Eurolanche

Avalanche to select 10th at 2016 Draft

The Colorado Avalanche will select 10th overall at the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo, New York, as the club maintained it's draft position following the NHL Draft Lottery on Saturday. The results of the lottery were revealed live on national television in the United States and in Canada from Sportsnet’s Hockey Central Studio at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto. Colorado, which finished this past season 21st out of the 30 teams, entered the lottery with the 10th-best odds of earning the No. 1 pick at 3.5 percent. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the No. 1 overall selection. The Winnipeg Jets landed the No. 2 pick and the Columbus Blue Jackets scooped up the No. 3 spot.

This year's draft lottery saw changes to the format, which included drawings for the second- and third-overall selections at the summer event as well. The 14 non-playoff qualifying teams received odds proportionate to their total in points at the conclusion of the regular season. On top of this, those odds were adjustable depending on which organization won each of the three drawings. The Toronto Maple Leafs, which finished the season in 30th place, had the best lottery odds to land the No. 1 overall pick at 20 percent.

As a result of the new change, the team earning the fewest points during the regular season wasn't guaranteed to land, at minimum, the second-overall pick. That club could have fallen as low as fourth overall. This is the third time in franchise history that the Avalanche organization will have the No. 10 overall pick at the draft. The club last selected 10th in 2015 when Finnish forward Mikko Rantanen was chosen. The 2016 NHL Draft will be held June 24-25 at First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The first round will take place on Friday, June 24, while rounds two through seven will be conducted on Saturday, June 25. 

Source: Colorado Avalanche