LAS VEGAS — The Colorado Avalanche needs to strengthen the depth chart, either in the short- or long-term, while it could be a record-breaking night for the University of Denver in the first round of the NHL draft.
Colorado has the No. 24 pick in the draft, which begins Friday night at The Sphere just off the Las Vegas strip. The Avs do not currently have another pick until the fourth round (No. 121) but do have six selections in the final four rounds.
Avs general manager Chris MacFarland called No. 24 “an unreal asset” earlier this month at the NHL draft combine in Buffalo. A year ago, the Avs were busy at the draft. They traded for centers Ross Colton and Ryan Johansen, while also leaving Nashville with the rights to Calum Ritchie (No. 27 pick) and Mikhail Gulyayev (No. 31).
Ritchie and Gulyayev are Colorado’s top two prospects, but beyond them and former DU defenseman Sean Behrens, the Avs have one of the thinnest prospect pools in the NHL after years of being in win-now mode.
That hasn’t changed, so it is possible Colorado will look to trade the 24th pick or move back to either add a player who can help the NHL team in 2024-25 or further draft assets that could be part of a future win-now transaction.
It should be a big night for the DU Pioneers. Zeev Buium, who won the world junior championship and an NCAA title as a freshman, is projected to be a top-10 pick. If he goes in the top five, Buium would be the highest pick to play at DU in program history.
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Craig Redmond was the No. 6 selection in the 1984 draft after playing for DU in 1982-83 and then spending a season with the Canadian national team. The other first-rounders in program history are Joe Colborne (No. 16 in 2008), Beau Bennett (No. 20 in 2010) and Henrik Bogstrom (No. 23 in 2016).
The Pios also have a few incoming freshmen who could be selected Saturday, when rounds two through seven are completed. Hagen Burrows, Jake Fisher and Tory Pitner are all ranked inside the top 100 of North American skaters by NHL Central Scouting.
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