DENVER – The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club made five selections at the 2020 NHL Draft held Tuesday and Wednesday.
The following is a complete list of the Avalanche's selections at the 2020 NHL Draft.
# Rd Pick Player Pos Team (League)
1. 1 25 Justin Barron D Halifax (QMJHL)
2. 3 75 Jean-Luc Foudy C Windsor (OHL)
3. 4 118 Colby Ambrosio C Tri-City (USHL)
4. 5 139 Ryder Rolston RW Waterloo (USHL)
5. 6 167 Nils Aman C Leksands IF (SHL)
Colorado selected four forwards and one defenseman at this year’s draft. The Avalanche picked two players from the United States Hockey League, its most selections from the USHL since 2007 (three). The Avs drafted a player from a Swedish league for the first time since 2016 (goaltender Adam Werner, fifth round, 131st overall).
During the first round on Tuesday, the Avalanche selected defenseman Justin Barron with the 25th overall pick. Barron, 18, registered 19 points (4g/15a) in 34 games of a shortened 2019-20 campaign, tops among Mooseheads defensemen. He has skated in one game since the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League began the 2020-21 season on Oct. 2 and is serving as team captain, his first year in that role.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia, native has totaled 81 points (15g/66a) in 154 career QMJHL games, all with Halifax. Barron registered a career-best 41 points (9g/32a) during the 2018-19 season and added 13 points (2g/11a) in 23 postseason contests as the Mooseheads fell to eventual President’s Cup champion Rouyn-Noranda in six games. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound blueliner notched 21 points (2g/19a) in 51 games in his first season in 2017-18, earning a spot on the league's All-Rookie Team.
Internationally, Barron represented his country at the 2018 Ivan Hlinka Gretzky Cup, tallying five assists in five games to help Canada capture the gold medal. He notched one point (0g/1a) in six games for Canada Red at the 2017 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge to help his team earn silver.
With its second pick of the NHL Draft (third round, 75th overall), the Avalanche selected forward Jean-Luc Foudy from the Ontario Hockey League’s Windsor Spitfires. Foudy, 18, completed his second season with Windsor in 2019-20, recording 43 points (15g/28a) in 59 games and has collected 92 points (23g/69a) in 122 career OHL contests. The Scarborough, Ontario, native tallied 49 points (8g/41a) during his rookie campaign in 2018-19, pacing the league’s first-year players in assists, and added one point (0g/1a) in four postseason contests.
Foudy represented his country at the 2019 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, tallying four points (2g/2a) in five games to help Canada earn the silver medal. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound center skated for Canada Black at the 2018 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, recording four points (1g/3a) in four outings. Foudy is the fourth-ever selection from the Spitfires to be selected by the Nordiques/Avalanche organization (Bruce Bell in 1983, Todd Warriner in 1992 and Michael Clarke in 2012).
The Avalanche selected forward Colby Ambrosio with its fourth-round pick (118th overall). Ambrosio, 18, has spent the last two seasons with the Tri-City Storm of the United States Hockey League. He recorded 50 points (26g/24a) in 48 games during the 2019-20 season, tied for fifth in the league in goals and ranked second in power-play markers. The Welland, Ontario, native has totaled 74 points (38g/36a) in 105 career USHL contests. Ambrosio represented Canada White at the 2018 Under-17 World Hockey Challenge, tallying three points (0g/3a) in five games. The 5-foot-8, 170-pound center is committed to Boston College for the 2020-21 season.
In the fifth round, Colorado acquired the 139th overall pick from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for the 149th overall pick and the Avs’ seventh-round selection (211th overall). With the 139th pick, the Avalanche selected forward Ryder Rolston from the USHL’s Waterloo Black Hawks. Rolston, 18, notched 33 points (16g/17a) in 42 games for the Black Hawks in 2019-20. The Birmingham, Michigan, native skated for the U.S. National Team Development Program from 2017-19, recording 33 points (20g/13a) in 54 contests for the U.S. U-18 team in 2018-19 and 37 points (26g/11a) for the U-17 squad the season before. The 6-foot-1, 175-pound right wing is playing for the University of Notre Dame this season.
Rolston is the son of former NHL forward Brian Rolston, who played 50 games for the Avalanche in 1999-2000.
With its sixth-round pick, Colorado selected forward Nils Aman from Leksands IF of the Swedish Hockey League, Sweden’s top professional hockey league. Aman has skated in four games for Leksands IF so far this season (0g/0a) and has three points (1g/2a) in 12 career Swedish Hockey League games. The Avesta, Sweden, native spent most of the 2019-20 campaign with Leksands IF J20 in the J20 SuperElit, Sweden’s top junior league, where he tallied 47 points (14g/33a) in 30 games. Aman has totaled 91 points (29g/62a) in 96 career J20 SuperElit outings, all with Leksands IF.
