The 2023 NHL Draft for the Colorado Avalanche was supposed to be a promising one that would help them down the road and load up on future NHL talent.
With two first-round picks at the end of the round, it was a talented class that was supposed to help the Avalanche with the remaining available players, and in some way, they did.
While pick #27 Calum Ritchie has helped the Avalanche in some way, he was part of the trade package for Brock Nelson. At pick #31, Mikhail Gulyayev showed a lot of promise but, after some post-draft struggles, is finally showing why his value to the Avalanche.
Finishing his pre-draft season in the MHL, a junior hockey league for the KHL, he recorded two goals and 23 assists for 25 points with the Omskie Yastreby. At 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, while size is becoming more and more of a factor in today’s NHL, the flash of skill and skating stands out in Gulyayev's game.
Man, can Mikhail Gulyayev fly out there. You give him an inch, and he’s sprinted a mile past you with about as effortless and clean a stride as you’ve ever seen. It’s the defining characteristic of his game; the foundation on which every other part rests. Every bit as comfortable a defensive skater, Gulyayev gaps up early, often attacks puck carriers on an arc, and always takes away the middle of the ice with his stick. -EliteProspects 2023 NHL Draft Guide
His debut the following post-draft season, while a bit disappointing, is a notable jump from the MHL/VHL to the KHL. Posting back-to-back seasons with over 10 points and played almost every game on a talented Avangard Omsk team. However, last season’s development really stood out like a sore thumb.
Last season, he played just 54 games and finished with a goal and two assists for three points. While the production hurts on paper, it reflects how he was utilized as a player on the team. Not only did he see his minutes reduced, but he was also benched at times and played as a forward to get him into the lineup when the coaching staff saw fit.
Averaging just around 11 minutes per game, it's no wonder his production suffered, and it worried many when he decided not to sign his ELC that summer but to re-sign with the KHL. Though, with how things are trending this season, it's a much better situation not only for him but for the Avalanche as well.
Capitalizing on the Opportunity At Hand
Gulyayev has been red-hot to start the season. With two goals and six assists for eight points in 15 games, he's on pace to set career highs and is currently third on the team in points.
While production is there, it's also the opportunities he's getting from the coaching staff. He's not playing forward much anymore, and he's averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per game, a career high he's seen so far. A good sign that not only is his confidence through the roof, but the coaching staff is trusting him more and more.
This raises the question of what the Avalanche will do with him. Re-signing in the KHL will keep him there through the 2027-28 season, so the earliest we could see him in an Avalanche jersey would be the 2028-29 season.
The Avalanche are in win-now mode; their core players and their contracts are structured accordingly. Does management give him the green light to continue in the KHL, let him develop, and bring him over when his contract is up, or do they look to shop him in a trade to improve this roster now?
He’s the best he's looked since being drafted. For teams not in a rush to bring him over and let him continue to develop, it's probably the best the Avalanche can offer: a high-upside, puck-moving defenseman paired with some draft picks to address an area of need.
With just over $1.6 million in cap space, the cap will obviously need to work, which means moving money, but when it comes to a trade asset who could be as valuable as Gulyayev, it's the best since Ritchie in the Nelson trade.
It all depends on how Avalanche management and the scouting/devleopment department see him. Do they want to let him continue in the KHL and bring him over when he's eligible to sign his ELC, or would they rather use him in a trade this or next season to help bolster this team's Stanley Cup window?
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