The EliteProspects Rinkside 2020-21 Off-Season Prospect Pool Rankings: the No. 13-ranked Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche must be the envy of many a general manager. Not only have they unearthed their core through the draft and careful maneuvering elsewhere. They’ve locked many of those pieces central to their emergence as an annual contender down for the foreseeable future.

In other words, the Avalanche have positioned themselves durably to compete for the Stanley Cup for a long time to come without suffering any all-in, one-and-done mindset in their pursuit of the sport’s ultimate prize.

A series of clever selections at the top of the draft elevated the organization in this position: Nathan MacKinnon at first-overall in 2013, Mikko Rantanen at 10th-overall in 2015, and Cale Makar at fourth-overall in 2017. Those all seem like obvious picks in hindsight, but they weren’t at the time. T