With 26 teams ahead in the pecking order, the Avalanche is headed for another “BPA” NHL draft.
“We’ve always had the philosophy of taking the best player available,” Avalanche chief scout Jim Hammett said.
The Avs have always had to. The team’s on-ice success since moving to Denver has made for many back- of-the-pack first-round draft picks, although the Avs had a 2.08 percent chance at the first pick in Saturday’s proceedings in Ottawa.
But the pingpong balls didn’t bounce the Avalanche’s way, and it will pick 27th in the first round. The good news, Hammett said, is he believes this is one of the deeper drafts in recent years, and the Avs have three picks overall among the top 44.
“The kids we’re rating among our top picks all have skill,” Hammett said. “There are definitely going to be some good players available in our slots. It’s turning out to be an exciting list of players.”
Hammett said the scouting staff has about 150 players on its list and will take the highest-ranked remaining player.
Forward Sidney Crosby is the consensus No. 1 pick, and the Pittsburgh Penguins own that pick. Anaheim has the second pick, but the Mighty Ducks may not do the choosing. New general manager Brian Burke said he wants to trade the pick for established talent.
Avs GM Pierre Lacroix will be in Ottawa, and he might offer an established player for the pick and use the savings in salary to sign one of his potential unrestricted free agents (Peter Forsberg or Adam Foote) or sign a free agent from another team. Some of the attractive names that could be available are Scott Niedermayer, Jason Allison, Derian Hatcher, Nikolai Khabibulin, Markus Naslund and Mike Modano.
Lacroix has not ruled out any scenario involving personnel, but said his top intention is to bring back as many of his existing players as he can under the new $39 million NHL salary cap.
Among the players available at the second pick, University of Michigan freshman-to-be Jack Johnson, a defenseman, is rated by many scouts as the second-best player. Forwards such as Gilbert Brule, Anze Kopitar, Bobby Ryan and Benoit Pouliot are considered top-10 picks.
Crosby has “taken a lot of the limelight,” Hammett said. “But we feel it’s a deep draft with balance.”
The Avs have eight picks in the seven-round draft. The league reduced the draft from nine to seven rounds.
NHL entry draft
Where: Ottawa
When: Saturday, 10 a.m. MDT
TV: Altitude (first round only)
Avs’ spots: The Avs have eight spots in the seven-round draft, and their first pick is 27th overall.
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-820-5454 or adater@denverpost.com.
