Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #8 Jean-Luc Foudy

Detroit Red Wings v Colorado Avalanche — Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images

The 22-year old forward is looking to finally graduate from the AHL after four seasons.

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.

Jean-Luc Foudy has seemed poised to jump into the NHL for several years now, and got four games in a Colorado Avalanche jersey last season after nine in 2022-23. Unfortunately, his career has been marred by poor luck in his development path, as he was forced to jump into the AHL early due to COVID shutdowns in the CHL and lost much of last season and offseason to an undisclosed lower-body injury.

That injury limited him to just 26 games with the Eagles and four with the Avalanche, and it took him some time to get back his footspeed and mental pace after the extended absence. The Foudy we saw last season was not the full version of the player that coaches, media, and fans alike had grown to love since he was drafted in the third round of the 2020 entry draft and flashed a ton of upside in his first rookie camp.

That said, he did score his first NHL goal on a tenacious second effort in front of the net against the Detroit Red Wings:

The player we were excited about is still there, and at just 22-years old with a fully healthy summer training regimen behind him, this season is Foudy’s best shot yet to make the NHL roster out of camp. He’s arguably miscast as a fourth liner since his game is predicated on speed with the puck and passing vision, rather than penalty killing and forechecking like Coach Jared Bednar prefers in his bottom group, but there could be space for JLF in the Avs forward corps if he is able to earn Bednar’s trust defensively.

More likely, he’ll be back in the AHL looking to build on the 171 games of experience he already has in that league and become a go to player in all situations for the Eagles and earn a callup later in the year.