A New Name Has Emerged As A Potential Draft Target For Avalanche (+)

Am I convinced the Colorado Avalanche keep both of their first round picks Wednesday night? Not at all. I have to believe today’s Alex Newhook trade is a precursor to something else to help the NHL roster.

But if they do keep both first round picks, a new name has emerged as someone to keep an eye on with the Avalanche in round one.

Gavin Brindley.

“Lots of scouts are saying Brindley to Colorado makes a lot of sense now with two late picks in the 1st round,” a scout told me today.

Now, this is the time of year where everyone lies, so you have to take everything you hear with a grain of salt, but figured it was worth passing along.

So why would it take a second 1st round pick to have someone like this emerge as a potential target? Because with Brindley, it’s a bit of a swing for the fences.

As an 18 year old, he produced at nearly a point-per-game pace at the University of Michigan. Rankings wise, the majority of outlets have him ranked in the top 32. However, there’s one big issue with him.

He’s 5’9″.

There are no concerns with his overall game or his work ethic. Elite Prospects describes Brindley as a “high-motor player who excels on the defensive side of the puck.” The reality of the situation is that he’s not likely to get any taller, and there are a fair amount of teams who might not even be interested in drafting a player that small.

Heck, here’s what one anonymous NHL scout told Hockey Prospect in their Black Book.

“Any scout that has him top 30 isn’t thinking at all about team building.”

Yikes.

The other concern people have is that he spent a fair amount of time playing with a sure-fire top three pick in Adam Fantilli. How much did he benefit from Fantilli offensively? That’s something scouts have to determine when it comes time to make their pick.

The Avalanche don’t have a good prospect pool. They need to hit on their first round pick and get an NHL player out of it. Entry-level contracts are too valuable in the cap world, and Colorado doesn’t have a lot of young players on entry-level deals ready to help.

With just one first round pick, a player like Brindley might be off the table. But two? You might be more willing to take a chance on a talent like that panning out if you’ve got an extra pick in round one.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens with these picks, but wanted to pass along something I’d heard at the end of a hectic day.