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Development Focus For Avs 2021 Draft Class
Three of the picks are heading to college, while another is playing in Swedden by Ron Knabenbauer / ColoradoAvalanche.com
The Colorado Avalanche appears to have played the long game with its selections in the 2021 NHL Draft.
In a year like no other where games were far less than normal for draft-eligible players and live viewings of the prospects for scouts were even more limited due to COVID-19, allowing a little extra time for seasoning might not be the worst thing for the newest crop of NHL talent.
The Avalanche had four picks, one each in the first three round and another in the seventh (fifth to last, and chose three players that are committed to playing in college and another that is skating in Sweden and has options for his development. The four draft choices were the fewest the franchise has ever made in
Their opponent has been set. Even the dates have been settled.
Consider the next four matches their final training, and they’ll prepare in a less familiar territory.
Once the next four regular season road games are behind them, the Prince George Cougars begin the Western Hockey League playoffs.
They begin the postseason on the road. Their foes are the Western Conference’s elite team, the Vancouver Giants.
While the Cougars will finish no higher than eighth in the conference, they need to ensure they’re battled-tested once the playoffs begin if they want to give Vancouver a challenge. Otherwise, they’ll be chewed up and spit out by the Giants shortly after the playoff door they’ve been clawing at opens.