Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche Will Select 27th In NHL Draft…If They Keep The Pick
The Colorado Avalanche now know where they will be picking in the first round come June 28th when the NHL draft takes place in Nashville.
That is, if they decide to keep the pick.
With the Dallas Stars defeating the Seattle Kraken on Monday night, the first 28 picks in the NHL draft were locked in. The Avalanche will be picking 27th overall.
With #TexasHockey moving on to the next round, here's an updated look at the first round of the draft and the locked in picks.
20 – SEA
21 – MIN
22 – CBJ from LAK
23 – NYR
24 – NSH from EDM
25 – STL from TOR
26 – SJS from NJD
27 – COL
28 – TOR from BOShttps://t.co/950OhwVqcp pic.twitter.com/HaHemS1PKu— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) May 16, 2023
Last season, of course, the Avalanche did not have a first round draft pick. They moved that pick before the season to acquire Darcy Kuemper, who helped them with the Stanley Cup. At the trade deadline this year, the Avalanche held onto their first round pick. That might not be the case this summer.
With limited assets and holes to fill on the roster, the pick might be the most valuable non-roster trade asset the team has. We’ll dig into what trade assets they have soon, but don’t be surprised if that first round pick is moved. As you can see from the image above, a lot of teams that finished near the Avalanche in the standings moved their draft picks, either before the season or at the deadline. More and more, teams are realizing a late first round pick might be better used to acquire immediate help as opposed to selecting a prospect, as the odds of a late first round pick hitting are still relatively low.
On the flip side, the Avalanche have really emptied the cupboard over the last few years to win now. They’ve signed some undrafted free agents to help replenish the system, but a first round pick would immediately improve their prospect depth. Since they still have this pick, we’ll start digging into the draft soon, with the help of some folks who have closely followed the draft.
Colorado is also scheduled to pick in rounds five, six, and seven, and we’ll take a look at what late round gems might be out there to uncover.