The Colorado Eagles begin their season one month from today. How high can fans expect the team to soar this year?
Last Year
Last season, the Eagles owner, Martin Lind, went all-in in pursuit of the Calder Cup. He brought back several former high-production Colorado players, including Jayson Megna, Jacob MacDonald, and T.J. Tynan. Unfortunately for Eagles fans, head coach Aaron Schneekloth departed to be an assistant coach with the Seattle Kraken, so the Eagles also had to bring in a brand-new head coach, Mark Letestu. The combination almost worked, too. The stacked lineup made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals. They even took a 3–2 series lead against the Chicago Wolves, with the final two games to be played on home ice. A trip to the Calder Cup Finals seemed like a sure thing.
But then, in front of a stunned and frustrated home-ice crowd, the Eagles dropped two games in a row and were eliminated from the playoffs.
The defeated Eagles watch the Wolves celebrate their Western Conference win. (Photo courtesy of Colorado Eagles.) (Fun fact: your humble Eagles writer can also be spotted in this photo!)
It was a crushing blow, but not as crushing as what came next.
Free Agency
The Eagles were absolutely gutted in free agency. A long list of players hit the market at the end of the 2025–26 season. Of those, only Reilly Connors and Maroš Jedlička have re-signed with the Eagles. Every other player chose to leave the organization. That list includes (but is not limited to):
- Alex Barre-Boulet — the Eagles’ top points scorer
- T.J. Tynan — led the team in assists
- Jack Ahcan — the Eagles’ leading defenseman, and the second-ranked defenseman in the AHL
- Danil Gushchin — ranked seventh on the team in points
- Tye Felhaber — ranked eighth on the team in points
- Jacob MacDonald — only played 17 games last year after having hip surgery but was the AHL’s Defenseman of the Year in 2024–25 and known as a strong locker room leader
They also lost Chase Bradley and Ivan Ivan to trades.
Of course, the team has signed a few new players as well, most notably forwards Adam Beckman, Fabian Lysell, and Georgii Merkulov, and defensemen Domenick Fensore, Yanick Turcotte, and Christian Wolanin. It’s also possible that Zachary L’Heureux and/or Vinnie Hinostroza will play at least part of the year with the Eagles.
Still, considering all the unsigned free agents and the two players lost to trades, the Eagles lost a total of 375 points. They only added 268 points in return — and that’s assuming that L’Heureux and Hinostroza both play for them.
It doesn’t look good. Overall, it seems likely the Eagles will backslide this season. But how bad should we expect it to get?
On the bright side
A team can’t be fully summed up by stats. A great deal depends on how well the team gels in the locker room and how well they play together on the ice. Last year’s team started out strong but struggled down the stretch amid rumors that Coach Letestu had lost the room. The team rallied once the playoffs started, but in the end, they fell apart.
But for better or worse, the Eagles didn’t just lose players when the 2025–26 season ended. Coach Letestu left the organization to be an assistant coach for the Vegas Golden Knights. Assistant coach Kim Weiss also left for greener pastures. Maybe a fresh start is exactly what the Eagles need. Jussi Ahokas will lead them this year. Last year, he led the Ontario Hockey League’s Kitchener Rangers to the 2025–26 Memorial Cup title.
It’s also important to note that the Eagles retained several key locker room leaders, most importantly their captain, Jayson Megna. His strength as a leader, both on and off the ice, is well-documented.
Jayson Megna celebrates the go-ahead goal against the Abbotsford Canucks during the Division Finals on May 23, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Colorado Eagles)
Defenseman Wyatt Aamodt is also known to be a strong locker-room presence. And newcomer Yanick Turcotte was lauded as an “inspirational leader” while playing with the Chicago Wolves.
I wish I could list Keaton Middleton in this section. He’s been undeniably instrumental in the past, but rumors have persisted since last year that he’s unhappy in Colorado and has asked for a trade. Hopefully, he either embraces his role with the Eagles or is given the trade he wants, because the last thing this team needs is a resentful player with a chip on his shoulder mucking up the works.
Conclusion
One last thing to remember: since their inception in 2003, the Eagles have played in three different leagues. No matter who was on the ice or who was behind the bench, they have never once failed to make the playoffs. They’ve always been contenders. I don’t expect that to change. However, I’d advise fans to buckle up. I predict this will be an uncomfortably bumpy year, with a hard push in the spring to secure a wild-card spot. How deep they’ll go in the Calder Cup playoffs remains to be seen, but a return trip to the Western Conference Finals is highly unlikely. I’d be surprised if they made it past the divisional round.
However, I’d love nothing more than to be proven wrong on that final point.
The Eagles season kicks off on the road on Saturday, October 3 against the Tucson Roadrunners (UTA). AHLTV on FloHockey.com will stream the game.
