Colorado Avalanche: Team of the Future

The Colorado Avalanche are currently the second hottest team in the Western Conference over the last 10 games, going 7-3 and accumulating six straight victories. The reason for this? Their young talent.

The Avalanche has brought in a core group of young talent to lead the Avalanche back to Western Conference dominance, and so far, they haven't disappointed. Despite injuries to key players such as Milan Hejduk, Adam Foote, and Ryan Wilson, the team has still come through victorious.

The team has shown off with youngsters such as Paul Stastny, who has been with the team for four seasons now, and has had ties with them while they were still in Quebec as his father Peter played for the Nordiques in the '80s and early '90s. Paul is currently leading the team in overall points, and appears to be a favorite to take the captains role when Adam Foote retires.

Another great youngster has been Matt Duchene. Matt is up for the NHL Calder Trophy for rookie of the year honors, and deceivingly so. He has already accumulated 34 points in the season. Matt is slumping a little bit as of late in the points column, but looks to start putting some points on the board again real soon.

One of the other young players who has been fantastic this season is Chris Stewart. Stewart is leading the team in goals right now with 17, has a total of 35 points, and is looking to do more damage throughout the rest of the season. Chris can play nice two-way hockey and provides usefulness on the defensive side of the red line.

With this group of young superstars, teamed up with the seasoned vets like Foote, Hejduk, and fifth-year man Wojtek Wolski, this team seems to be well rounded and should continue to get better in the years to come. With proper development, look for the Avalanche to become the best team in the NHL real soon.