The Avalanche assigned defenseman Jack Ahcan outright to AHL Colorado, according to a team announcement. Ahcan had cleared waivers on Monday but was not immediately reassigned, remaining with the club as a healthy scratch for their opening night win over the Kings on Tuesday. His demotion indicates that defenseman Ilya Solovyov, whom Colorado plucked off the wire from the Flames last week, has resolved his work visa issues and is ready to come off the non-roster list.
Ahcan, 28, is entering his third season in the Colorado organization. He was very briefly an unrestricted free agent on July 1 before opting to return to Colorado on a one-year, two-way deal that guarantees him at least $450K. He initially joined the Avs on a two-year, two-way deal as a Group VI UFA back in 2023.
Before that, Ahcan was in the Bruins’ pipeline. They signed him as an undrafted free agent out of St. Cloud State in 2020. He saw brief NHL looks with Boston in his first two professional seasons, making nine appearances for the club from 2020-22. He was given a somewhat long leash, averaging 17:34 per game, but only scored one goal with a -6 rating with middling possession numbers. After that, Ahcan didn’t appear in an NHL game again until last season, skating in a pair of late-season games as Colorado rested its NHL regulars. He averaged 15:48 over that pair of games while recording a shot, block, and three hits.
The 5’9″ lefty has created enough offense at the minor-league level to stay afloat. He’s coming off a career-best effort with Colorado’s AHL affiliate, the Eagles, posting a 5-36–41 line in 69 appearances. In 272 career AHL appearances, he has 23 goals and 125 assists for 148 points with a +22 rating.
Colorado will keep Ahcan in the organization for the balance of the season as one of their primary recall options should they need a fill-in on the NHL roster, particularly if there’s a need for a puck-mover.