Originally published on Hockey Mountain High

by Evan Liu

The Colorado Avalanche made a late-July move with a trade with the San Jose Sharks, looking for an upgrade. Danil Gushchin makes his way to Colorado with Oskar Olausson going the other way.

Olausson is still pointless in his four career NHL games, and never seemed to find it in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles. Last year was a down year, where he only scored 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points in 61 games.

The Swedish forward’s career high in points came in 2022-23, where he scored 30 points in 63 games. Entering the final year of his entry-level contract, he’ll look for a fresh start in San Jose. He could arguably make the first-team roster.

Meanwhile, Colorado gets Gushchin, a 23-year-old forward who mostly plays on the left wing as a left-shot. He made the opening night roster for the San Jose Sharks and made 12 appearances, notching one assist.

He has spent all three years of his short career in the Sharks’ system. In 18 total NHL games, he has two goals and three assists while averaging over 13 minutes a night. He did score a preseason hat trick against the Vegas Golden Knights before the 2022-23 season, however.

The Russian forward has spent most of his time with the AHL affiliate San Jose Barracuda, putting up impressive numbers. Last season, in 56 games, he scored 28 goals and 23 assists. The year before, he put up 54 points also in 56 games. He did play in four playoff games against the Eagles earlier this year.

His best career year came in the OHL with the Niagara IceDogs, where he scored 41 goals and 30 assists for 71 total points in 51 games. Gushchin is described as a skilled, speedy winger with high upside in point production. His numbers back it up, and he’ll look to make an impact in a weak prospect pool in the Avs’ system. Plays like this will help turn heads.

Danil Gushchin has NHL experience, so he could be a potential call-up for the Avalanche. He does need to sign an NHL contract to make it happen. Therefore, he is likely to report and start the year with the AHL affiliate Colorado Eagles in Loveland. Colorado will still look to bolster its own bottom-six, but now has another option.