Top 5 best drafts in Colorado Avalanche History

Yesterday, we took a look at some of the worst draft classes the Colorado Avalanche have accumulated since moving to Denver in 1995. Today, we’re flipping the negativity on its ear and looking through the draft classes that were the best for the Avalanche. As a note, I’m not considering it a negative if the player’s greatest success doesn’t come with the Avalanche. These are simply the draft classes that produced the best NHL results.

Honoroable Mention – 2015

Mikko Rantanen (1st), A.J. Greer (2nd), Nicolas Meloche (2nd), J.C. Beaudin (3rd), Andrei Mironov (4th), Sergei Boikov (6th), Gustav Olhaver (7th)

There were a few people who mentioned last year’s draft class as a potential for this list. It’s definitely THE class to watch for the next few years as it develops. Rantanen will likely jump into the NHL full-time next season and the strong seasons by Greer and Beaudin in Rouyn-Noranda shine a bright light on upcoming young forwards for the Avalanche. Meloche, Mironov, and Boikov all present varying degrees of intriguing talents along the blue line and could all realistically vie for NHL time in the next couple of years if they want to.

It was too soon for me to put this class on this list with any confidence but given the shaky bottom of the list, it’s safe to say that with any real success, the 2015 class will be a mainstay on this list in future years.

#5 – 2007

Kevin Shattenkirk (1st), Colby Cohen (2nd), Trevor Cann (2nd), T.J. Galiardi (2nd), Bradley Malone (4th), Kent Patterson (4th), Paul Carey (5th), Jens Hellgren (6th), Johan Alcen (7th)

A draft that will be best remembered for the players the Avalanche received when they traded three of the top four picks away, this was still a pretty successful draft weekend. With four picks in the top 55, you’d like to see a team come away with more impact players than this but the Avalanche did well in spinning the players for value that outlasted the prospects in most cases.

Shattenkirk is clearly the star here and has a long career of scoring points and being called a power play specialist but given he’s line for a big payday next season, I doubt he minds. Traded for current stalwart Erik Johnson, Shattenkirk was deemed expendable thanks to the blossoming talents of Tyson Barrie and Stefan Elliott. Cohen was dealt for Matt Hunwick, who is still finding NHL jobs and Galiardi was included in the trade deadline deal that saw the Avalanche bring in Jamie McGinn. Not a bad draft class but the Avs did well to cash in on several of these prospects before they flamed out (Cohen would is already out of hockey completely). This draft class won’t be on the list in a few years.

#4 – 1996

Peter Ratchuk (1st), Yuri Babenko (2nd), Mark Parrish (3rd), Ben Storey (4th), Randy Petruk (4th), Luke Curtin (5th), Brian Willsie (6th), Kai Fischer (6th), Dan Hinote (7th), Samuel Pahlsson (7th), Roman Pylner (7th), Matt Scorsune (8th), Justin Clark (9th)

The Avalanche made 13 picks, blew their first rounder, and reaped the benefits of just two of the players who became successful NHL players but this isn’t a list of best draft classes to benefit the Avalanche. Oddly, this class is propped up by an excellent seventh round as Dan Hinote was a significant contributor to the 2001 Stanley Cup championship team and Samuel Pahlsson was included in the 2000 trade for Ray Bourque.

While mostly forgotten because his greatest success came in the darkest days of the Islanders, Mark Parrish was an excellent selection by the Avalanche in the 3rd round as he turned in four consecutive 20-goal seasons in the early 2000’s. Hinote and Willsie were important role players at various points in their careers and Willsie’s time with the organization led to him becoming a member of the current regime’s development staff. Hinote remains a fan favorite.

Pahlsson went on to be a very successful depth center on several successful Ducks teams and enjoyed a long and successful career and would be one of the few prospects traded away by the Avalanche in trades they would absolutely redo today if given the chance.

#3 – 2013

Nathan MacKinnon (1st), Chris Bigras (2nd), Spencer Martin (3rd), Mason Geertsen (4th), Will Butcher (5th), Ben Storm (6th), Wilhelm Westlund (7th)

This is clearly the biggest leap of faith on the list as there’s only been three seasons of play from MacKinnon and just 31 games from Bigras so far. This is a little bit of recency bias coupled with a lot of projection to say that this class will firmly find its place in this spot for years to come with potential to be even better.

MacKinnon could be a superstar, Bigras should develop into a legitimate top four defender, and the rest of the class is only just beginning. Martin just had a very impressive initial pro season at age 20, Geertsen remains a project with plenty of exciting upside, and Will Butcher will be returning to Denver University as captain of a program that will contend for the national championship again. That’s a whole boatload of talent still on the rise for the Avalanche.

Even with Storm and Westlund likely not even being signed, the Avs could still see five NHL players, with at least one NHL All-Star from the first draft run by Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic. This is a draft class with plenty of potential to move up on the list or drop if nothing becomes of the kids.

#2 – 2009

Matt Duchene (1st), Ryan O’Reilly (2nd), Stefan Elliott (2nd), Tyson Barrie (3rd), Kieran Millan (5th), Brandon Maxwell (6th), Gus Young (7th)

The toughest decision by far on this list was which of these draft classes was the second on this list. Plenty of people will disagree with this placement and given a few more years of excellence, I’ll make the swap myself but for right now this draft class stands as Colorado’s second best in my eyes.

Duchene was painted as the obvious choice on draft day but in reality there was a legitimate hierarchy of six great prospects that year and the Avalanche nailed it with the selection of Duchene. While still an imperfect player, he’s coming off a career-high 30-goal season and is beloved by Avalanche fans. If so allowed, Duchene will be an Avalanche lifer and it’s not out of the realm of possibility to suggest the team could retire his number someday.

I’m going to simply appreciate the selection of O’Reilly at the top of the second round and without re-living the emotionally draining saga that encompassed his final years in Denver, O’Reilly was a slam dunk selection and really pushed this draft class into the territory of solid. Elliott is a player with a lot of “what if?” questions that follow him and at this point it’s unlikely he ever gets a full-time shot at the NHL. One of the reasons Elliott was deemed expendable in Denver was due to the rise of third rounder Barrie, who has become one of the NHL’s premier point-producing defenseman. His development pushes this draft class into rarified air.

While neither goaltender would amount to anything professionally, the Avs even mined a solid player in Gus Young from the 7th round. After a good college career, Young has become a solid AHL player in the San Jose Sharks organization and has an outside shot at contributing in the NHL.

#1 – 1998

Alex Tanguay (1st), Martin Skoula (1st), Robyn Regehr (1st), Scott Parker (1st), Ramzi Abid (2nd), Philippe Sauve (2nd), Steve Moore (2nd), Evgeny Lazarev (3rd), K.C. Timmons (5th), Alexander Riazantsev (6th)

After collecting four first round selections in order to make a bid for 1st overall and Vincent Lecavalier, Tampa Bay’s insistence on Colorado including Peter Forsberg into any draft-day deal meant the Avalanche found themselves picking seven times in the first 53 selections. For once, the Avs got out of their own way, picked more good than bad players, and produced the most prolific draft class to date.

While Skoula and Regehr were not big point producers, their combined 1,866 NHL games played is no joke. There isn’t much to be said about Tanguay’s historic game 7 performance in 2001 that Avs fans aren’t familiar with so I won’t waste your time by waxing poetic about arguably the greatest single draft pick since the team moved to Denver. Scott Parker was a key piece on that 2001 Cup champion as well thanks to the rules of the day and Parker’s excellence in hand-to-hand combat.

Again, I’m not punishing the Avalanche for dealing away Regehr for Theoren Fleury. Regehr currently has the 4th most games played of anyone in that draft class (Tanguay is 5th, current Av Brad Stuart is 7th) and was an excellent defensive defenseman for a number of years.

One of the reasons this class pushed over the top for me was Steve Moore’s selection. I’m not going to recap the ugly incident that ended Moore’s career during his rookie season but it’s safe to say the Avalanche had a 5th NHL regular on their hands in Moore. As time goes on, the excellence of Duchene, O’Reilly, and Barrie will likely surpass the dynamic skillsets and varied production of this class but for now, I’m leaving them at the top.