After the Avalanche failed to win any of the lotteries for the NHL’s top three choices Saturday in Toronto, general manager Joe Sakic insisted Colorado still can land a major contributor with what it had to settle for — the fourth overall choice in the June 23-24 entry draft in Chicago.
“We’re confident with this draft, that there’s going to be a good player there at four,” Sakic said from Toronto.
The Avalanche had the best chances of the nonplayoff teams, plus the expansion Vegas Knights, of winning each weighted lottery, but that didn’t happen. New Jersey, Philadelphia and Dallas ended up with the top three picks.
Unquestionably, what sliding down that far does is greatly lessen the odds of drafting a player who can step in and help right away. And the Avs need immediate help. Then again, although Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick is the favorite to go No. 1 overall, neither he nor anyone else in this draft is considered in the same realm as the top picks in the last two years — Connor McDavid in 2015 and Auston Matthews in 2016.
If the teams’ lists mimic the NHL Central Scouting rankings, the most likely possibilities to go to Colorado at No. 4 are centers Casey Mittelstadt of Eden Prairie (Minn.) High School, Gabriel Vilardi of the Windsor Spitfires, Michael Rasmussen of the Tri-City Americans, Klim Kostin of Dynamo Moscow and Elias Pettersson of Timra in Sweden. The top-rated defensemen are Cale Makar of the Brooks Bandits, Juuso Valimaki of the Tri-City Americans and Callan Foote — the son of former Avalanche standout Adam Foote — of the Kelwna Rockets. But they’re down the list of the NHL overall rankings for skaters. Defenseman Miro Heiskanen of HIFK in Finland is the fourth-rated skater among those playing in Europe.
Four members of the Avalanche’s six-man “core” went in the top three picks — Erik Johnson at No. 1 in 2006, Matt Duchene at No. 3 in 2009, Gabe Landeskog at No. 2 in 2001 and Nathan MacKinnon at No. 1 in 2013. Johnson played the next season at the University of Minnesota before signing with St. Louis, while Duchene, Landeskog and MacKinnon joined the Avalanche right away. The Avalanche moved up from No. 2 to 1 in the draft lottery process in 2013, jumping over Florida, to take MacKinnon.
In the 17 most recent drafts, the top players taken at No. 4 arguably are Blues defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (2008) and Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom (2006).
After being drafted, Backstrom played one more season in the Swedish Elite League before joining the Capitals. Pietrangelo had eight- and nine-game cameos with the Blues, preventing his entry-level contract from kicking in, before joining the Blues for good in 2010-11.
Here’s a look at the No. 4 spot in those past drafts:
2016 — Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, Edmonton. Split rookie season between Oilers and AHL.
2015 — Mitch Marner, C, Toronto. Joined Leafs this season, had 19 goals.
2014 — Sam Bennett, C, Calgary. Has 31 goals in 159 games for Flames.
2013 — Seth Jones, D, Nashville. Traded to Columbus, developing into elite D.
2012 — Griffin Reinhart, D, New York Islanders. Played 29 games with Oilers, otherwise in AHL.
2011 — Adam Larsson, D, New Jersey. Traded to Edmonton, solid D-man who has played 353 NHL games.
2010 — Ryan Johansen, C, Columbus. Traded to Nashville for Jones, had two strong seasons, otherwise a disappointment.
2009 — Evander Kane, C, Atlanta. Now with Buffalo, has 157 goals in 496 games.
2008 — Alex Pietrangelo, D, St. Louis. Anchors Blues blue line, had 14 goals this season.
2007 — Thomas Hickey, D, Los Angeles. In five seasons with Islanders, six goals are his high.
2006 — Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington. The NHL’s fourth-leading scorer this season, with 23 goals and 86 points.
2005 — Benoit Pouliot, LW, Minnesota. Has bounced around, 19 goals with Oilers in 2014-15 are his high.
2004 — Andrew Ladd, LW, Carolina. Islanders are his fifth team, had 23 goals this season.
2003 — Nikolai Zherdev, F, Columbus. Talented, but has been in KHL since 2011.
2002 — Joni Pitkanen, D, Philadelphia. Last played in NHL with Carolina in 2013.
2001 — Stephen Weiss, C Florida. Had 156 goals in NHL, last played with Detroit in 2015.
2000 — Rostislav Klesla, D, Columbus. Blue Jackets’ first-ever draft choice. Solid NHL career, also with Coyotes.