The Colorado Avalanche hold the 17th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, completely divergent of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft in which they selected third overall.
However, because first and second-round selections Matt Duchene and Ryan O'Reilly made the immediate jump to the NHL, the state of the Avalanche's prospect pool hasn't changed much: they could use some help in all areas.
The Avalanche only have one promising forward prospect who they used a pick in the first two rounds on, and that's Ryan Stoa. Stoa, a left wing, saw time with the Avalanche this season, and it's likely he'll become a regular next season.
It's possible late-round draft choices such a centers Justin Mercier or Mark Olver could eventually have an impact in the NHL, but the fact of the matter is the Avalanche have had too many failed draft choices in the early rounds of recent drafts (hello, Codey Burki).
Defensive prospects are by far the biggest (and only) area of depth in the Avalanche's prospect pool.
The Avalanche have drafted defensemen in both early rounds (Kevin Shattenkirk, Stefan Elliott) and later rounds (Joel Chouinard, Jonas Holos) wh ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by James Crider
Colorado Avalanche: Looking Ahead To The 2010 NHL Draft
May 17th, 2010 by James Crider Leave a reply »
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