Spoiler!
Quote:
Originally Posted by sureLoss
Looking into the Avalanche prospect situation, one thing stood out to me. They have yet to sign a single pick they made in the 2014 draft.
The Avs fired their head of amateur scouting a couple of months after the 2014 draft so it is possible management is not in love with these picks. Granted there is still more than 6 months to sign them, but to contrast, the Flames have signed every single draft pick from the 2014 draft whose rights would have expired this summer.
In particular the following draft picks will fall back into the 2016 draft if not signed by June 1st.
C Conner Bleackley 6'1'' 198lb shoots R from High River
Roy was reportedly not impressed with him at his first rookie camp with the Avs.
Is the only 1st round pick from the 2014 draft not in the NCAA that has not been signed yet
Avs will get the 53rd OA pick in the 2016 draft if they do not sign him, so that is his minimum trade value
D Kyle Wood 6'05'' 209lbs shoots R
Great size and physicality and above average hockey iq
Injury worries
RW Nick Magyar 6'02'' 194lbs shoots R
was projected to go as high as 2nd round in 2014
big bodied RW but skating needs work
took a step back in his draft+1 year
Alexis Pepin C/RW 6'2'' 224lbs shoots R
2 way forward with some offensive upside
skating needs work
I doubt the Avalanche will let all of them go back to the draft, but I could see them throwing them as a sweetener/filler or potentially doing a prospect for prospect swap with some other teams.
|
Of these Colorado players I would love to have Kyle Wood in the system. From everything that I've read, he could end up being that confident, steady presence on the back end that every team wants, but has trouble finding. Not overly flashy, but no one seems to score on him, and not a complete offensive liability.
Connor Bleakley looks to be a high end, character third line RW. Maybe another Bouma. Is he worth the equivalent of 53rd overall? On a championship team, 2 Boumas with a Jankowski in the middle could be crushing to opposing teams.
For whatever reason, Colorado doesn't want these guys, I would offer them the choice of our usual roster player trade bait plus a third, and be pretty happy. Prospect for prospect they are along the lines of Kulak/Wotherspoon and DeBleow/Carroll. It would be a question of trading for positional need.