Ivan Ivan was a standout a training camp for the Colorado Avalanche, and has gone down to the Colorado Eagles and only gotten better as the season has gone on.
On Tuesday, the Avalanche rewarded him with an entry level contract.
The 21 year old forward, who earned a lot of praise from Jared Bednar during training camp, earned a two-year entry level deal from the organization that will kick in next season. He’ll play out the rest of this season on his current AHL contract, but this means no other NHL team can sign him.
Ivan has been one of the Eagles best players over the last month and a half, as he appears to be understanding more and more what he needs to do at the pro level. In his last 19 games, he’s got 15 points, and has been moving between wing and center, showing some versatility.
Here’s a cool moment from Eagles practice that was shared on social media.
The moment Ivan Ivan found out he earned his first NHL contract! https://t.co/YQRVu0s0b2 pic.twitter.com/FOi9xZfrIU
— Colorado Eagles (@ColoradoEagles) March 5, 2024
Back during training camp, I talked to Ivan about why he chose to sign an AHL deal with the Avalanche. Here’s what he had to say.
“I think since January, there was a couple of teams talking about me. I think it was one of the best offers, and I’ve always been a Colorado fan when I was younger, like crazy. When Colorado won the Cup, I was super excited. It was one of the things for me, I guess it’s meant to be because it’s Colorado. And it’s really nice here, really like the people here, and it’s really nice around here.”
Bednar was impressed with what he did in camp as well, which is exactly what someone needs to do when they’re trying to earn an NHL contract.
“Great skillset,” Bednar said. “Crafty, really good hands and vision. Offensive guy who can skate. I see him as a prospect, I do. Just watching him and Jedlicka through training camp, I’ve been really impressed…I expect him to have a big year down with the Eagles. I think they can rely on him in a bunch of different ways.”
I know Avalanche fans have been waiting for this news, so they can now rest easy. Ivan Ivan isn’t going anywhere.