Despite its exciting young group of explosive offensive-minded defensemen and a need of an elite second-line center, the Avalanche might select the best defenseman available with its No. 4 pick in the first round of the June 21 NHL draft.
In his annual pre-draft conference call Thursday, Avs director of amateur scouting Alan Hepple hinted that defenseman Bowen Byram will be difficult to pass on if he’s not selected by Chicago at No. 3. The top two picks will likely be Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, according to all draft projections.
Byram, a 6-foot-1, 195-pound Canadian for major-junior’s Vancouver Giants, turned 18 Thursday.