Colorado Avalanche: 3 Winger Choices for the First Round

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The Colorado Avalanche might use the #16 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft to choose a winger. Here are their top three choices.

The Colorado Avalanche have the #16 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft. GM Joe Sakic has stated he’ll use that selection on the “best player available.”

As I keep saying, I hope the plan is to pick the best player available for need. If that’s the case, the Avalanche are sure to pick a winger.

Right now, Colorado has a lot of players who play all three forward positions. For true wingers, they had seven last season. Of those players, three might not return.

That’s not to say that the player Colorado chooses at #16 is going to make an impact this upcoming season. Even their last two #10 picks, Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost, didn’t make that impact right after they’d been drafted.

However, as you look down their depth pool, you see that in addition to the three they might lose this season (Blake Comeau, Matthew Nieto, Nail Yakupov), they could lose another five from their depth pool next summer:

AJ Greer
Julien Nantel
Andrew Agozzino
Sven Andrighetto
Gabriel Bourque

I suspect they’ll re-sign Greer and Nantel, but they could also be career AHLers.

So, that leaves the Avs with the following natural wing depth:

Gabriel Landeskog
Mikko Rantanen

Yeah. That pool gets shallow after the first line.

Colorado needs to start adding some talented forwards who are natural wingers to augment the players who line up at all three forward positions. Here are three options ranked by how much I like them for the Colorado Avalanche’s #16 selection.

Congratulations to Vitaly Kravtsov, #KHL Rookie of the Year. pic.twitter.com/lCStxrLuSd
— Dr Marko Sjoblom (@markosjoblom) May 24, 2018

1. Vitaly Kravtsov

2017-18 Team: Traktor Chelyabinsk (KHL)
Date of Birth: Dec. 23, 1999 (18 years old)
Ht: 6’2″
Wt: 182 pounds
Position: Right wing
Shoots: Left

Ranked #24 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM

Ranked #28 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

Ranked #12 by TSN

Ranked #3 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)

I fear right wing Vitaly Kravtsov is this year’s Eeli Tolvanen — a player I’m convinced Colorado needs but one I think the Avs will pass over.

Kravtsov has all the skills and talents that the Colorado Avalanche value. He’s a fast player with soft hands who thinks the game as fast as he moves. He’s considered to be the Alexei Kovalev of this generation, and I loved me some Kovalev back in the day.

I also like that Kravtsov adds some size — it certainly didn’t hurt the Avs this season having big, ol’ Mikko Rantanen on the team. What’s more, he’s got a similar gift to Nathan MacKinnon’s — he can change speed on the rush.

Though not a power forward, Vitaly Kravtsov can play with a bit of an edge. What’s more, he just won Rookie of the Year in the KHL.

Draftsite has Kravtsov going right after Colorado’s pick, at #17. Other mock drafts have him going as high as #6 and as low as #23. McKeen’s Hockey and Cam Robinson of Dobber Prospects both have him right at #16, so it’s not just me. Additionally, according to Rick Sadowski of Hockey Buzz, Avs scouts have him on their radar.

Full Vitaly Kravtsov profile:

Related Story: Vitaly Kravtsov

I’ll leave you with this delectable highlight video of how he plays:

Embed from Getty Images

2. Joel Farabee

2017-18 Team: USNDTP
Date of Birth: Feb. 25, 2000 (18 years old)
Ht: 6’0″
Wt: 168 pounds
Position: Left wing
Shoots: Left

Ranked #8 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM

Ranked #15 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

Ranked #11 by ISS HOCKEY

Ranked #12 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY

Ranked #17 by TSN

Ranked #12 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)

More from Mile High Sticking

It’s not that I don’t like Joel Farabee as well as Vitaly Kravtsov, though I don’t. But rather, it’s unlikely Farebee will still be available at the #16 spot, so there’s no sense in getting our hopes up. Farabee is the #6 wing among North American skaters.

And he’s projected to go higher than some of the players ranked higher by Central Scouting. Most mock drafts have him going between #10 to #14 — tantalizingly close to the Avs’ #16, but just out of their reach.

It’s a pity, because Farabee is exactly the kind of player Colorado wants. He’s fast — some call him jersey-flapping fast — with vision that comes to him as quickly as his feet move. And he’s got a good arsenal of offensive tricks.

I don’t see the Avs trading up to obtain Joel Farabee — you’d want them to look a little higher, perhaps in the Oliver Wahlstrom spectrum if they were going to sacrifice draft picks. However, if Farabee fell to #16, I’d be satisfied with this selection.

Full Joel Farabee profile:

Another look at Farabee’s play:

Embed from Getty Images

3. Serron Noel

2017-18 Team: Oshawa Generals (OHL)
Date of Birth: August 8, 2000 (17 years old)
Ht: 6’5″
Wt: 205 pounds
Position: Right wing
Shoots: Right

Ranked #28 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM

Ranked #37 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

Ranked #14 by ISS HOCKEY

Ranked #21 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY

Ranked #19 by TSN

Ranked #10 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (NA Skaters)

Three years ago, right wing Serron Noel would have topped my draft list by virtue of his size alone. However, the Colorado Avalanche are sacrificing size for speed, so that’s why he drops to third on my list.

With all that size, it should come as no surprise he’s a power forward. It should also come as no surprise that his size leads scouts to question his skating — it’s considered one of the weaker aspects of his game.

That said, Serron Noel has worked on his skating. He may lack some of the finer agility and cuts, but his long strides get him down the ice quickly. What’s more, he does have some elite stick skills.

Interestingly, though Central Scouting has Noel ranked higher than Joel Farabee, most mock drafts have him going between #14 to #28. That shows you what skating means in today’s NHL.

Full Serron Noel profile:

Serron Noel in action:

With the 16th overall pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, the Colorado Avalanche select Grigori Denisenko #FutureOfTheSixMock pic.twitter.com/8Z7iRqJM3a
— Future Of The Six (@FutureOfTheSix) June 16, 2018

Honorable Mention: Grigori Denisenko

2017-18 Team: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL)
Date of Birth: June 24, 2000 (17 years old)
Ht: 5’10″
Wt: 165 pounds
Position: Left vwing
Shoots: Right

Ranked #15 by HOCKEYPROSPECT.COM
Ranked #18 by FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS
Ranked #18 by ISS HOCKEY
Ranked #27 by MCKEEN’S HOCKEY
Ranked #15 by TSN
Ranked #7 by NHL CENTRAL SCOUTING (EU Skaters)

Grigori Denisenko flew under my radar for his own profile. However, he’s landed right around the Colorado Avalanche’s pick in rankings and mock drafts, so we need to take a look at him.

The first two knocks against him are his size and the fact that he may ultimately decide to stay in the KHL. However, he’s got a lot of skill to balance those two out.

Here’s how Draftin Europe describes him:

“Displays high skill level and skating agility with the puck on his stick…a playmaker with the shooting ability to finish chances himself.”

Most other scouting reports are some version of that — that he’s a fantastic skater, fast, agile, and with soft hands. Denisenko also has good hockey IQ. He’s been called a flashy winger and even one of the, if not the, best Russian wingers available.

It wouldn’t be a reach for the Avalanche to select Grigori Denisenko with the #16 pick. And he’s certainly right in their mold of player. I would put him above Serron Noel, but I don’t think I like him better than Vitali Kravtsov or Joel Farabee.

Gregori Denisenko in action:

MORE COLORADO AVALANCHE PROSPECTS:

The Colorado Avalanche have eight picks in the 2018 NHL Draft — unless the Ottawa Senators given them the #4 pick, which means they’ll have nine. The Draft takes place in Dallas June 22-23.

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