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DENVER, Colo - The age-old question, draft the best player available or draft to fill a position of need, didn’t come up for the Colorado Avalanche who picked third overall in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. The best player available was Brampton Batallion center Matt Duchene, and first or second line center is a position of need for the Avs. The Avs were thrilled to select Duchene with their pick. For much of the 2008-09 season, the Avalanche were without their two top centers due to injury. Joe Sakic played in only 15 games before being sidelined with a herniated disk and Paul Stastny missed two long stretches of the season with different injuries and played in only 45 games. During their absence winger Wojtek Wolski played some good hockey filling in at center, but it was apparent that he was not the long-term answer at center. *
The only question is whether Duchene will play one more season with Brampton or play for Colorado in 2009-10. The Avs had two second round picks. They selected the Erie Otters (OHL) center Ryan O’Reilly with the 33rd overall pick. O’Reilly, 6 foot 200 pounds, served as Erie’s as assistant captain. He played in the OHL All-Star Classic and the CHL Top Prospects game. He earned International experience at the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championships (where he captained Team Canada) and won gold with Team Canada at the 2008 Ivan Hlinka tournament. With the 49th overall pick acquired through a series of trades, the Avs selected defenseman Stefan Elliott, Saskatoon Blades (WHL), and was the 17th ranked North American skater by NHL Central Scouting. He also played for Canada in the 2009 IIHF World Under-18 Championship, the 2008 Ivan Hlinka tournament and 2009 CHL Top Prospects Game. The Avs third round pick was Kelowna Rockets (WHL) defenseman Tyson Barrie. His 18 points in 22 playoff games helped lead Kelowna to the 2009 WHL Championship. The Avs did not have a pick in the fourth round. In the fifth round the Avs selected Boston University (Hockey East) goalie Kieran Millan who played with three other Avs prospects at BU: Defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Colby Cohen and forward Brandon Yip. The Terriers captured the school’s fifth NCAA hockey title with a comeback victory over Miami (OH) in the title game. Millan, a freshman, was named the HCA (Hockey Commissioners’ Association) National Rookie of the Year and Hockey East second team All Star. Another goalie became the Avs’ sixth round choice. Brandon Maxwell spent the last two seasons with the U.S. National Team Development Program, playing for both the U.S. National Under-17 and Under-18 Teams. The Avs’ final pick in the seventh round, 184th overall, was high school defenseman Gus Young who played for Noble and Greenough School (Mass.) and was the 136th ranked North American skater. He may play another year at Noble or play in the USHL. He has also been accepted to Yale University. OVERALL OUTLOOK: The Avs’ most successful draft to date was probably in 1998, when they had four first-round picks and selected Alex Tanguay, Martin Skoula, Robyn Regehr and Scott Parker. I think they would be justified in hoping that their 2009 draft ranks with that one. Contact the author at bill.zager@prohockeynews.com © Copyright 2009 by Prohockeynews.com Top of Page |
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