DU's Sean Behrens Could Be An Av By Spring - Or More Than Two Years From Now

It all depends on the Avs' defensive needs, but one thing is clear: The second-round draft pick has an NHL future

He is a left-handed shot, two-way defenseman, not overly big but known for his skill, hockey sense, speed and elusiveness. He was selected in one of the first two rounds of an NHL draft, and he has experience at the World Junior Tournament level. He is a highly-prized piece of the Colorado Avalanche’s future.

Most of that same description can be applied to a couple of current Avalanche defensemen: Bo Byram and Sam Girard (the one exception being that Girard has no World Junior experience). One other potential difference: how far into the future Byram/Girard/Behrens has with the Avalanche could either make them all very similar, or not at all for at least one of them.

It’s possible Behrens could be a replacement on the Avalanche depth chart for either a Byram or Girard in the not-too-distant future. Or, all three could be playing together well into the coming years. Those are unknowns still.

One thing that is known, however: Behrens is probably the top defensive prospect in the Avalanche organization. He’s a University of Denver sophomore, who was taken 61st overall by the Avs in the 2021 NHL draft. He’s still only 19, a native of Barrington, Ill., a suburb about 38 miles north of Chicago.

He’s the leader of the defending NCAA champion Pioneers’ defense, and power play. The Pioneers are having a strong follow-up season to winning it all in 2022, currently ranked fourth in the nation.

I had a good talk with Behrens Tuesday before practice, and he’s very happy with his current lot in life. It’s possible he could go pro with the Avs when his DU season is sophomore season over - something other Avs college prospects have done, including Cale Makar in 2019.