Gay signs entry level contract with Avalanche
Red Knight alum gets two-year, two-way deal with Colorado
The Colorado Avalanche Hockey Club announced today that the team has signed forward Cooper Gay to a two-year entry-level contract through the 2026-27 season.
The two-way contract means that Gay can be sent down to the Avalanche's American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles.
During his two seasons as a Red Knight, he tallied 28 goals and 51 points in 54 games. He was an All-Metro West Conference selection in 2020 and was the team's winner of the 2019 Andrew Alberts Most Improved Player Award.
Gay, 23, collected 30 points (19g/11a) in a career-high 35 games and served as assistant captain in 2024-25 for the University of St. Thomas, setting personal-bests in both goals and assists. He ranked second on St. Thomas in goals, third in points and added a career-high seven tallies on the man advantage to pace the club in that category.
The Edina, Minn., native totaled 58 career points (35g/23a) in 94 games with the Tommies from 2022-25. He posted a 12g/9a scoring line across 29 games in 2023-24 and added a personal-best four game-winning tallies to lead all St. Thomas skaters. The winger registered the first point streak of his career that season, recording five points (3g/2a) during a three-game span from Oct. 20 – 27, 2023.
In his senior season, Gay finished second in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association with 19 goals, and led the league in goals per game at 0.54, along with topping the CCHA in shots (158) and shots per game (4.51) while also finishing in the top 10 in points, points per game and power-play goals.
Prior to his collegiate career, the 6-foot-4, 209-pound right wing spent the 2021-22 season with the Fargo Force in the USHL and recorded 14 points (7g/7a) in 51 games. He also appeared in one playoff outing for Fargo. Additionally, from 2019-21 he spent time in the NAHL with the Minnesota Magicians and the St. Cloud Norsemen and totaled 13 points (8g/5a) in 40 career outings.
He also earned CCHA Scholar-Athlete and CCHA All-Academic honors in both 2024 and 2025.
Gay attended the 2024 Avalanche Development Camp this past summer.
