Hockey's Future rates ex-Gopher Ryan Stoa as the fifth best prospect in the Colorado Rockies' system and U of M junior goalie Kent Patterson as No. 20.

Here is what the web site wrote about each of 'em:

5. (3) Ryan Stoa, LW, 23
Drafted 2nd round, 34th overall, 2005

Stoa had a very productive year as a rookie on Lake Erie, such a productive year that he'll be in the mix for a roster spot come training camp. Through his first 54 pro games Stoa recorded a solid 23 goals and 17 assists for 40 points.

The 23-year-old Stoa is at the age where he'll start to knock on the NHL's door. He's already had a brief stint with the Avalanche last season playing in 12 games. In those 12 games, Stoa tallied two goals and recorded one assist.

At 6'3 and over 200 pounds, he would be a welcomed addition to the Avalanche top-nine, with the potential to develop into a legit top-six power forward. Having Chris Stewart emerging as a strong power forward himself, the luxury of another similar forward in Stoa will allow the Avalanche to ice a unique duo.5. (3) Ryan Stoa, LW, 23
Drafted 2nd round, 34th overall, 2005

Stoa had a very productive year as a rookie on Lake Erie, such a productive year that he'll be in the mix for a roster spot come training camp. Through his first 54 pro games Stoa recorded a solid 23 goals and 17 assists for 40 points.

The 23-year-old Stoa is at the age where he'll start to knock on the NHL's door. He's already had a brief stint with the Avalanche last season playing in 12 games. In those 12 games, Stoa tallied two goals and recorded one assist.

At 6'3 and over 200 pounds, he would be a welcomed addition to the Avalanche top-nine, with the potential to develop into a legit top-six power forward. Having Chris Stewart emerging as a strong power forward himself, the luxury of another similar forward in Stoa will allow the Avalanche to ice a unique duo.

Comment: Stoa left the Gophers with a year of eligibility left. He was at Minnesota for four years, but he was out his third season with a knee injury. Certainly would have helped Gophers last season when they had trouble scoring even on the power play. Gotta wish him well in pros.

20. (15) Kent Patterson, G, 20
Drafted 4th round, 113th overall, 2007

Unable to capture the starting role on the Gophers over the last two seasons, Patterson has only seen a collective 15 games over this last two years at Minnesota. Last season Patterson appeared in eight games with the Gophers and had a 2-4-1 record including a 3.01 goals against average and a .901 save percentage - both numbers were down from a year ago. On the positive side, Patterson was named to the WCHA All-Academic team for his scholastics in the 2009-10 season.

To compound matters, fellow Gopher goaltender Alex Kangas is returning for his senior year in 2010-11, so it is likely Patterson sees similar game action next season. With two strong goaltending prospects added to the system this past summer, Patterson's chances of landing a contract with the Avalanche at the conclusion of the coming season are slim unless he can win a starting position.

Comment: Kangas sometimes struggled the second game of a weekend, especially against teams that did test him much. Playing Patterson a bit more might help the Gophers. But he starts the season as Kangas' backup and likely will remain in that role unless Kangas gets hurt or really struggles.

Would like to see Patterson play here and there so he can come in sharp if needed. Not sure that will happen.

RUMOR SHOT DOWN

Recently read somewhere that forward Joe Rehkamp of Fargo Force was talking to Gophers. Not so, says his father John.

Rehkamp de-committed from the Air Force Academy earlier this month. He had committed to the AFA in February 2009 as a high school senior.

He will return to the USHL for a second season with the Force and is in contact with several schools. Rehkamp, 19, is listed at 5-11, 175 on the Fargo Force's web site. He had six goals and five assists in 52 regular-season games last season.

He is considered one of the fastest skaters in the USHL. Rehkamp played four seasons of high school hockey at Breck and was the team captain when the Mustangs beat Warroad 7-3 in the Class 1A state title game in 2009.