The Colorado Avalanche won the NHL draft lottery, giving them the opportunity to claim top-rated prospect Seth Jones, who learned to play hockey in the Denver area.
Defenseman Jones, the son of former NBA player Ron “Popeye” Jones, could be the first African American to be picked No. 1 overall in the NHL draft. Jones started playing hockey while his father was playing for the NBA’s Denver Nuggets.
Colorado’s director of amateur scouting Rick Pracey, his team’s representative at the nationally televised lottery, said the organization hasn’t made any final decision about who they would pick. But he conceded that Jones was “front and center.”
Jones is a big all-around defenseman who helped the USA win the world junior championship last January.
MORE: The NHL’s final rankings
The Avalanche, with the league’s second-worst record, had an 18.8% chance of winning the lottery. This was the first year that all non-playoff qualifiers had a chance to pick No. 1 overall. In previous years, a team could only move up four spots if it won the lottery.
Jones plays for the Portland (Ore.) Winterhawks in the Western Hockey League, and he’s regarded as the consensus No. 1 choice. However, Quebec Major Junior Hockey players Nathan MacKinnon and Jonathan Drouin both will receive consideration, along with Finnish League two-way center Alexander Barkov.
MacKinnon is a scoring center and Drouin is a skilled scoring winger.
All four of those players are considered impact players, along with Russian winger Valeri Nichushkin. However, Nichuskin might fall on draft day because has a commitment to a Kontinental Hockey League team.
The draft order
1. Colorado Avalanche
2. Florida Panthers
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
4. Nashville Predators
5. Carolina Hurricanes
6. Calgary Flames
7. Edmonton Oilers
8. Buffalo Sabres
9. New Jersey Devils
10. Dallas Stars
11. Philadelphia Flyers
12. Phoenix Coyotes
13. Winnipeg Jets
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
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Avalanche win NHL draft lottery – USA Today – USA TODAY
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