Eighteen months ago, Christian Humphreys took a detour on his development path and then everything changed in more ways than one.
Three weeks ago, he punctuated the decision to leave college for junior hockey in Canada with a Memorial Cup triumph while playing for the Kitchener Rangers. Now, he’s getting ready to go back to school.
“It was surreal,” Humphreys said during the Colorado Avalanche’s summer development camp. “Itap just kind of just starting to soak in right now. We had an incredible team, and what an accomplishment. You’ve got to beat out 61 teams to get there. Our team was just so good and so tight, on and off the ice. Just being there and going through that process, going through seven-game series, it teaches you a lot.
“It was three weeks ago today, and it is still so cool.”
Everything has changed for players with NHL aspirations, and no one exemplifies that more than Humphreys, a seventh-round pick by the Avalanche in the 2024 NHL draft. He spent the year leading into the draft with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.
He went to Michigan as an 18-year-old freshman, and it didn’t work out. Humphreys played 10 games, had one point and in January decided to leave for Kitchener.
“Every player’s path is different,” Humphreys said. “You’ve got to find the right fit. That was a real humbling experience for me. I was grateful for my time at Michigan, and to them for having me. Whenever I picked up the phone and called Kitchener, it was the best thing for me. To go out with a Memorial Cup, itap so special. Itap something I’ll never forget.”
A sea change for prospects with NCAA shift
For decades, that was the end of his amateur career. Players who played games in one of Canada’s three major junior leagues were ineligible to play NCAA hockey. When he left Ann Arbor for Ontario, his college eligibility was revoked.
The Avs would have either had to sign him by last month or let him go back in the draft. Humphreys would be preparing for life as a pro hockey player, starting next season at 20 years old — likely either in a limited role with the Colorado Eagles or even in the ECHL with the New Mexico Goatheads.
But then the rules changed. This past season, CHL players were granted NCAA eligibility.
Humphreys, who had 27 goals and 85 points in 63 regular-season games for the Rangers, then nine goals and 22 points in 18 playoff games, initially wanted to sign and turn pro. But after discussions with the Avalanche and his inner circle, Humphreys committed to play for another Big Ten school, Minnesota, next season.
“I really think the original switch from Michigan to Kitchener was the right thing to do development-wise,” Colorado director of player development Brian Willsie said. “He went in there and got a great opportunity to play in a top-six role with Kitchener in the OHL, and then obviously this year was a huge success individually, and then the team wins the Memorial Cup.
“For 20-year-olds coming out of the CHL, we’ve said it before, going to the American League is tough. The American League is a tough, tough league. So, to have that extra runway and the rules changing mid-development for him is a huge advantage, both for him and for us.”
Humphreys is absolutely the type of prospect that the rule changes were meant for. Listed at 5-foot-11 and 170 pounds, he is going to need to build up his body as much as his hockey skills in the next couple of seasons.
For so long, a player like him had to choose between the game-centric rigors of the CHL versus the extra practice and workout time with an NCAA program. Now, he’s going to reap the benefits of both.
“You can use the cliché line of I want to get faster and stronger, but I think for me itap the little details,” Humphreys said. “Whether itap getting a bump or being hard on the forecheck, the playoffs taught me every little detail has got to be sharp or you’re going to lose hockey games.
“Management here does a great job of helping players get to where they want. When that opportunity came, it was a no-brainer for me. I think you’re going to see a lot of players do the same thing.”
FOOTNOTE: The Avs will play two games at the 2026 Rookie Faceoff Tournament in San Jose, the club announced Thursday. Colorado’s prospects will play Sept. 12 against Anaheim and the following day against Vegas.
