The Colorado Avalanche looked to the middle of the ice with its first two selections of the 2026 NHL draft.
Colorado chose Egor Shilov with the No. 43 pick in the second round Saturday, and followed up with Beckett Hamilton at choice No. 74 in the third round.
Shilov, listed at 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, had 32 goals and 82 points in 63 games for the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL this past season. He finished seventh in the QMJHL in scoring, but first among rookies. He is expected to play for Victoriaville next season and then join Penn State for the 2027-28 campaign.
Hailing from Tyumen, Russia, Shilov has also played for the Long Island Gulls in the AYHL and Green Bay Gamblers in the USHL prior to joining Victoriaville. Shilov was previously committed to Boston University, but flipped to Penn State in May.
The consensus from several draft experts on Shilov is he’s a dynamic offensive prospect, but there are questions about his defensive commitment and compete level.
Hamilton, listed at 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds, is in some ways the opposite type of prospect compared to Shilov. He had 24 goals and 62 points in 67 games for Red Deer, plus three goals in five games for Canada at the U-18 world championships.
He’s expected to stay with Red Deer next season, and hasn’t committed to an NCAA program for the future. Hamilton earned praise from multiple draft experts for his play away from the puck and his straightforward offensive attack.
Both Shilov and Hamilton have played center for their CHL teams and gained some penalty-killing experience. The Avs have a very thin pipeline, and these two players immediately slot in among the top five or six prospects in the organization.
Colorado is already particularly thin at center. The Avs have a few prospects who can play center, like TJ Hughes and Gavin Brindley with the Eagles during the Calder Cup Playoffs and Jake Fisher at the University of Denver, but whether or not any of them can stick in the middle at the NHL is certainly in question.
Avs general manager Joe Sakic traded for both of these draft picks in recent days. The No. 43 selection arrived Thursday from Columbus in the Valeri Nichushkin trade, while No. 74 came from Nashville in the Ross Colton deal.
