NHL Draft: Best draft pick of all time: Colorado Avalanche – Ryan O’Reilly 2009
This one is really, really hurt by the move from Quebec to Colorado. We’re only counting draft picks made after the 1995 draft year. The Colorado Avalanche only have four players that have played over 1,000 games and were drafted by the Avs. Two came in the first round of the 1998 NHL Draft (Robyn Regehr and Alex Tanguay), another is seventh-round pick Radim Vrbata, and then there’s Paul Statsny who just barely qualifies.
Vrbata was an excellent pick, and it’s hard to ignore him on this list, but Ryan O’Reilly is one of the best centers in the NHL, and the Avalanche got him with their second-round pick in 2009. This was the same draft the Avalanche got Matt Duchene, who like O’Reilly they eventually traded away.
O’Reilly is a star for the Blues, and he led that team to the Stanley Cup two seasons ago. He won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. This past season, he put up 54 points in 56 games. He does this while being one of the better defensive centers in the NHL. He is the type of player that teams should kill to get. Yet, somehow, two teams traded him away.
The Avs obviously would love to claim the draft pick used for Joe Sakic, who they took with the 15th-overall pick in the 1987 draft. Unfortunately, that pick counts for the Nordiques. So, the Avs have to accept taking one of the better two-way centers in the league.