Historically, the Colorado Avalanche haven't had a deep prospect pool.
Sure, there was the occasional late-round pick that turned into a Milan Hejduk or a Chris Drury, but for the most part that Avalanche haven't bred any star players. That's not a knock on them; when you're a power house team, you trade away your first-round picks in order to make the best short-term team possible before a Stanley Cup run.
But the glory days are over.
Management had to take a long hard look at where they wanted to start the foundation, and they ultimately chose defense.
Over the past three drafts, Colorado has used at least one first or second-round pick to draft a defenseman, and they seem to have done a bang up job by looking at the draftee's junior successes.
Tyson Barrie (2009 - 64th Overall)
The son of Tampa Bay co-owner Len Barrie was taken by the Avalanche in the third round of the most recent NHL draft.
In two full seasons with the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League, Barrie has established himself as an offensive dynamo. Last year as a 17-year-old, Barrie scored 52 points in 68 gam ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by James Crider
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November 18th, 2009 by James Crider Leave a reply »
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