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The Avalanche selected center Conner Bleackley from the Red Deer Rebels of the Western Hockey League on Friday with its first-round pick (No. 23 overall) in the NHL draft in Philadelphia.

Bleackley, who is listed at 6 feet and 197 pounds, had 29 goals, 39 assists and 48 penalty minutes in 71 games last season. He was Red Deer's captain, one of three first-time draft-eligible players to be a captain, the others being Aaron Ekblad of the Barrie Colts and Sam Reinhart of the Kootenay Ice.

"I'm ecstatic," said Bleackley, who was an assistant captain on Canada's bronze medal-winning team at the 2014 Under-18 World Championship. He is from High River, Alberta. "For while I had been thinking about that pick and if there was one place I had to go, (this) was the place. Now that it's happened, it's really a dream come true."

Red Deer coach Brent Sutter named Bleackley captain in November, three months before the youngster turned 18.

"I think Brent saw me take over the team a little bit with a hot start offensively," he said. "I think I have an ability to bring guys together as a group. Leadership is something I've possessed all the way up."

As for his playing style, the word "gritty" was used to describe his game during the draft broadcast.

"I like to go to the dirty areas, the corners and to go to the net to score goals," Bleackley said. "That's definitely part of my game. I have a versatility where I can play on lines one through four, on the wing and at center. I want to be a top guy and I think I have the skill and determination to do that.

"I'm more of a two-way center. I pride myself on playing against some of the team's best players, but at the same time I like to feel I can help a little offensively. I'm excited to be in Denver and excited about the opportunity that's been presented to me and I'm going to do everything I can to bring the Stanley Cup back to Colorado."

Bleackley said he will continue to work on his skating and quickness, which he did a year ago. The work paid off in a significant jump in his offensive numbers; he had better offensive statistics (eight goals, 19 points) in the first 15 games than he did in 66 games in 2012-13 (nine goals, 18 points).

Bleackley got quite a thrill when Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic went to the podium to announce his name. Bleackley posed with Sakic, coach Patrick Roy and Avalanche director of amateur scouting Rick Pracey after putting on a Colorado jersey.

"It was pretty surreal," he said. "I idolized the Colorado Avalanche and Joe Sakic for as long as I can remember. The whole thing was definitely special and a dream come true."

Bleackley said he already had heard from several Avalanche players: Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog and Max Talbot.

Pracey said in a statement:

"One thing that attracted us to Conner is his hockey sense and strength on the puck. We like his versatility, as we have seen him play all three forward positions. Being a right-handed shot, he potentially addresses a need on the right side on our organizational depth chart. We think he is a responsible two-way player, and his leadership qualities were a positive factor. It is very rare to see a 17-year-old captain of a major junior team. Other key quality traits we liked were his competitiveness and instincts."

Rounds 2 through 7 will be held Saturday. The Avalanche doesn't have a second-round pick, having traded it to Calgary for goalie Reto Berra. Colorado has one pick in each of the third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds, and two picks in the fourth round.

*****

The Denver Post reported that Matt Keator, agent for center Paul Stastny, met with Sakic on Friday and that the two are expected to continue to talk through the weekend.

According to ESPN's Pierre LeBrun, Stastny and Keator have been contacted by about 15 teams to gauge his interest and try and promote their clubs before Tuesday, when the free agent signing period begins. Chicago, Dallas, St. Louis and Winnipeg are among the teams.

TSN/NBC analyst Pierre McGuire said during Friday's draft coverage that the Stars were "going hard" at Stastny.

Stastny is coming off a five-year, $33 million contract that paid him $6.6 million per season, which apparently is about $600,000 more per year than the Avalanche is willing to pay going forward under the team's salary "structure." Duchene's new contract, with a $6 million cap hit, could be as high as the team will go.

How much of a "hometown discount" is Stastny willing to accept to remain in Colorado? He is supposed to "circle back" to the Avalanche for a last-ditch attempt at re-signing him.

The NHL announced earlier Friday that the salary cap for the 2014-15 season will be $69 million with a $51 million floor.

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