BUFFALO, N.Y. – Incoming Cornell men's hockey freshman defenseman Cole Tuminaro was drafted by Colorado in the fifth round on the second day of the 2026 Upper Deck NHL Draft inside KeyBank Center on Saturday afternoon (June 27).

Colorado traded up nine spots with New Jersey to land the 140th overall pick, which it used on the 6-foot-4 blueliner out of the USHL's Chicago Steel. The Rockton, Ill., native was the second of three consecutive defenseman selections made by the Avalanche.

Tuminaro posted 16 points (5-11—16) in 54 games with Chicago in 2025-26 after virtually missing the entirety of his second USHL season due to injury, during which he was named to the USHL All-Academic Team. He entered the draft ranked 96th among North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting and participated in USA Hockey's 2026 Chipotle All-American Game.

"Cole was a player that [head college scout/amateur scout] Mike Battaglia was high on from September," said Nick Pryor, Colorado's director of amateur scouting. "Every time I talked to Mike, he always mentioned Cole."

Pryor also told reporters that Tuminaro's size, skating ability, toughness, and puck-handling make him hard to play against.

Tuminaro joins many familiar faces already within the Avalanche organization, highlighted by defenseman Sam Malinski, who just completed his second full season with Colorado. Former Big Red forward Matt Stienburg and defensemen Hank Kempf and Jacob MacDonald are all currently on the Colorado Eagles, the Avalanche's AHL affiliate.

Tuminaro's selection ensures Cornell has had at least one player drafted in each of the past six NHL Drafts, with at least one player drafted in 15 of the last 16 and 26 of the previous 28 drafts.