Colorado Avalanche Should Consider Ducks Prospects
Because the Colorado Avalanche need help on defense, they should consider trading for a defensive prospect from the Anaheim Ducks.
The Colorado Avalanche need help on defense. Not too many people would argue with that.
Before the season started, I actually didn’t think the team’s defense was all that bad. But, here we are just after the All Star Break with a 13-31-2 record and a -63 goal differential. A lot of that has to do with an ineffective defense.
Now, it hasn’t helped that the Avs’ best defenseman, Erik Johnson, has been out since early December with a broken fibula. However, how badly the defense has played in his absence only highlights the fact that the team isn’t deep enough in that position.
Part of the problem is that Colorado has eschewed selecting defensemen high in the draft. Ever since the debacle of 2011, when they chose Ducan Siemens 11th-overall ( and then proceeded to bury him in the AHL), the Avalanche haven’t drafted a defenseman higher than the second round.
Last year the Colorado Avalanche didn’t even draft a defenseman until the third round, when they picked up Josh Anderson. However, in 2015 they selected Nicolas Meloche in the second round plus Andrei Mironov in the fourth and Sergei Boikov in the sixth. Their fourth-round draft pick from 2014, defenseman Anton Lindholm, is also in the system.
The Avs also have a couple promising AHLers in Mason Geertson and, especially, Chris Bigras. Unfortunately, aside from Bigras and maybe Meloche (who hasn’t gone pro yet), none of these guys are going to be huge difference-makers in the NHL.
Other teams have done better at drafting defensemen, specifically the Anaheim Ducks. They have a trio of AHLers who could be difference-makers for the Colorado Avalanche right now.
I’m most certainly not going to suggest trading a core player or even a first round draft pick for any of these guys. However, Colorado is almost certain to get a top-five draft pick, and maybe even the first-overall. So, if GM Joe Sakic could convince Ducks GM Bob Murray to take a second-round pick for one of these players, I’d call old Super Joe savvy.
Ok, they might have to give up something else as well to pry one of these guys away from Anaheim. Joe Colborne’s size or Blake Comeau’s grittiness would go over well in Anaheim.
Anyway, let’s look at three defensive prospects from Anaheim the Colorado Avalanche should consider.
Shea Theodore
Shea Theodore is a good-sized defenseman with great skating skills. He’s known as being an offensive defenseman with excellent puck-moving abilities. He’s an effective quarterback to the power play.
In other words, he’s like an oversized Tyson Barrie.
Like Tyson Barrie, Theodore does have a tendency to gamble too much. This can lead to odd-man rushes going against his team. Also, the defense can go out of his game — again like Barrie. He could also stand to use his size to more advantage.
That said, he does possess a very accurate shot and decent level of hockey IQ for his age.
The Anaheim Ducks drafted Shea Theodore in the first round in 2013. Since then he’s spent the majority of his time in the AHL. However, he does have 44 games’ worth of experience in the NHL — with four goals and 12 assists to show for it.
This season he’s been bouncing around between the two leagues. He’s played 25 games with Anaheim (1 goal, 7 assists), but he was recently sent back down to the minors.
Shea Theodore could be a big boon to the Colorado Avalanche blueline. A left-hand shot, eventually he could slot in even with Erik Johnson. Currently he’s on his entry-level contract at $863,333 AAV through 2018.
Brandon Montour
Brandon Montour is even more offensive than Theodore — in a good way. He’s a highly offensive defenseman with a killer good point shot. Montour is another one who is great at quarterbacking the power play.
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Like Theodore — and Barrie — Montour’s strength in offense can be his weakness in defense. You take a high risk putting him on the blueline, but his rewards can be great. He’s also a little smaller than Theodore, though not as diminutive as Tyson.
Montour is considered something of a late bloomer because he wasn’t even drafted until his third year of eligibility. That’s why he’s one year older than Theodore but was drafted one year later. He needed a little extra time to develop in the USHL before his talents could show themselves.
Brandon Montour is still very much a work in progress. He’s played only five games in the NHL, all this season. He doesn’t have any points yet. However, in 33 games with the Ducks’ AHL-affiliate San Diego Gulls, Montour has 11 goals and 18 assists.
Montour is a bit more of a risk for the Colorado Avalanche — he’s kind of Tyson Barrie all over again. However, he might also come a little cheaper than Theodore in a trade because he’s less proven. That said, he does carry a $925,000 cap hit through 2018.
Jacob Larsson
Jacob Larsson is the youngest player on this list, just 19 years old. As such, he’s still pretty green. He’s only played four NHL games, all this year, and he doesn’t have any points.
That said, he does have experience with the highest division in the Swedish Hockey League — with Frölunda, specifically.
Larsson, unlike Montour and Theodore, is more of a two-way defenseman. He’s got good size that he uses to advantage. Indeed, he’s known for being on the aggressive size. Because of his experience with Frölunda, he’s already showing poise and maturity. He’s good at both ends of the ice — it’s a point of pride for him.
Naturally, being so young, he still needs development time. He could use to bulk up. What’s more, since he’s played mostly in Europe, he’ll need time to adjust to the smaller North American ice.
Jacob Larsson could be the most exciting defenseman on this list. I like him because he’s big and aggressive — the Colorado Avalanche have a good history with big, aggressive defensemen.
He won’t be a help to the Avalanche this year, or maybe even next year. However, as he continues to develop, he could slot in beautifully on the Colorado blueline.
Like Theodore and Monsour, Larsson is in his entry level contract. He also carries a cap hit of $925,000. His is through 2019.
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Like I said, it’s hard to know what, exactly, it would take from the Colorado Avalanche to pry one of these defensemen out of the Anaheim Ducks system. There’s no question any one of these three would provide a sharp improvement on the Avs blueline, though. At minimum, it’s worth it for Sakic to explore these options.