After four years in the organization, the Colorado Avalanche decided they saw enough of former 2021 first round pick Oskar Olausson and have traded him to the prospect retirement state of California in exchange for San Jose Sharks prospect left wing Danil Gushchin.
While Gushchin is one year older at 23-years of age, both he and Olausson have three years AHL experience under their belt. Gushchin was a third round San Jose pick and both players spent a year in the OHL before beginning their pro careers.
Olausson had a lot of promise with size at six-foot-two and a possesses great shot but inconsistency and lack of AHL production didn’t earn him much favor for an extended opportunity with the Avalanche. The right wing had his best AHL year in 2024-25, but it was cut short due to injury, when he put up 20 points in 39 games. Still, the longest run Olausson ever received was two NHL games for a grand total of four in his career.
This move is another in a long line of transactions which have sent many one highly thought of but ultimately discarded prospects to San Jose including Nicolas Meloche, Martin Kaut, Nikolai Kovalenko and now Oskar Olausson. Also worth noting, the Sharks just recently traded for another former Avalanche prospect in Shane Bowers.
After three years in the AHL it’s best for both players to move on to other opportunities before likely heading back overseas. Gushchin got in 18 games with the Sharks including 12 games in the 2024-25 campaign and has scored two NHL goals. His size at five-foot-eight could be a limiting factor but if he can show enough skill at the NHL level he could get more of an opportunity than Olausson did.
With three straight 20-goal AHL seasons including two of over 50 points, if nothing else the Russian left wing projects as a top scorer for the Colorado Eagles assuming his skill set translates to new head coach Mark Letestu’s system and gets power play time. To get there first Gushchin needed a new contract as he was an unsigned Restricted Free Agent without arbitration rights at the time of the trade. It didn’t take long for the Avalanche to agree on a deal with their new acquisition at the NHL league minimum $775k with a $200k guarantee. He is waivers eligible now, too.
Gushchin will be in the mix with the rest of the new depth forwards such as Gavin Brindley, Alex Barre-Boulet and Zakhar Bardakov to make an impression in training camp and find favor for a NHL opportunity. Just how many open spots will be determined by the number of transactions Colorado makes the rest of this offseason.