The 2026 NHL Draft was a good one for the Colorado Avalanche. Coming off only three picks in the prior draft, they selected nine times, the most since the 2024 draft.

Despite it being another draft without a first-round pick, the Avalanche did a good job finding talent in the later rounds, but it already looks like they could have found their gem of the draft.

With the 74th pick in the third round, the Avalanche, with their second selection of the night, chose forward Beckett Hamilton of the Western Hockey League (WHL) Red Deer Rebels.

“The creativity comes in flashes, but those flashes are very impressive, and the tools in terms of skating and pure skill could carry him to be a legit offensive player in the NHL.” Thomas Gagné, Smaht Scouting 

In his draft season, he set career highs across the board. Twenty-four goals and 38 assists for 62 points in 67 games. With those stats, he led his team in goals, assists, and points while finishing with only 14 penalty minutes. He helped the Red Deer reach the playoffs, but they were eliminated in five games by the Prince Albert Raiders, who would go on to reach the finals. In those five games, he finished with two goals and three assists for five points.

“A Swiss Army knife, Hamilton adapts his game to the situation. Away from the puck, he’s constantly battling opponents and overwhelming them with his closing speed” - eliteprospects

Starting off the 2026-27 season, Hamilton has shown no signs of slowing down and is picking up right where he left off, if not even better.

In his first five games of the season, Hamilton has five goals and six assists for 11 points. The only other player on the team with more goals, assists, and points than him is his linemate Poul Andersen, with seven goals and seven assists for 14 points in seven games.

After returning from Avalanche training camp, he was a bit late to start the season, hence only five games played. In his first week back with the team, Hamilton was named player of the week, finishing with four goals and one assist for five points in the two games he played.

He helped the Red Deer improve to a 2-1-0-1 record and made his season debut against the Lethbridge Hurricanes, finishing with a hat trick that included a shorthanded, game-winning goal in the second period.

In his second game, he helped the Red Deer secure a 3-1 victory over the Medicine Hat Tigers, adding a goal and an assist for two points. His goal was the second of the game and would go on to be the game-winning goal as well.

A Welcome Sign For A Depleted Farm

The Avalanche have a pretty thin pool of prospects because of how well they have been over the past five-plus years. Constantly trading first-round picks and using any highly touted prospects in your system as trade pieces to make your team better is the cost of trying to win right now.

It's hard to say right now whether Hamilton or any recent draft picks the Avalanche made will be players who will help produce for the team, but that's the hope and excitement you have when a team drafts a prospect and sees him play well in their league.

It's a hard jump from junior league to the American Hockey League (AHL) or even the NHL, but seeing players further develop their strengths and tone down their weaknesses year by year is a great sign that they could one day help impact the team, or eventually be used in a trade to once again help strengthen the team now to win.

I was a big fan of Max Curran, whom they drafted in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. He was making big strides in the WHL, but they used him to reacquire Nazem Kadri from the Calgary Flames, who can help this team win now.

Seeing Hamilton start the season is great. Turning 19 this season, this player shows a lot of upside, and with plenty of time to continue developing in the WHL and grow his game, he's someone to look forward to, and to see if other players in this Avalanche draft class can follow suit.