I’m weary of giving up on a prospect too soon. We’ve seen time and time again that some players just need a little bit more time to ripen before they’re ready to graduate to the NHL. Still, as an organization, there comes a time when you need to see a player take that next step. If they don’t, they might get left behind. The Colorado Avalanche have two prospects that are in need of big seasons to show they have what it takes to eventually play at the NHL level.

Jean-Luc Foudy and Oskar Olausson aren’t that far off in terms of age. Foudy turned 22 right after the season ended, while Olausson will turn 22 right when next season begins. If you were to rank the top five prospects in the Avalanche system (which we’ll be doing soon), there’s a good chance you’d have at least one of them in there, depending on what your criteria for a prospect is. 22 is far from old, but both need to take steps this season to show they can be a part of this teams future (or even present).

And they might get a real good chance to show they’re capable of doing just that in training camp.

With Valeri Nichushkin suspended, the status of Gabriel Landeskog and Artturi Lehkonen up in the air, and Logan O’Connor returning from major surgery, the Avalanche might be short on wingers when camp starts. Both Foudy and Olausson should get some good opportunities to play with talent, and they’ll need to take advantage of it.

Olausson had a good camp last year. He impressed the coaching staff, earning praise from Jared Bednar, and even scored a nice overtime winner in one of the preseason games. Maybe the jump in production in the AHL wasn’t quite what you wanted to see, but it was at least there, as he produced the same point total he did the year prior in 24 less games. Not bad, but 20 points in 39 games for someone who is really just known for offense doesn’t really jump off the page. He has snuck into one NHL game each of the past two seasons, but his ice-time has been limited, so it’s tough to really take much from those games.

Shoulder surgery cut his season short last year, but he’s expected to be ready to go when camp opens in mid-September. He’ll need to show even more this year. I don’t expect him to be a full-time player this season by any means, but show you’re someone who can fill a role for more than just one game if needed. If he doesn’t, he’ll risk falling behind and out of Colorado’s plans completely.

One guy Olausson will be competing with for a roster spot is Jean-Luc Foudy, who is probably already ahead of him on the depth chart. Foudy is someone Bednar has said is on the cusp of the NHL, and I’ve been impressed with his play when he’s gotten a chance with the Avalanche the last two seasons. Although he’s just 22, he’ll be entering his fifth professional season with the organization, which is very rare and only the case for him because of the strange rules during COVID. Injuries have cut into his last two seasons, but he’s nearing 200 games in the AHL. The time is now for him to make the jump. I think he’s capable of it, but we’ll have to see how things shake out when camp rolls around. And he’ll have to earn it.

Both of these guys taking strides would make life a heck of a lot easier for Avalanche management. If they don’t, Chris MacFarland and company may need to scour the waiver and trade market for additional depth as the season goes on.