2017 NHL Draft: Colorado Avalanche Select Nick Henry at #94

The Avs take a scoring winger with pick #94, Nick Henry of the Regina Pats. He’s a 6’ 190# RW that put up 35G/46A in 72 games this season. That’s stout for a WHL rookie, 2nd out of all first year players in fact.

This is something the Avs really don’t have in the system right now and kind of a departure from the safe low-ceiling picks we’re used to seeing in the middle rounds. Very promising, both the pick and the fact the Avs are moving into a more modern drafting style. Also interesting, Henry was drafted by Everett and seemed to be headed to Western Michigan before being traded to Regina and having the opportunity with a dominant team.

From our friends at The Hockey Writers Pre-Draft:

Henry was a strong contributor on one of Canadian major junior hockey’s most stacked teams. He was a point-per-game player as a rookie, finishing second in the entire WHL in rookie scoring behind Swift Current’s Aleksi Heponiemi. Relied upon to be a distributor of the puck and a secondary offensive threat, Henry was up to the challenge and chipped in consistently throughout the year with offense at key moments. The big question regarding Henry is whether he could produce at the same level on a less stacked team. He definitely benefited from Regina’s ability to put him in favourable circumstances, but he was also full marks for maximizing his outputs in those circumstances.

He’s only produced at a high level in a tough league for one season, and that production came on the WHL’s version of the Harlem Globetrotters, but Henry is a really intriguing prospect. There are more complete players with more extensive resumes that will probably go before him in the draft, but he’ll be a great value pick for an NHL club in the middle of the 2017 Draft. If he can build upon a stellar rookie year in the Dub, he may even turn into a steal over time.