Colorado Avalanche: Redrafting The 2005 NHL Draft
Round 7
Mar 14, 2015; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist (72) skates with the puck against the Boston Bruins during the second period at the CONSOL Energy Center. Boston won 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
222nd overall:
Colorado Avalanche pick — D Kyle Cumiskey
New pick — RW Patric Hornqvist (230th to NSH)
Avalanche fans and management had a lot of hope that Kyle Cumiskey would pan out one day — he would have been a real steal with that pick. He did play in 139 NHL games, but he is a perfect example for a player that is too small to really succeed in the big leagues. His elite skating and very good puck skills simply don’t do the deed when you get pushed around too easily. Cumiskey went to Sweden in the lockout season and as opposed to most other NHL players did not return once the lockout was over. He stayed with MODO for another season, before joining the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014.
This one may come unexpected for many people — Patric Hornqvist was the very last selection of the 2005 NHL draft. In a story similar to the one of fellow Penguin Chris Kunitz, who was never drafted, Hornqvist came out of nowhere when he joined the Nashville Predators in 2009. All of a sudden, he was just there and turned into the Predator’s best goal scorer. Now he is a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins and it doesn’t look like he is intending to slow down any time soon.