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Two first-rounders highlight draft; development camp next week

June 20, 2019, 5:34 PM ET [4 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
Colorado Avalanche Blogger •Avalanche Insider • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Barring a trade, the Avalanche have eight picks in the 2019 NHL draft at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, with two first-round selections (Nos. 4 and 16) on Friday and the rest on Saturday.

They have a second-round pick (No. 47), two third-round picks (Nos. 63 and 78), and one each in the fifth round (No. 140), sixth round (No. 171) and seventh round (No. 202).

Alan Hepple, the Avalanche’s director of amateur scouting, said they’ll select the best player available, regardless of position, in the first round.

“We need forwards right now, but by the time some of these kids are ready to play we might need defensemen again,” Hepple said last week. “So it’ll be the best player, no matter whether at 4 or 16.”

The New Jersey Devils are expected to take Jack Hughes with the first pick, leaving Kaapo Kakko for the New York Rangers with the second pick.

The Chicago Blackhawks pick third, and general manager Stan Bowman told local reporters he’s decided on the player he’ll take, but he wasn’t about to reveal his identity.

Bowman said they’ll select “the best projection to be an impact player … we’re not ruled by position.”

If they take a defenseman, it would be Bowen Byram, who had 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) in 67 games with the Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League.

Hepple raved about Byram, calling him a “new-age defenseman,” but the Avalanche have several young talented defensemen in Samuel Girard, 21, Cale Makar, 20, and Conor Timmins, 20, who didn’t play last season while recovering from post-concussion symptoms.

Then there’s Tyson Barrie, who turns 28 next month. He’s entering the final year of his contract and could be included in a trade for a forward.

Center Alex Turcotte certainly is on Chicago’s and Colorado’s radars. He’s from Island Lake, Ill., and had 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 16 games with the U.S. Under-18 Team.

If the Avalanche decide on a center, it likely will be Turcotte if he’s available, Saskatoon’s Kirby Dach, Lethbridge’s Dylan Cozens or possibly Turcotte teammate Trevor Zegras.

Dach (6-4, 197) had 73 points (25 goals, 48 assists) in 62 games for Saskatoon of the WHL; Cozens (6-3, 180), had 84 points (34 goals, 50 assists) in 68 games for Lethbridge of the WHL; and Zegras (6-0, 169) had 40 points (14 goals, 26 assists) in 27 games for the U.S. Under-18 Team.

U.S. goalie Spencer Knight could be considered at No. 16, but the Avalanche haven’t taken a goalie in the first round since 1995 when they used the No. 25 pick on Marc Denis.

Knight (6-3, 197) had a 15-1-0 record with a 2.21 goals-against average and .903 save percentage.

*****

The Avalanche will hold their annual development camp next week. All on-ice sessions and the 3-on-3 game in Ft. Collins are free and open to the public. The camp roster will be announced before the start of camp. All times are MT.

Wednesday, June 26

Morning on-ice sessions at Family Sports (four different groups): 8:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

Afternoon on-ice session at Family Sports (all groups together): 3 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.

Thursday, June 27

Team activities at Red Rocks 7:30 a.m.

Afternoon on-ice session at Family Sports (four different groups): 1 p.m. - 5:15 p.m.

Friday, June 28

Morning on-ice sessions at Family Sports (four different groups): 8:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

3-on-3 game in Ft. Collins (EPIC – Blue Arena) 6 p.m.

Saturday, June 29

Team activities at Colorado State Mountain campus: Noon



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