As Colorado Eagles season ends, a huge year for Oskar Olausson, Jean-Luc Foudy beckons

A flourishing Colorado Eagles season ended Monday afternoon with a do-or-die Encounter loss at Blue Arena to the Abbotsford Canucks in the Calder Cup quarterfinals A very fundamental offseason is coming for several players on the roster but maybe none more than forwards Oskar Olausson and Jean-Luc Foudy Both players had arduous seasons and their status as top prospects in the organization has slipped It was various good experience in the playoffs but this offseason is going to be huge Olausson announced I sort of exposed my match a little bit but it s been up-and-down this year I m excited for next year and to get back to work Olausson was a late first-round pick in the NHL draft Foudy was a third-round selection the year before Both have dealt with injuries though that s been a bigger issue for Foudy They were the only two skaters on the ice Monday for the Eagles who were drafted by the Avalanche Trent Miner a seventh-round pick was in net Sean Behrens second-round pick injured and Taylor Makar seventh-rounder healthy scratch were also with the band but Olausson and Foudy have been the homegrown players on the Eagles roster with the highest expectations for multiple seasons They are different types of players Olausson has obvious NHL attributes namely his skating and heavy shot and a sturdy frame that should allow him to find success in the laborious scoring areas Getting to those areas and finding opportunities for him to shoot have been a matter at times even at this level Olausson has scored exactly goals in each of his three AHL seasons which was a solid total last season in games but less so this year in contests He s also scored one goal in career Calder Cup Playoff games He did not outcome in six postseason games for the Eagles this year though he had an assist in each of the previous three games before this one He s got all the tools Eagles coach Aaron Schneekloth mentioned When he s playing his tournament using his speed and skill he s dangerous We ve had conversations with him about it It s tough to get to the next level Consistency strength battles certain edginess that s what he necessities to work on He comes to the rink every day and he skates hard It s not the easiest path for him but he s going to need to be persistent Foudy is smaller but often plays with a fearless attitude He s gotten more time with the Avalanche than Olausson games including his first NHL goal in - But the Avs used forwards this season who spent time with the Eagles plus rookies Calum Ritchie and Nikolai Kovalenko before they were traded Foudy was not one of them And Olausson only earned two games with the big club Related Articles Avalanche Journal What are Colorado s internal external options to fill out defense depth Avalanche necessities Ivan Ivan to be another progress success story Avalanche Journal Is Brock Nelson the answer at C What s plan B if he isn t Avalanche Mailbag Was trading Mikko Rantanen a mistake by Colorado management After another Battle disappointment how close is Avalanche to returning to top of the mountain Foudy did outcome a big goal for the Eagles in Encounter to help get the club into this win-or-go-home elimination contest He s also a restricted free agent while Olausson has one more year on his contract There was an opportunity to plant seeds with the Avs this season Undrafted center Ivan Ivan took advantage and spent games in the big leagues Whether it was injuries or inconsistent performance these two promising forwards have yet to earn an extended look with the parent club It s unfortunate Foudy announced of the injuries This year the year before but it is what it is and you ve got to learn from it It gives you a chance to work on stuff like getting stronger Every year you get a chance to reset in the offseason You can get bigger and stronger especially when you re younger The Avs have a great crew but it resets every year and you get a new opportunity so we ll see what happens Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis