Avalanche select OHL defenseman Conor Timmins 32nd overall

CHICAGO – The Colorado Avalanche used their second round selection, 32nd overall, on Connor Timmins from the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL, ending the suspense for Timmins, who was widely viewed as a likely first-round selection.

“It’s definitely a relief,” Timmins told BSN from the United Center. “Yesterday was pretty stressful but I think going first in the second round like I said is still a great feeling and I’m very excited to be a member of the Colorado Avalanche.”

Relief, excitement, and joy all met in a single moment.

“Pure excitement,” he said. “Pure joy. It was a long wait yesterday and to be chosen with the first pick of the second round is a great feeling.”

Upon hearing his name called, Timmins understood he was living his dream.

“I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a little kid,” he said. “I grew up around a rink. My dad was a coach in Junior-B so to finally be here and to put on the Avalanche is, like you said, a dream come true.”

Timmins, a 6’1″, 183 pound right-handed defenseman, registered 61 points (7g, 54a) in 67 games played last season as he steadily worked his way through the Greyhounds lineup, eventually becoming one of their premier players, notable given the number of NHL prospects put out by the Greyhounds recently.

“First of all the Soo organization as a whole is great for developing prospects,” Timmins explained. “They have a great system there and just going through this with the older guys who have been there and gone through it already it’s been really helpful.”

Following a lengthy interview process, Timmins said he came out of it feeling like Colorado was one of the teams that had real interest in him, saying, “I had a feeling. I had a pretty good interview with them after the Combine. They seemed pretty interested and it seemed like a good fit for me.”

Like Colorado’s first-round selection, Cale Makar, Timmins will attend Canada’s WJC Summer Camp, an impressive honor given the depth of talent along the Canadian blue line.

On Timmins, the Black Book says:

Conor has a good mix of size and offensive ability. He has good instincts from the point and knows when to pinch and he likes to get involved in the offense. He moves the puck well from the point but is streaky with the puck when making the first pass. He likes to rush the puck, but has to rely on reading lanes because his
skating is probably average at best. Skating got him into trouble in high pace games when opponents would swarm him with a strong fore-check and he wouldn’t be able to move the puck quickly enough.

Conor has a good shot from the point and gets it through. It is very deflectable and will sometimes beat the goaltender. His reaction time is pretty good which sometimes compensated for his lack of quickness, especially in plays that only require a short distance. He won his share of battles in the corners and along
the walls showing good strength. He is effective one on one taking the body or using his stick to shut down the opposition. Some forwards were able to exploit his mobility and he would really benefit from getting a little quicker.

You can see our draft profile of him here.