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Makar tabbed, Duchene still here |
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Rick Sadowski
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The Avalanche on Friday night used the fourth overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft on Cale Makar, 18, a highly-skilled offensive defenseman from the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
Nothing is ever guaranteed, especially when you are dealing with teenaged prospects, but it seemed pretty likely that general manager Joe Sakic would call Makar's name at Chicago's United Center after the Dallas Stars used the No. 3 pick on another highly-regarded defenseman in this draft, Miro Heiskanen.
“We’re excited to add Cale to our organization,” team director of amateur scouting Alan Hepple said in a release. "He’s a very good skater, a very good puck-mover. Very good puck management. Offensive upside with a great shot and great vision.”
(FYI: Sakic told AJ Haefele of BSNDenver.com, who is in Chicago, that he hasn't been enamored with offers for Matt Duchene but will continue to listen).
Makar is the first defenseman taken by the Avalanche in the first round since they used their second first-rounder in 2011 on Duncan Siemens (No. 11).
"To be honest with you, I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet," Makar told reporters. "It seems cliché, but it’s kind of speechless right now. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and now that it finally does, you don’t know what to feel.
"I don’t know a lot about the team, but I know that they have Tyson Barrie and obviously they have guys that have lots of experience in the NHL and they’re guys that every rookie kind of needs to lean on, so I’m excited for the experience just to kind of go through this all, just kind of see where it takes me."
The 5-feet-11, 187-pound Makar has committed to play at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in the fall.
"That’s my plan for next year, and I couldn’t be more excited to do that," he said. "Some of the bigger schools you kind of get stuck in the lineup sometimes, but I know when I go to UMass, my goal is to be a No. 1 defenseman there, and I know they’re going to give me every opportunity that I can to pursue that."
A right-handed shot, Makar piled up 75 points (24 goals, 51 assists) in 54 games for Brooks, with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) in 13 playoff games. The Bandits won their second consecutive league championship, and Makar was named playoff MVP.
Makar had six points (two goals, four assists) in five games to help Brooks win a silver medal in the Royal Bank Cup, Canada's National Junior A championship series. He had 135 points (35 goals, 100 assists) in 111 AJHL regular-season games.
Makar also was named the Canadian Junior Hockey League defenseman of the year, league defenseman of the year and player of the year.
"He is eerily reminiscent of the way (Ottawa star) Erik Karlsson plays," TSN/NBCSN draft analyst Craig Button said. "He's got to get up to that level, but that ability to be two and three steps ahead of everybody, and make it look easy ... take the open ice when it's there.
"Outstanding ability to transition, play defense and then quickly you're on the attack. You're not just on the attack, you're also able to understand and see what all the options are, and take full advantage of them."
Here's what TSN's Bob McKenzie had to say:
"If you can find a National Hockey League scout who says this kid can play defensive hockey in the NHL, you're a good man or you're found (to be) a liar because nobody knows if he can play defense. The reason we don't know is because he's always got the puck on his stick.
"This kid lit it up at a lower level of hockey. It's not to diminish what he did, but that is to suggest that he's got to prove that he can do it at a higher level."
Congrats to Kelowna defenseman Cal Foote. A son of former Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote, Cal was tabbed by the Tampa Bay Lightning with the 14th pick.
More on Makar:
He captained Team Canada West at the 2016 World Junior A Challenge and had eight points (four goals, four assists) in four games.
He is the highest draft pick from the AJHL, passing Avalanche forward Joe Colborne, who played for the Camrose Kodiaks and was the No. 16 pick of the Boston Bruins in 2008. Colborne played two years at the University of Denver before turning pro.
The draft resumes Saturday with rounds 2 through 7 (8 a.m. MT, NHL Network).
The Avalanche have six picks: second round (No. 32), fourth round (Nos. 94 and 114), fifth round (No. 125), sixth round (No. 156) and seventh round (No. 187) rounds.
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