Oskar Olausson Could Be Avalanche Star, Starting Next Season

When Oskar Olausson was selected 28th overall by the Avalanche in the first round of this year’s NHL draft, there were the usual bromides by the team and some other partisan observers.

“We couldn’t believe he was still on the board!” This kid has great upside! We had him much higher in the draft!”

A lot of the time, that ends up being so much yadda, yadda, yadda. But, with Olausson, maybe the cliches were right. Maybe the Avs really did steal one this time in the draft.

If you haven’t been paying attention to the statistics of the Ontario Hockey League and more specifically those of the Barrie Colts, you’ve missed that Olausson is having a great season so far. In his first 20 games with the Colts, Olausson has 12 goals and 25 points. It’s his first season in North America, after playing a couple of years in the Swedish League.

While his coach, Marty Williamson, emphasized that Olausson still needs to improve on his game away from the puck, he said he expects the 19-year-old native of Stockholm to turn pro by next season.