Top Five players to watch at Avalanche Development Camp

There are a few intriguing invitees on the list.

The Colorado Avalanche 2024 Development Camp begins today, and there are a plethora of intriguing names on the roster that was released on Sunday. Among the list are several intriguing invitees and Avalanche draftees. Below are five names from that group that are worth watching as Development Camp gets underway.

HM: Nils Wallström, G

As far as the Swedish Goaltender out of Merrimack College, there’s not much out there. A quick look at Wallström’s career numbers indicates a pretty mediocre goalie with few games played until he made the trip to North America and played a year with the Kenai River Brown Bears of the NAHL.

In his first season on North American ice, he posted a .919 in 46 games. Far and away, his best numbers are on either spectrum. He then jumped to the NCAA, where he backstopped American International College in the Atlantic Hockey Conference for 33 games as their primary starter. For AIC, he again thrived with a .920 in the 2023-24 season.

This impressive stint in North America earned him a look with Merrimack College in Hockey East, where he will play next season. It’s hard to find many clips of him playing, given the lower-level teams he’s played for, so I can’t say much on his playstyle, hence him being an honorable mention. He’s a large goalie at 6-foot-3 and has impressive numbers, which are often good combinations in the net. It will be intriguing to get a glimpse at his play because if he backs up the stat sheet, the Avalanche should absolutely consider offering him a contract.

5. Christian Humphreys, RW/C

Christian Humphreys was selected by the Avalanche in the seventh round of this year’s draft, a pick that was likely pushed aside by many fans. This was an absolute shock to the scouting community who had Humphreys as a Top 100 talent in the draft. Humphreys has been touted for his high-end playmaking ability and ability to manipulate the play to feed the puck to his teammates. He racked up 35 assists and 58 points in 52 games with the USNTDP in the 2023-24 season and is committed to attend Michigan after one more season with the US Development Program.

Humphreys’ intelligence and ability to read the game is what allows him to distribute the puck so effectively, but it also lends itself to the defensive end of the ice where he can hold his own. His struggles come from his skating, which is weaker than you’d hope. Humphreys can slow down the game and play at his own pace at a lower level but may struggle with a higher pace if he doesn’t get his motor and skating in shape. Fortunately for the Avalanche, he has a few years to do so, and if he can pop at his first Development Camp, that would be a strong sign they got the steal many people think they did.

4. Boston Buckberger, D

Boston Buckberger isn’t just another great name. He garnered lots of attention in DU’s run to the National Championship this year. Buckberger had an impressive freshmen year for the Pioneers with five goals and 22 assists, but his claim to fame was his overtime winner to push the crimson and gold to the quarterfinals of the Frozen Four tournament. That clutch factor certainly put some eyes on Buckberger, but he’s a more complicated player than one goal would indicate.

He’s another one of many intelligent players on this list who earned a good amount of trust from one of the best college hockey programs in the nation. Buckberger is a solid two-way defenseman who can read the play well and join in on any offense while also being stout in his defensive zone. Like Cooper, his flaw is skating, but not just because of his size. Buckberger can easily be exposed by his poor backward skating, and it is likely the biggest thing working against him. The question for him this camp is, can he mitigate that as best as possible to let the strengths of his game pop to management? Buckberger’s a smart player with a physical edge that the Avs could use in their pipeline. He just has to earn a look.

3. Miles Cooper, C/LW

One of two undrafted players, Miles Cooper, is an undersized, underaged player out of Wenatchee of the WHL. Cooper has Colorado Avalanche written all over him if he can find a way to play a more hard-nosed game. He’s a smaller player at 5-foot-11 and 165 lbs, but his mind for the game is where he excels.

Mitchell Brown of Elite Prospects wrote that “Cooper relies on outthinking the opposition,” an integral aspect of his game and his craftiness. Cooper can see and read the game at a high level, something we’ve seen carry guys through their careers, and it has done wonders for him thus far. Where the questions start to form for him as a prospect is his skating and puck skill ability.

Many undersized NHLers have the speed to separate themselves from their peers, but Cooper does not. On the upside, he hasn’t even turned 18 yet and, despite his flaws, found himself with 46 points in 65 games in his first year with Wenatchee. He utilized his high hockey IQ to create the time and space for himself that his skating can’t and is a pesty player with his stick. There’s definite potential for a player like Cooper, and if his intelligence can shine through enough at camp, he’s predisposed for this franchise.

2. Mitch Young, D

Mitch Young is the second of two of the aforementioned undrafted players to be invited to the Avs Development Camp. Young spent the better part of the last two seasons with the OHL’s Sarnia Sting. In his first full season with the team, Young posted 11 goals and 19 assists, good for 30 points in 65 games. The stat line is impressive but not jump-off-the-page good, watching Young play is quite the opposite.

According to many scouts, he’s one of the most dynamic defenders, potentially even players, in the OHL. Young has an impressive set of hands, a large arsenal to go with them, and the confidence to jump into the play that makes him a consistent threat with the puck. Off the puck, he’s a heavy-hitting defenseman who uses his body as his main asset to dispossess his opponent. He has the tools, but a large part of the reason he fell out of the draft is his mental game. Young often gets caught trying to make big hits, which costs him.

If he wants to make it in the league, especially with the Avalanche, he must learn to read the game better. On the positive side, Young plays an Avalanche style of hockey as a defenseman, and if the skill he’s shown comes through at camp, there’s a good chance the Avalanche take a swing on Young, hoping some development can iron out the mental lapses in his game.

1. Matt Davis, G

Matt Davis captured the hearts of Denver Pioneers and college hockey fans with his stellar performance in the 2024 NCAA Frozen Four tournament. In the final 10 games of his 2023-24 campaign, Davis posted a .940 SV% and a 1.7 GAA. Among these games were the Pioneer’s Semifinal and Final games against Boston University and Boston College, where Davis kept two of the best offenses in college hockey, each stacked with highly touted NHL prospects, to one goal on 69 shots.

Davis’s excellent stretch run led to many throwing out the idea of him getting a contract, with the Avalanche being the obvious suitor with their dry goaltender pipeline at the time. Even though the organization selected three goaltenders at the 2024 NHL Draft, if Davis shows well at the Avs’ Development camp this year, he could easily earn a contract and slot into the pros right away.