Colorado Avalanche: Redrafting The 2010 NHL Draft

Round 1

Feb 13, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Florida Panthers center Nick Bjugstad (27) skates against the Dallas Stars during the game at the American Airlines Center. The Stars shut out the Panthers 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

17th overall:
Colorado Avalanche pick — C Joey Hishon
New pick — C Nick Bjugstad (19th to FLA)

This is a pick that hurts a little bit, because Joey Hishon is a really good hockey player with a lot of potential and he is just on the verge to become an NHL-regular. So far he has appeared in 13 NHL games and just recently scored his first NHL goal. He is one of the Colorado Avalanche’s prospects most likely to become a full-time member of the NHL roster next season.

The problem is, head coach Patrick Roy likes his centers a little bigger and has actually stated that he would have preferred a bigger player over Joey. And here we are, selecting 6-foot-6 Nick Bjugstad, who is one of many young and promising players on the Florida Panthers roster. There would have been some other options as well, e.g. Carolina’s NHL All-Star Justin Faulk, Washington’s Evgeny Kuznetsov or LA’s Tyler Toffoli, but Bjugstad may have the greatest potential of the bunch.

A sad little side note, the 16th overall pick belonged to the St. Louis Blues, who selected Russian sniper Vladimir Tarasenko. We don’t know if the Avalanche would have selected him with their pick, but the chance would have been there.

Next: Round 2