Unlike recent NHL drafts when the Avalanche had high picks and plucked forwards Matt Duchene, Ryan O'Reilly, Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon, the goal this weekend was to add size, a growing trend (no pun intended) in the league.
Having the 23rd pick in the first round Friday and needing to wait until the third round and 84th overall selection Saturday caused the Avalanche to switch gears in terms of philosophy, which has been to take the "best player available" regardless of position.
"As an organization we have been bringing skill into the organization, which we've been very pleased with," Rick Pracey, the Avalanche's director of amateur scouting, said Saturday in a conference call. "(This draft) we were trying to get bigger as a whole. That was a goal of ours. We did look at need and we did take into account the depth chart. We also wanted to address the right side of our depth chart.
"As an organization we did want to get bigger. Generally right now I think it is a theme in the National Hockey League and we share that thought. We also have our principles of taking quality hockey players and good hockey players, but organizationally going through those years where we had high picks in every round, skill and hockey sense were primary factors in our decision making. It still is, but getting bigger was a goal of ours this weekend and I believe we accomplished that."
The Avalanche tabbed center Conner Bleackley in the first round. He's a 6 foot, 198-pounder from High River, Alberta, who captained the Red Deer Rebels last season in the Western Hockey League. He had 29 goals, 39 assists and 48 penalty minutes in 71 games.
"He played all positions up front, and he is capable of playing on the right side on the wing, which he did at times last season," Pracey said. "He's a right shot. We had some anxious moments waiting. He's a player we clearly targeted. We believe he's a competitive player, a player with good instincts, strong on the puck and we like his leadership qualities. We're real excited we were able to land him.
"We put a high amount of prominence on the character of a player. Skill and hockey sense are big part of it too. His skating would be an area that people would maybe question right now. I don't share that. His skating needs to improve, but it wasn't a hang-up for us.
"We use our experience over the years, whether it be Ryan O'Reilly or Paul Stastny. These are examples of players who in their draft year were maybe viewed as having a skating deficiency, but everything about them in other areas of their game -- their hockey sense, their compete, their instincts and their skill -- clearly put them in a different category."
Here are the players the Avalanche drafted Saturday, with their statistics from the 2013-14 season and some comments from Pracey:
Third round/84th overall Defenseman Kyle Wood, 6-4, 195 from Waterloo, Ontario North Bay, OHL: 33 games, 2 goals, 10 assists, 21 penalty minutes
Pracey: "He's a player that's a little unheard of simply because he was injured in the first half of the year. He's a great, big two-way defenseman. Projected as a defensive player at the next level, but he's a bigger guy and we like the fact that he takes his time and thinks with the puck. We like his upside. His size was paramount. We saw a player who got better and better. That was a player we were willing to hedge on."
Fourth round/93rd overall Right wing Nicholas Magyar, 6-1, 194 from Mentor, Ohio Kitchener, OHL: 66 games, 20 goals, 26 assists, 20 penalty minutes
Pracey: "Terrific set of hands and skill level ... plays a down low, offensive game ... needs to improve his skating."
Fourth round/114th overall Left wing Alexis Pepin, 6-2, 218 from Candiac, Quebec Charlottetown, QMJHL: 37 games, 8 goals, 9 assists, 58 penalty minutes Gatineau, QMJHL: 23 games, 9 goals, 8 assists, 11 penalty minutes
Pracey: "A former second overall pick in Quebec Major League junior draft ... was traded during the season and responded well to the trade ... a big player with skill ... inconsistent year, so a risk-reward pick we're taking a chance on."
Fifth round/144th overall Defenseman Anton Lindholm, 6-0, 191 from Skelleftea, Sweden Skelleftea Jr.: 39 games, 1 goal, 5 assists, 34 penalty minutes Skelleftea: 7 games, 4 penalty minutes
Pracey: "Had a strong second half of the season ... moves the puck and skates very, very well ... plays a firm game in the defensive zone ... we're getting him on the upside."
Sixth round/174th overall Goalie Maximilian Pajpach, 6-1, 207 from Poprad, Slovakia Slovakia U18: 14 games, 4.32 goals-against average Slovakia U20: 2 games, 7.06 GAG Slovakia U18 tournament: 7 games, 2.74 GAG
Pracey: "Good size, athletic ... will play next season in Finland ... good development system in Finland."
Seventh round/204th overall Center/left wing Julien Nantel, 6-0, 193 from Laval, Quebec Rouyn-Noranda, QMJHL: 68 games, 14 goals, 20 assists, 18 penalty minutes
Pracey: "Plays an energy type of game ... skates well, has competitive attitude."