Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #19 Colby Ambrosio
John Quackenbos/Boston College Athletics
A talented forward with Avalanche-style skills, but a lack of high-end production raises questions about Ambrosio’s upside.
The Top 25 Under 25 is a collaboration by members of the Mile High Hockey staff. Five writers have ranked players under the age of 25 in the Colorado Avalanche organization as of July 1, 2023. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.
Colby Ambrosio, the former fourth-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche in the 2020 NHL Draft, is facing something of a make-or-break season. He has been a solid contributor to Boston College during his three seasons for the Eagles, but after averaging 0.63 points per game his freshman year, 0.58 points per game his sophomore year, and 0.58 points per game his junior year, he needs a bump in production during his senior year to put him on the map of Colorado’s top 10 prospects. When they drafted him out of the Tri-City Storm in the USHL, he was coming off a point per game season, so there is reason to believe he still has more production to unlock.
After coming in last year at no. 15 in Mile High Hockey’s rankings, many Avs fans expected Ambrosio’s obvious talents to translate to increased production, but that never really materialized for an inconsistent Boston College team that finished eighth in Hockey East. Ambrosio spent a good chunk of the year on the second line, primarily playing center and some right-wing, but by the end of the season, he was consistently playing right wing on BC’s third line.
Ambrosio is dangerous both off the rush and in the offensive zone, as he utilizes his speed and stick-handling ability to create space to operate anywhere on the ice. This goal from his sophomore year is a good example of his drive in the offensive end, as he is a difficult player to track and will continue to move until he finds a pocket of space where he can do some damage.
Why wait? @colbyambrosio67 pic.twitter.com/ViN0ceYWum— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) October 8, 2021
He has skilled hands and a quick shot, as demonstrated by this goal from last season.
Here's the Ambro one-timer on the PP pic.twitter.com/LTsZbTtzGt— BC Men's Hockey (@BC_MHockey) October 2, 2022
Ambrosio passes the eye test for nearly everyone who watches him, the issue has been translating that talent to production. If you turn on any BC game, you will inevitably see Ambrosio wreaking havoc in the offensive end at some point. He is very much an Avalanche-style prospect, as his speed off the rush terrorizes defensemen, but he hasn’t demonstrated the scoring consistency yet to make a name for himself outside Avalanche and Boston College fans.
He likely will not center BC’s top line as the fifth overall pick from 2022, Cutter Gauthier will be returning to school for his sophomore year to presumably hold down the position he played all of last year, but Ambrosio’s ability to play the wing could see him getting first-line minutes with highly skilled NHL-caliber players. It’s much more likely he begins the year as the second-line center like he did last season, and whether he can generate more scoring opportunities will likely play a big role both in how far Boston College can go next year, and whether Ambrosio can position himself to crack the Avalanche lineup in the coming years.
2023 Top 25 Under 25
#21 Matthew Stienburg
#22 Chris Romaine
#23 Maros Jedlicka
#24 Andrei Buyalsky
#25: Nikita Ishimnikov
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