Did you really expect the NHL draft lottery to turn out well for the Avalanche?
Turns out all a 48-point season "earned" Colorado is the No. 4 pick in the first round of the NHL draft in Chicago, which is the worst it could do in the draft lottery Saturday. The opening round is set for June 23, with the remaining rounds on June 24.
So much for tabbing either Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick or Halifax Mooseheads forward Nico Hischier, who probably will be the first two players selected.
The odds weren't exactly stacked in the Avalanche's favor for the lottery. They had the best mathematical chance of winning the top pick, but only at 18 percent.
New Jersey wound up winning, jumping from fifth to the top spot. How about Philadelphia? The Flyers went from 13th to second. Dallas moved from eighth to third.
Vancouver also dropped, from second to fifth. The expansion Vegas Golden Knights will pick sixth.
#NHLDraftLottery didn't work out in #Avs favor, not surprising at 18 per cent chance of winning #Avalanche pic.twitter.com/DoLOQx3xF7
— Rick Sadowski (@RickS7) April 30, 2017
“I don’t think it’s a setback,… Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic told the Denver Post. “When you’re picking one to four, you’re going to get a good player. We had 18 percent, we knew there was just as good a chance of not being picked, and that’s how it turned out.
“It was one of those things. That’s what the lottery was all about. There’s nothing we can do about it. But we’re picking fourth and we know we’re going to get a good player. We’re confident with this draft that there’s going to be a good player there.
“You’d hope to get the first pick, with the way our year went, but that doesn’t change the fact we’re going to get a good player.…
Even Patrick and Hischier aren't being called franchise players by the draft experts, certainly not in the mold of Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews.
Other top forwards include Eden Prairie (Minn.) High School center Casey Mittelstadt; Windsor Spitfires center Gabriel Vilardi; Tri-City Americans center Michael Rasmussen; Mississauga Steelheads right wing Owen Tippett; Dynamo Moscow's Klim Kostin; and Timra's (Sweden) Elias Pettersson.
If the Avalanche choose to go for a defenseman, HIFK Finland's Miro Heiskanen, Timothy Liljegren of Rogle (Sweden), and Brooks Bandits Cale Makar are among interesting candidates.