For the Colorado Avalanche, the second round of the 2016 NHL Draft is important. The team’s #40 draft pick will help develop the future of the Avs.
The Colorado Avalanche’s second-round draft pick is almost as important as their first draft pick. That may seem like an obvious statement — after all, the second round pick is the second-highest pick.
However, for the Avalanche, the second round selection is more important than it might be for many other teams. First of all, Colorado has a pick in the second round. The team had initially traded the pick to the San Jose Sharks in 2014 for defenseman Brad Stuart. That trade was unpopular at the time and became even more so as Stuart failed to live up to even low expectations.
The Avalanche re-acquired the second round pick the next summer by sending their second-round pick from the Buffalo Sabres (acquired in the Ryan O’Reilly trade) and a sixth-round pick in 2017. In return, the Avalanche got this second-round pick and one last year that they used to select left wing A.J. Greer.
Whes, these trades get complicated! Anyway, the other reason that this second round selection is so important to the Colorado Avalanche specifically is because their cupboards in the AHL are bare. After years of what head coach Patrick Roy called “drafting with no vision,” the Avs have a very shallow pool of prospects.
Therefore, Colorado needs to use their late-round draft selections to deepen the pool. That makes the second-round selection the first round for prospects. (I’m guessing their first-round pick at least has a chance to make the big team.)
With all of that in mind, let’s see who the Colorado Avalanche might select with their #40 draft pick.
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