Colorado Avalanche Mock Draft Revisited
The NHL Draft has come and gone and now it’s time to play armchair pundit. “This pick sucked”, “this pick was great”, and so on and so forth.
Jun 30, 2013; Newark, NJ, USA; Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy making the best draft face ever. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Before we hand out grades (those are tomorrow), let’s take a look at my mock draft predictions for the Colorado Avalanche and see how I did. Now, obviously, it gets dicey after the second round or so unless you’re an actual scout. I’m just a guy who pretends to know what he’s talking about and occasionally sounds smart but mostly not. Keep that in mind.
I’ll grade myself at the end of this thing so you can get an idea of how I did. Will it be unbiased? Probably not. Let’s get to it.
First round (1)
Predicted Pick: Nathan MacKinnon C, Halifax
Acutal Pick: Nathan MacKinnon C, Halifax
Awwwww yeah, one-for-one! Alright, so this one was kind of easy considering Patrick Roy has been telling people about it for awhile. MacKinnon is considered the franchise player offensively in this draft, the type of guy who competes for scoring titles and carries a franchise. It’s pretty hard to screw up the first pick, especially in a year like this where there are multiple can’t-miss options, but the Avs done good here.
Second round (32)
Predicted Pick: Mirco Mueller D, Everett
Actual Pick: Chris Bigras D, Owen Sound
I got the position right! That has to count for something, doesn’t it? Partial credit. Bigras is a smart, two-way guy who rarely gets caught out of position and always makes the smart play. Might not have the upside of Mueller but the direction is definitely the same.
Third Round (63)
Predicted Pick: Pavel Buchnevich RW, Cherepovets
Actual Pick: Spencer Martin, G Mississauga
Jun 30, 2013; Newark, NJ, USA; Number one overall draft pick Nathan MacKinnon to the Colorado Avalanche poses for a photo during the 2013 NHL Draft at the Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Alright, I swung and missed on this one. The pick could turn out pretty well, though. Martin is supposed to be one of the best returning goalies in the OHL and just recently got the starting reigns. Buchnevich? He went ten picks later to the Rangers. Not terribly far off.
Fourth round (93)
Predicted Pick: Mason Geersten D, Vancouver
Acutal Pick: Mason Geersten D, Vancouver
That’s right, I hit on a fourth-rounder. Behold my wisdom for I am the knower of all! Geersten is a big, physical monster who protects the front of his net well. The Avs needed help on defense and, as I predicted, have taken defensemen with multiple picks. Anyone need a scout? You’re looking a burgeoning one right here.
Fifth round (123)
Predicted Pick: Ryan Graves D, PEI Rocket
Actual Pick: Will Butcher D, USNTDP
Another partial credit here. The Avs go the other way this time, picking the smaller puck-mover a round after they get the monster mauler. Defense was an issue and the Avs are trying like mad to find someone, anyone, who’s good at defense.
Sixth round (153)
Predicted Pick: Taylor Cammarata LW, Shattuck-St.Marys
Actual Pick: Ben Storm D, Muskegon
Not only did I get the pick and position wrong but Cammarata was picked like 80 slots before this (not an exaggeration). I not only swung and missed on this one, but fell down during my swing. Oof. Storm is another monster, physical player with the potential to be a big ‘ol masher on the big level. Seriously not joking around about shoring up the defense, huh?
Seventh round (183)
Predicted Pick: Tim McGauley C, Brandon
Actual Pick: Wilhelm Westlund D, Farjestad
Another defenseman? Alright, we get it. Serious about fixing the D. Westlund, while having a fantastic name, is a bit of an unknown since he graduated to the SEL. He played sparingly there but stashing away Swedes in the late rounds has proven to be a good idea around the league, so why not here?
Naturally, I am not good on this. I was dead-on with two-of-seven. I hit position two more times even though the player was incorrect. I vastly underestimated the team’s view of its defense.
I give myself the highest of high marks for my two successful picks, partial credit for the two I kinda got right but not really, and will totally ignore the others because this is seriously hard, you guys.
Grade: C– Yes, that’s a double minus because a plain old C- didn’t seem right. (passing grade is buoyed by my getting the fourth rounder right. That’s how this works.)
Check back tomorrow when we do a complete grading of the draft for reals.
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