six games, in the US U17 effort the previous year.
This season, Zegras plied his trade in the USHL with the US National Developmental Program, NYDP, including the U18 squad.
With the USHL U18 roster, Zegras potted 26 goals and 87 points through 60 games.
On the NTDP squad, Zegras added 14 goals and 40 points through 27 games.
With injuries on the USHL roster, Zegras spent much of the season on the second line but did split time with the first line players returned.
Faceoff efficiency is an added quality for Zegras and in a center heavy draft, that will come to the fore as the Avs peer over the board at the fourth spot.
One other value-added piece of his game is his willingness to muck it up. This season, Zegras amassed 92 penalty minutes.
At 6’ and 169 pounds, Zegras wouldn’t be the biggest man on the roster, but he would add a scoring capability beyond the Avalanche top line. This was Colorado’s biggest weakness during the season.
MacKinnon, Rantanen, and Landeskog were the top three performers for Colorado during the past season. Landeskog finished the season third in total points for the Avalanche, and still 16 points ahead of the next player on the roster.
Colorado’s top line accounted for more than 62 percent of the offensive production, even with both Rantanen and Landeskog being injured for extended periods before the playoffs.
While a trade deadline move to acquire Derek Brassard did help the Avalanche make a postseason push, he will be an unrestricted free agent at the beginning of the 2019-2020 season. Along with Brassard, two other Colorado forwards will be UFAs by the start of next season.
With the uncertainty of so many forwards on the roster, the Avalanche need a player who can be placed in multiple positions. Zegras is listed as a center and a wing. He can play different spots on a line which makes him versatile for the club.
Three of the last four first-round picks by the Avalanche have proven to be vital to the team. In 2015, Colorado took Rantanen, who is one of the team’s top scorers. In 2016, it was Tyson Jost and last year’s first round draft pick, Cale Makar, has proven himself to be a clutch defenseman for the club during the 2019 playoffs.
Zegras has committed to Boston University Terriers for the 2019-20 season. That will give Zegras an opportunity, if needed, to get stronger and bigger; and further develop skills before hitting the Colorado ice.
“With the 4th pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, the Colorado Avalanche select Trevor Zegras from United States Hockey League.
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