Colorado Avalanche: Redrafting The 2009 NHL Draft

Round 2

33rd overall:
Colorado Avalanche pick — C Ryan O’Reilly
New pick — C Ryan O’Reilly

When the Colorado Avalanche selected Ryan O’Reilly, they hit another bullseye. Not only is O’Reilly at least a top-10 player of his draft-class today, but he also had an immediate impact on the team. We all know about the contract dispute between the Avalanche and him that is still not resolved and possibly never will be. Still, O’Reilly has played 427 games for the Avalanche and is a valuable part of the team, no matter what happens to him in the future.

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49th overall (CGY):
Colorado Avalanche pick — D Stefan Elliott
New pick — LW Tomas Tatar (60th to DET)

And here we go, the picks that I would redo the exact same way any day are over. Stefan Elliott is still in the system and there are people that believe that he will be able to improve defensively and finally join the Colorado Avalanche for good. However, I am not quite convinced. He is a great player offensively and his offense would likely be enough for the NHL, but he really struggles defensively at times. He has appeared in 63 games with the Avalanche so far.

The new pick is Detroit Red Wing Tomas Tatar. He just recently became a full-time member of the NHL roster, but had a breakout season in his second year. In 2014-15 he scored 29 goals and recorded 56 points, as he played every single game for the Red Wings. In the playoffs, Tatar added another four points in seven games.

Next: Round 3