In working on a University of Denver hockey story recently, I was reminded about the situation with 2017 Avalanche first-round draft pick Cale Makar, the puck-savvy defenseman from Calgary, Alberta. Makar went against the blue-chip Canadian grain and chose the NCAA development route, and is currently a freshman at the University of Massachusetts.
Makar, being the kid with the can’t-miss NHL career, is on a possible one-and-done college career — primarily because he was selected so high in the NHL draft, at No. 4 overall, and the second defenseman. Fifty-three picks and 19 defensemen later, the Chicago Blackhawks selected Ian Mitchell from Calahoo, Alberta.