Depth The Focus For NHL Draft Day 2

After a very controversial first round, the Colorado Avalanche went back to the war room on Saturday, selecting seven more players to fill positions of need.

Here are the newest members of the Colorado Avalanche organization:

Round:
(1) Joey Hinson C
(2) Calvin Pickard G
(3) Michael Bournival LW
(4) Stephen Silas D
(5) Sami Aittokallio G
(6) Troy Rutkowski D
(7) Luke Walker RW
(7) Luke Moffatt C

Unlike last year, none of these picks are expected to make the roster for the upcoming season, thus making this draft difficult to judge at face value. Many of these selections won’t reveal their promise for at least two more years.

Mile High Hockey has posted a comprehensive scouting report on all of these picks.

Avs Select Goalie Calvin Pickard In The Second Round

From the Denver Post:

The Avs took Calvin Pickard, an 18-year-old native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, who spent the last two years at Seattle of the Western Hockey League. The Avs took him at the 49th position, after trading their 47th pick to Los Angeles for picks 49 and 109.

Avalanche Select C Joey Hishon In 1st round

After watching many highly-touted prospects inexplicably fall to the middle of the round, the Colorado Avalanche instead selected 18 year old Center Joey Hishon out of Ontario, Canada.

Hishon was ranked #47 overall prospect by TSN and was not predicted by any mock draft as a first round selection. He is listed as 5’10" and 170 pounds.

According to NHL.com, Hishon missed much of the season with a broken foot, limiting him to 40 points in 36 games.

Read the reaction here at Mile High Hockey.

Avalanche Hold 17th Overall Pick In Tonight's NHL Draft

The NHL Draft starts tonight at 5pm MT, and the Avalanche hold the 17th overall pick. Mile High Hockey has a preview on the Avs' draft needs here. The prediction at the end of the article predicts the Avs will select Austin Watson, a right winger:

Reasoning:  Watson's draft stock is rising, but he is expected to be taken in the 12-18 range, right where the Avs are picking.  As a winger, Watson has size, good speed and doesn't shy away from physical play.  Scouts have questioned his offensive output as a professional player, but at worse, you are looking at a solid third line player in the future.

Watson wasn't my first choice, but I eliminated other possibilities due to previous trends.  I eliminated European players as well as high school and Canadian Junior Hockey League players.  Even though Jack Campbell [a goalie] fell to pick 17 in both of my mock drafts, don't expect him to slip down that far on Friday.

Stay tuned to the NHL Draft, as it's always an exciting and fun event.