Ross
Colton
C · NSH · Balanced · Very good
- PAL
- 79
- WAR
- 0.1
- Value
- 73
- PTS
- 24
2025-26№ 348 / 615
Ross Colton (Nashville Predators) stats and profile: offensive production, ice time, advanced stats, WAR and PAL rating.
Ross Colton
#79CPlays: Winger · 11% of faceoffs
Nashville Predators
HEIGHT : 183 cm · WEIGHT : 88 kg · SHOOTS : L
Born : September 10, 1996 · Robbinsville, United States
Drafted : 2016 · TBL · round 4, pick #118
Contract : $4,000,000 · 2023-24 → 2026-27 · Standard Contract · UFANTC / M-NTC
NHL record
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-27 | Nashville Predators | 17 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| 2025-26 | Colorado Avalanche | 73 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 13 |
| 2024-25 | Colorado Avalanche | 61 | 16 | 13 | 29 | 18 |
| 2023-24 | Colorado Avalanche | 80 | 17 | 23 | 40 | 61 |
| 2022-23 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 81 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 50 |
| 2021-22 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 79 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 24 |
| 2020-21 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 30 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 16 |
| NHL totals | 421 | 94 | 90 | 184 | 186 | |
Playoffs
| Year | Team | GP | G | A | PTS | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | Colorado Avalanche | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| 2024-25 | Colorado Avalanche | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023-24 | Colorado Avalanche | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2022-23 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| 2021-22 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 23 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 13 |
| 2020-21 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 23 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 12 |
| Playoff totals | 75 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 47 | |
Honours
- 🏆 Stanley Cuponce · 2020-21
Ross Colton: our analysis
2025-26 season: 73 GP, 9 G, 15 A, 24 PTS, +9 +/-, 12:31 TOI. WAR 0.1 (348th of 615) · PAL 79, very good.
In 2025-26, Ross Colton, 30, posts a PAL Rating of 79 out of 100 (very good), and his WAR of 0.1 ranks 348th among 615 regulars, in the bottom half.
His strengths: possession (99, among the best in the league), discipline (94, among the best in the league) and creation (93, among the best in the league). On the other hand, power play (1, among the weakest in the league) and shooting (20, well below average) hold him back.
Breaking down his WAR (goals above average), his biggest contribution: EV offense (+5.9); his biggest cost: finishing (-10.0).
A slight dip from 2024-25, when his PAL was 82; his WAR went from 0.3 to 0.1.
Contract-wise, his Value score of 73 (good value) weighs his output against what he costs: 50 is what that salary should buy.
Ross Colton's story
Raised in New Jersey, Colton moved through local youth programs before enrolling at Princeton Day School and later Taft School in Connecticut, where he continued to develop as a prospect. His jump to the USHL with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders proved decisive: he emerged among the league’s top scorers, set a Top Prospects Game record and drew attention ahead of the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.
Selected in the fourth round, 118th overall, by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colton opted for the college path and spent two seasons with the Vermont Catamounts. His production at UVM earned him a professional contract with Tampa Bay in June 2018, and he began his pro career with the Syracuse Crunch in the AHL, where he established himself as a reliable scorer during his rookie campaign.
Colton made his NHL debut on February 24, 2021, and scored in that first game. He played a notable part in Tampa Bay’s 2021 playoff run, scoring the Cup-clinching goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning extended him for two years in August 2021; the following season he posted career highs with 22 goals and 39 points in 79 games, cementing his role as a depth scorer.
On June 28, 2023, Tampa Bay traded Colton to the Colorado Avalanche for a second-round pick. He negotiated a four-year contract with Colorado in July 2023, registered an assist in his Avalanche debut on opening night and hit several personal milestones that season, including his 200th NHL appearance and his 100th career point. He finished the 2023-24 regular season with 17 goals and 40 points in 80 games and played in all 11 of Colorado’s postseason contests.
Colton’s game combines a physical edge with a knack for finding scoring chances. Comfortable as a top-nine forward, he offers versatility—able to slot into different lines and contribute both in support roles and on pivotal plays in the playoffs.
Facts drawn from Wikipédia, told in our own words.
Advanced stats
- TOI/GP
- 13:11
- PP TOI/GP
- 0:29
- SH TOI/GP
- 0:00
- Pts/GP
- 0.47
- EV points
- 8
- Hits
- 39
- Blocks
- 14
- Takeaways
- 1
- Corsi % (SAT)
- 49.4 %
- Off. zone starts
- 21.2 %
- Faceoffs
- 100.0 %
Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)
2026-27 projection
Projected points
28between 13 and 43 (80% range)
- Goals
- 13
- Assists
- 15
- Games
- 76
So far: 8 pts in 17 games. The team has played 17 of 84 games. Projected pace: 0.34 pts per game (last season: 0.33).
The projection follows last season's pace. Tested on 2,265 player seasons (2022-23 to 2025-26): average miss of 9 points over 82 games; for players at 0.9 points per game and up, it ran 5 points high on average.
Trend
Slight decline
- Points per game: 0.50 in 23-24, 0.33 in 25-26
- PAL Rating: 82 → 79
Outlook, age included
↘ Slight declineAge 30: prime years
This is only a projection. It knows nothing about injuries, trades or role changes; one player in five finishes outside the range.
Player ratings, 2025-26
All ratings →Fourteen ratings from 0 to 100 drawn from data, never by hand: 75 = established NHL player, 95+ = elite.
OV · OverallConfidence 79 %
84
Very good
- SK
- Skating
- 85
- Confidence 73 %
- ST
- Strength
- 78
- Confidence 83 %
- EN
- Endurance
- 67
- Confidence 80 %
- DU
- Durability
- 79
- Confidence 77 %
- CK
- Checking
- 88
- Confidence 83 %
- FG
- Fighting
- 79
- Confidence 65 %
- DI
- Discipline
- 84
- Confidence 83 %
- FO
- Faceoffs
- 74
- Confidence 75 %
- PA
- Passing
- 79
- Confidence 79 %
- SC
- Scoring
- 80
- Confidence 79 %
- DF
- Defense
- 77
- Confidence 76 %
- PS
- Penalty shot
- 84
- Confidence 29 %
- EX
- Experience
- 82
- Confidence 100 %
Why these ratings?Hide details
SK — Skating85
- Top speed (35 %)36.5 · 80
- Bursts > 20 mph /60 (30 %)9.805 · 87
- Distance /60 (20 %)16.7 · 83
- Speed consistency (15 %)35.6 · 78
ST — Strength78
- Contact absorbed /60 (50 %)4.752 · 80
- Body mass (50 %)-0.499 · 72
EN — Endurance67
- Ice time per game (45 %)13.3 · 65
- Total ice time (20 %)898 · 71
- Shift length (15 %)42.8 · 65
- Lowest recent ice time per game (15 %)12.5 · 68
- Special-teams time per game (5 %)1.47 · 60
DU — Durability79
- Share of games played (100 %)0.842 · 79
CK — Checking88
- Hits /60 (70 %)8.759 · 87
- Lowest seasonal rate (20 %)7.199 · 87
- Season volume (10 %)5.075 · 87
FG — Fighting79
- Fights per 82 games (100 %)0.906 · 79
DI — Discipline84
- Net penalty value /60 (50 %)0.048 · 84
- Penalties taken /60 (30 %)0.596 · 76
- Penalties drawn /60 (20 %)0.881 · 81
FO — Faceoffs74
- Faceoff % (85 %)50.1 · 76
- Faceoffs /60 (15 %)20.1 · 61
PA — Passing79
- Primary assists /60 (40 %)0.681 · 76
- Secondary assists /60 (20 %)0.41 · 69
- Offensive creation (RAPM) (20 %)0.295 · 92
- Power-play points /60 (10 %)3.446 · 56
- Assist consistency (10 %)0.554 · 79
SC — Scoring80
- Goals /60 (25 %)0.84 · 76
- Individual xG /60 (20 %)1.089 · 88
- Finishing (goals − xG per shot) (20 %)-1.446 · 47
- High-danger chances /60 (15 %)1.88 · 88
- xG per shot (10 %)0.082 · 71
- Shot attempts /60 (10 %)17.3 · 90
DF — Defense77
- RAPM defense /60 (35 %)0.015 · 76
- Relative xG against (20 %)-0.101 · 78
- On-ice xG against /60 (15 %)2.443 · 85
- Penalty kill /60 (10 %)-0.023 · 77
- Takeaways − giveaways /60 (10 %)-1.344 · 76
- Shot attempts against /60 (5 %)59.3 · 67
- Blocked shots /60 (5 %)2.78 · 77
PS — Penalty shot84
- Shootouts (60 %)33.6 · 85
- Penalty shots (40 %)26.7 · 76
EX — Experience82
- Career regular-season games (65 %)85
- Career playoff games (25 %)82
- NHL seasons (10 %)66
OV — Overall84
- SC · Scoring (20 %)80
- PA · Passing (20 %)79
- DF · Defense (20 %)77
- SK · Skating (12 %)85
- FO · Faceoffs (10 %)74
- EN · Endurance (8 %)67
- DI · Discipline (5 %)84
- ST · Strength (3 %)78
- CK · Checking (2 %)88
| Season | OV | SK | SC | DF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | 84 | 85 | 80 | 77 |
| 2024-25 | 83 | 80 | 85 | 77 |
| 2023-24 | 82 | 84 | 80 | 74 |
| 2022-23 | 79 | 79 | 83 | 71 |
The bars show confidence (sample size), not player quality. — : not enough data, not a zero. Engine version 1.0.
WAR and PAL ratings, 2025-26
How we rate →PAL Rating scores performance from 0 to 100 against players at the same position (50 = average player), starting from the player's strength, offensive or defensive. Value Rating compares that performance with what the player costs: 50 means paid what the play is worth.
WAR
0.1
wins above replacement
348 of 615
PAL Rating
79/ 100
Performance · Very good
90 of 476 at the position
Value Rating
73/ 100
Good value
4.00 M$ · expected PAL 59
ProfileBalancedNeither end dominates
- Offense
- 64
- Defense
- 83
See full detailsHide details
- Offense
- 36
- Creation
- 93
- Shooting
- 20
- Possession
- 99
- Defense
- 68
- Discipline
- 94
- Power play
- 1
- Penalty kill
- 37
From 0 to 100; 50 is the average player at the same position, adjusted for ice time.
| Season | Team | WAR | PAL | Value | Cap hit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | COL | 0.1 | 79 | 73 | 4.00 M$ |
| 2024-25 | COL | 0.3 | 82 | 75 | 4.00 M$ |
| 2023-24 | COL | 0.3 | 61 | 44 | 4.00 M$ |
| 2022-23 | TBL | 0.4 | 53 | 61 | 1.13 M$ |
Hockey IQ, 2025-26
Rankings and method →The quality of the player's decisions with and against the puck at 5-on-5, against regulars at the same position (50 = average). PAL measures output; IQ measures how the player plays.
Overall IQ
94/ 100
Elite
better than 94% of forwards, offense and defense combined
Offensive IQ
64/ 100
Average
passing, shots, puck
Defensive IQ
96/ 100
Elite
takeaways, discipline, own zone
Overall IQ isn't an average of the two scores: it's the player's rank with offense and defense combined, 24 of 424 forwards.
See full detailsHide details
Offense
- Playmaking passes
- 78
- Shot selection
- 21
- Penalties drawn
- 68
- Puck management
- 85
Defense
- Takeaways
- 86
- Discipline
- 92
- Safe zone exits
- 69
Percentiles: 80 means better than 80% of regulars at the same position. Play without the puck (positioning, coverage) isn't measured: the NHL doesn't publish that data.
| Season | Team | IQ | Off. | Def. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | COL | 94 | 64 | 96 |
| 2024-25 | COL | 86 | 85 | 63 |
| 2023-24 | COL | 57 | 79 | 30 |
| 2022-23 | TBL | 66 | 68 | 59 |
WAR, 2025-26
How it's calculated →Wins added to the team, compared with a replacement-level player called up from the AHL.
0.1
wins above replacement
-0.7 to 0.8 — 90% interval
348 of 615 forwards
+0.3 goals above replacement
Full leaderboard →See full detailsHide details
- EV offense
- +5.9
- EV defense
- +0.7
- Power play
- -0.3
- Penalty kill
- 0.0
- Shooting
- -10.0
- Penalties
- +1.7
- Average → replacement
- +2.4
In goals.
| Season | Team | GP | WAR | 90% interval | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-26 | COL | 73 | 0.1 | -0.7 to 0.8 | 348/615 |
| 2024-25 | COL | 61 | 0.3 | -0.8 to 1.3 | 266/596 |
| 2023-24 | COL | 80 | 0.3 | -1.0 to 1.4 | 279/608 |
| 2022-23 | TBL | 81 | 0.4 | -0.7 to 1.6 | 226/617 |
Player tracking (NHL EDGE)
League EDGE leaderboards →Speed, shot power, distance covered, time by zone: measured by chips in the puck and shoulder pads. 90th percentile = better than 90% of players.
- Hardest shot
- 130.0 km/h44th percentileleague avg. 130.1 km/h
- Top skating speed
- 37.5 km/h96th percentileleague avg. 35.2 km/h
- Bursts over 20 mph, season
- 3278th percentileleague avg. 21
- Offensive zone time
- 41.9 %48th percentileleague avg. 43.1 %
See full detailsHide details
- Total distance, season
- 61.0 km54th percentileleague avg. 52.2 km
- Distance, single-game high
- 4.50 km48th percentileleague avg. 4.52 km
- Offensive zone at 5v5
- 41.7 %63rd percentileleague avg. 42.4 %
- Neutral zone time
- 18.2 %57th percentileleague avg. 16.8 %
- Defensive zone time
- 39.8 %48th percentileleague avg. 40.1 %
Shooting
| Shots on goal | Goals | Shooting % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All | 2664th percentile | 581st percentile | 19.2 %77th percentile |
| High danger | 646th percentile | 491st percentile | 66.7 %99th percentile |
| Mid range | 867th percentile | 177th percentile | 12.5 %53rd percentile |
| Long range | 383rd percentile | 092nd percentile | 0.0 %87th percentile |
Shots on goal by zone
2026-2027 regular season. Measured by puck and player tracking chips; the percentile ranks the player within the league.
Game log, 2026-27
🔥 3-game point streak
STL
COL
CAR
TBL
WSH
NYI
PIT
BOS
SJS
VGK
OTT
MTL
TOR
DAL
MINRoss Colton: frequently asked questions
How many goals does Ross Colton have in 2026-27?
Ross Colton has 5 goals and 8 points (3 assists) in 17 games in 2026-27.
How old is Ross Colton?
Ross Colton is 30 years old: he was born on September 11, 1996.
How tall is Ross Colton, and how much does he weigh?
Ross Colton is 6'0" (183 cm) and weighs 194 lb (88 kg).
Where is Ross Colton from?
United States: Ross Colton was born in Robbinsville, New Jersey, United States.
What team does Ross Colton play for?
Ross Colton plays for the Nashville Predators in the NHL, at C, wearing number 79.
Is Ross Colton injured?
No: Ross Colton is not on the latest NHL injury report. This answer is updated throughout the season.
How good is Ross Colton?
Ross Colton produced 0.1 wins above replacement (WAR) in 2025-26, 348th of 615 players at his position in the NHL. His PAL rating is 79 out of 100: very good for his position.
How much does Ross Colton make?
Ross Colton earns $4.0M for the 2025-26 season. His Value Rating is 73 out of 100 (good value): it measures the on-field return for that salary, compared with players at his position.
When does Ross Colton's contract end?
Ross Colton's contract runs through the 2026-27 season; he will then be an unrestricted free agent. It includes a NTC / M-NTC clause.
Is Ross Colton overpaid?
No, he gives more than he costs. His Value rating is 73 out of 100 (good value), where 50 is the output expected for his salary, compared with players at his position.
Is Ross Colton a top-10 player at his position?
No: by WAR, he ranks 348th of 615 players at his position in the NHL in 2025-26. Our comparison tool puts him side by side with any other player.
Is Ross Colton getting better?
No, he is slipping: his PAL rating went from 82 in 2024-25 to 79 in 2025-26 (out of 100, 50 = average player at his position).
How has Ross Colton played lately?
Over his last 10 games, Ross Colton has 6 points (4 goals, 2 assists).
What are Ross Colton's career stats?
Over his NHL career, Ross Colton has 421 games, 94 goals, 90 assists and 184 points. His best season: 2023-24, with 40 points in 80 games.
Where was Ross Colton drafted?
Ross Colton was drafted 118th overall (round 4) by Tampa Bay Lightning in 2016.
Is Ross Colton better at home or on the road?
No real difference: in 2026-27, he averages 0.45 points per game at home (5 in 11 games) and 0.50 on the road (3 in 6 games).
How does Ross Colton perform in the playoffs?
In the playoffs, Ross Colton has 75 games and 28 points in his career. His pace (0.37 points per game) is similar to his regular-season pace (0.44).
Which player is most similar to Ross Colton?
Rutger McGroarty: he is the player at his position whose PAL profile (the 0-to-100 dimensions) is closest to his in 2025-26.
Rutger McGroarty's page →Is Ross Colton a good fantasy pick?
Probably not, except in deep leagues: our projection has him at 28 points in 2026-27, or 0.37 points per game.
Does Ross Colton have siblings?
Yes: his brother Robert Colton (played with him at Princeton Day School).
Is Ross Colton related to anyone famous?
Yes: Rob Colton (father, played baseball and soccer at Steinert High School).
What is Ross Colton's nationality?
Ross Colton is American. Internationally: Team USA (World Junior A Challenge Select Team) — bronze medal.
What awards has Ross Colton won?
Named to the Pro Ambitions Hockey East All-Rookie Team ; Hockey East All-Star Honorable Mention ; Team East Most Valuable Player at the USHL/NHL Top Prospects Game.
How many championships has Ross Colton won?
1: Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning (scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in Game 5 in 2021).
Where did Ross Colton play before turning pro?
Princeton Day School (2 seasons) → Taft School (junior year) → Cedar Rapids RoughRiders (USHL) → Vermont Catamounts (2 seasons).
How many points is Ross Colton projected to score in 2026-27?
Our projection has him at 28 points in 76 games in 2026-27 (13 to 43 points, 80% interval), based on his recent seasons, age and role.
See also: his Nashville Predators teammates
Full roster →
NHL.com ↗ · Stats and photos: NHL (NHL.com)