Avalanche Signs Nielsen
ByColorado Avalanche / ColoradoAvalanche.com
October 27, 2025
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today the team has signed forward Tristen Nielsen to a two-year contract through the 2026-27 season.
Nielsen, 25, signed an AHL contract with the Eagles on August 1, 2025 and was invited to Avalanche training camp. Since being reassigned to the Eagles, the forward has begun the season by posting seven points (3g/4a) in seven games with the club. He ranks tied for first on the team in points and tied for third in assists.
A native of Fort St. John, British Columbia, Nielsen was a member of the 2025 Calder Cup Championship-winning Abbotsford Canucks. He notched 28 points (15g/13a) in 67 games during the 2024-25 regular season and added nine points (5g/4a) in 24 postseason contests. The five goals and nine points both marked playoff career-highs for Nielsen as a professional, and the five tallies shared the fifth-most for Abbotsford during the postseason run.
The 5-foot-10, 192-pound forward turned pro ahead of the 2021-22 season and spent the previous four seasons with Abbotsford before joining the Avalanche organization. In his pro career, Nielsen has registered 122 points (55g/67a) in 238 regular-season AHL games and has added 17 points (7g/10a) in 36 Calder Cup Playoff contests.
Nielsen signed an entry-level contract with Vancouver on July 3, 2023 after posting an AHL-career-high 41 points (14g/27a) in 64 contests during the 2022-23 campaign with Abbotsford. He ranked fourth on the club in scoring. The forward came to the Avalanche organization having hit double-digit goals in each of his last four AHL seasons, including a personal-best 16 (16g/19a) in 2023-24.
Prior to turning pro, Nielsen played in the Western Hockey League for the Calgary Hitmen and Vancouver Giants from 2015-21 and collected 175 points (82g/93a) across 241 career games. He served as alternate captain for the Giants during his last WHL season (2020-21), when he finished tied for eighth in league scoring with 32 points (15g/17a) in 22 appearances due to the COVID-19 shortened season. He also skated in 26 career WHL playoff games and posted a 4g/10a scoring line. Nielsen was teammates with Avalanche goaltender Trent Miner in Vancouver from 2018-21.