Colorado Avalanche Top 25 Under 25: #13 Ondrej Pavel

1 year ago  /  Mile High Hockey  /  Read Time: 1 minute 50 seconds

Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images


Is the forward a dark horse to get NHL games? 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 as of July 1, 2023, in the Colorado Avalanche organization. Now, we’ll count down each of the 25 players ranked.

Kicking off a run of profiles highlighting the organization’s NCAA free agent spending spree is a hard-working forward who just might catch the eye of Jared Bednar and fill a role at the NHL level some point this season. Ondrej Pavel was signed after his junior year at Minnesota State which followed a two-year career in the USHL with the Fargo Force. Although Pavel was born in the Czech Republic he has been playing in North America since 2017 and as such his game very much reflects that meat-and-potatoes quality developed in the heartland.
Pavel isn’t known for scoring but his production peaked in his sophomore season at Minnesota State when he scored 22 points and 12 goals in 44 games. In his final year in the NCAA a more modest six goals and 15 points filled the score sheet. There are still some nice highlights such as this one where Pavel finishes around the net front.


Ondrej Pavel makes it a 5-2 lead for @MinnStMHockey on the fantastic feed from Jake Livingstone! @StandaPavel will like that one #HornsUp @MN_NCAA pic.twitter.com/Lz9Rj3LgzS— Alex Micheletti (@AlexMicheletti) March 12, 2023



Clearly it won’t be offense as the primary reason the 22-year old will get a NHL opportunity but rather the other skills Pavel has honed over the last several years. He is an excellent penalty killer and in his junior year had a 61.3% faceoff winning percentage. It’s easy to see which attributes the Avalanche were interested in when signing Pavel as a free agent. The question will be can he do enough with the puck at the NHL level to secure that type of role on the fourth line, not just with scoring but also just raw puck skill. The upcoming training camp will go a long way to determine if Pavel can fit in with NHL players and if so the team is looking for a bottom line forward very much in the mold of what Pavel can provide and could lead to a look with the Avalanche sooner than later.
Pavel already has familiarity with the organization having joined the Colorado Eagles late last year where he got in six games and chipped in two assists during the postseason. Lately he’s been at the Avalanche practice facility skating nearly every day in a small group with typically Kurtis MacDermid, Sam Girard, newcomer Ryan Johansen and the gone but never forgotten Buffalo Sabre Erik Johnson. That comfort will only help Pavel’s cause when it’s time for training camp in a little over a month.
2023 Top 25 Under 25
#14 Alex Beaucage
#15 Sampo Ranta
#16 Taylor Makar
#17 Jeremy Hanzel
#18 Trent Miner
#19 Colby Ambrosio
#20 Gianni Fairbrother
#21 Matt Stienburg
#22 Chris Romaine
#23 Maros Jedlicka
#24 Andrei Buyalsky
#25: Nikita Ishimnikov
...

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