Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #11 Ivan Ivan

Cape Breton Screaming Eagles v Moncton Wildcats — Photo by Dale Preston/Getty Images

Will Ivan see any NHL action this season?

The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Mile High Hockey staff. Six writers have ranked players under the age of 25 as of August 1, 2024, in the Colorado Avalanche organization. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.

The Ivan Ivan story is as unique as his name of a player who turned a training camp invite and an AHL contract into a NHL deal by season’s end.

Signed to an AHL deal out of the QMJHL after an overage season there wasn’t much fanfare for Ivan initially. What started as an eye-opening training camp gave Ivan a decent role at center in the AHL and the spotlight on Ivan grew. He ended up fifth on the team in points for forwards and the only one under the age of 24 to finish as one of the team leaders. The Colorado Avalanche had to act quickly get Ivan under NHL contract once the window to do so for the 2024-25 season opened in early March before other team got the chance to poach the intriguing center prospect.

The question now for Ivan is how does he take the next step in his evolution from NHL prospect to someone who the Avalanche will give an opportunity to. He has two years on that newly-inked Entry Level Contract to once again grab the attention of the organization. It won’t be easy to top the 31 points in 67 games he produced with the Eagles in year one but consistency should be the key to his success. Ivan has been kept mostly at center, which is a rarity for a young player in the system. And if he proves his reliability at the position there might be a call-up in his future.

A debut at number 11 on our polls shows some faith in young Ivan plus the recognition that he’s already accomplished one successful year in the AHL, which places him ahead of many on this list. Hopefully there is a commitment to go along with the NHL contract to see if Ivan can be a depth call-up in the future. With no incoming drafted forwards to the system this coming season Ivan should still get a fair role and chance to shine with the Colorado Eagles again.