A continuation of yesterday's look back on the draft. A.J. was nice enough to give some more commentary.
2004
1 21 Colorado Wojtek Wolski
2 55 Colorado Victor Oreskovich
3 72 Colorado Denis Parshin
5 154 Colorado Richard Demen-Willaume
6 184 Colorado Derek Peltier
7 215 Colorado Ian Keserich
8 239 Colorado Brandon Yip
8 249 Colorado J.D. Corbin
9 281 Colorado Steve McClellen
Sandie's Take: Wolski, always had such high hopes for the guy, but when you get a MHH-meme after you as a player, it's typically not a good thing.
A.J.'s Take: Ahhhhh yes. The Herpes Draft. Wolski is that sexy chick you see at the grocery store in the fresh fruit section wearing daisy dukes and just enough makeup to say "I'm always available". You KNOW she gets around town but when you're standing there looking at you can see why and don't really care. You go for it. Two weeks later you're back at the same grocery store picking up a shiny new Dynamiclear bottle. Oreskovich got drafted, decided hockey sucked, came back when his old coach found his way to Florida, and was last seen playing fourth line minutes for the Stanley Cup losing Vancouver Canucks. Our fifth round pick had a cool spelling version of "Demon" in his name and still couldn't make it while Peltier is with Hensick now in the Blues system. Brandon Yip would actually be considered a success simply because 8th round picks don't make the NHL very often. If he can regain his rookie season form, he'll actually have a place in the NHL. If he doesn't, he only enhances the sordid reputation of this draft. The Avalanche at least were able to identify a player in Wolski with NHL talent, which was a step up from previous years, so there's that.
2005
2 34 Colorado Ryan Stoa
2 44 Colorado Paul Stastny
2 47 Colorado Tom Fritsche
2 52 Colorado Chris Durand
3 88 Colorado T.J. Hensick
4 124 Colorado Raymond Macias
6 166 Colorado Jason Lynch
6 168 Colorado Justin Mercier
7 222 Colorado Kyle Cumiskey
Sandie's Take: Ryan Stoa before Paul Stastny, really?! Well, Stasnty worked out for them and then Kyle Cumisky, if he can overcome the concussion, could be a steal in the seventh round.There certainly is still time for Stoa to crack the team permanently.
A.J.'s Take: I'd say this is draft is a success overall. Once again without a first round pick, the Avalanche get an All-Star in Paul Stastny in the second round. Getting a serviceable NHL defenseman (disagreements incoming!) in the seventh round with Cumiskey is a solid find. The jury is still out on Stoa but all signs seem to indicate he will join Hensick in that AAAA (lol baseball terms) class of player where their games play very well in the AHL but for whatever reason can't put together the full package in the NHL. Macias supposedly played a couple games for the Avs last year but in a year when the team used 17 players on defense, his appearances in a whopping 2 games should serve as a solid indicator of how the team feels about him. Mercier is a guy who still has some intrigue left in his game and could be a poor man's Galiardi if he continues to develop the way he has so far. Definitely a guy to keep an eye on.
2006
1 18 Colorado Chris Stewart
2 51 Colorado Nigel Williams
2 59 Colorado Codey Burki
3 81 Colorado Mike Carman
4 110 Colorado Kevin Montgomery
7 201 Colorado Billy Sauer
Sandie's Take: Chris Stewart was the star of this draft. When he was on, he was on, but he did have a few spots that were lacking substance.
A.J.'s Take: The Chris Stewart draft! This was the first draft of Francois Giguere and the one area where he actually excelled at his job. His increased focus on the development of a farm system signaled an organizational shift from the GOGOGO CUP CRAZY days of Lacroix to the ground-up philosophy FG brought from Dallas. There isn't much to say about FG's first draft as he nailed the first round pick and missed on pretty much all the others. Williams was a guy who was very talented but couldn't get out of his own way in order to succeed long-term. Carman is still hacking away in LEM but at this point is unlikely to make an impact on the NHL level.
2007
1 14 Colorado Kevin Shattenkirk
2 45 Colorado Colby Cohen
2 49 Colorado Trevor Cann
2 55 Colorado T.J. Galiardi
4 105 Colorado Bradley Malone
4 113 Colorado Kent Patterson
5 135 Colorado Paul Carey
6 155 Colorado Jens Hellgren
7 195 Colorado Johan Alcen
Sandie's Take: The loss of Shattenkirk certainly made some MHH'ers unhappy, Cohen has become better known for his off-ice persona that his hockey skills. Galiardi had a great playoff performance, and here's hoping that he can bring that bad-assery to the team once again.
A.J.'s Take: Shattenkirk is going to be a stud in the NHL. I have 100% belief in him having a very productive, Brian Rafalski-esque career. His former BU teammate and roomie, however, I have zero belief in. I think Cohen has all the tools to be a good third pairing guy and a second PP unit contributor but his attitude has been questioned quite a bit recently but he is playing in an organization that has carved productive hockey players out of average skill sets before so who knows. I wish both Shatty and Cohen the best. Cann is likely to be the only true bust as Galiardi is already contributing big minutes to the Avalanche and Malone will begin his assault on the NHL either this season or next. Patterson is the biggest sleeper in the Avalanche system as nobody talks about him when mentioning future goalies because all the attention goes to Pickard but he's a guy who could make some real noise in coming years. The rest seem destined to fall by the wayside.
2008
2 50 Colorado Cameron Gaunce
2 61 Colorado Peter Delmas
4 110 Colorado Kelsey Tessier
5 140 Colorado Mark Olver
6 167 Colorado Joel Chouinard
6 170 Colorado Jonas Holøs
7 200 Colorado Nathan Condon
Sandie's Take: We all know how A.J. feels about Gaunce (YEAHHHHH), but the likes of Olver, Chouinard and Holøs makes this an interesting draft year, one with lots of potential.
A.J.'s Take: Is anybody else impressed at this team's ability to produce quality players in years they don't have a first round pick? This is the fourth year of the decade in which no first rounder was used but they mined a solid prospect from the second round. Everyone knows how I feel about Gaunce so I'll leave that be (HE'S AWESOME). Delmas continued the tradition of the Avs being completely unable to find a quality goaltender in the draft (a few exceptions, yes, I realize this) but the team really excelled in the mid-to-late rounds here. Tessier is a guy who is AHL bound forever, I think, but Olver is my sleeper to make the team out of camp next season. Chewy and Holos are guys with a lot of upside and Holos SHOULD be on the NHL roster come opening night. If not, I'll get over it, but I won't be real pleased with the decision.
2009
1 3 Colorado Matt Duchene
2 33 Colorado Ryan O'Reilly
2 49 Colorado Stefan Elliott
3 64 Colorado Tyson Barrie
5 124 Colorado Kieran Millan
6 154 Colorado Brandon Maxwell
7 184 Colorado Gus Young
Sandie's Take: This was an incredibly strong, well-drafted year. The Avs aren't leading us to expect much from the latter rounds, however, no one can deny that the first two picks were successful. With Elliott and Barrie waiting in the wings, it could turn out to be a fantastic year, talent-wise.
A.J.'s Take: A perennial All-Star and a very good defensive center with the first two picks and two very intriguing defensive prospects with the next two. The last three...we'll just forget about for now. Dutchy and Radar kicked off the Greg Sherman era with a bang and they haven't slowed down since. Elliott figures to be a very important cog in the near future, potentially as early as next season, and Barrie is very highly thought of as well. Both players were the WHL Defenseman of the Year last year for their respective conferences. Very impressive draft class.
2010
1 17 Colorado Joey Hishon
2 49 Colorado Calvin Pickard
3 71 Colorado Michael Bournival
4 95 Colorado Stephen Silas
4 107 Colorado Sami Aittokallio
5 137 Colorado Troy Rutkowski
5 139 Colorado Luke Walker
7 197 Colorado Luke Moffatt
Sandie's Take: Far too early to tell what kind of impact any of these players will be able to make on the team. Both Hishon and Pickard will be trying to make the team this September, and who isn't happy with a kid whose name is Luke Walker, this is the stuff legends are made of. HIgh hopes for this year's draft picks, hopefully doesn't lead to high disappointment.
A.J.'s Take: Bournival landed us Ryan O'Byrne so he obviously was a good pick. Hishon is a guy with a ton of upside and Pickard, while unfortunately not eligible for Lake Erie quite yet, carries the goalie of the future mantle with him everywhere he goes. Aittokallio was considered the top Euro netminder when we drafted him so the stocking of netminder prospects continued. Far too early to tell overall but even 5th round guys like Rutkowski and Walker have shown glimpses. If this draft produces 4 prospects like it appears the 09 draft does, the Avalanche should be a serious contender within 4 years.