5 biggest surprises from Day 1 of 2018 NHL Draft

Day 1 of the NHL Draft provided plenty of entertainment for hockey fans. Here are the five biggest surprises from Friday night.

With six teams holding multiple picks in the first round and six teams holding multiple picks in the second round, the NHL draft was expected to provide fans with plenty of action. Before the draft had even commenced, a trade had been solidified, the Humboldt Broncos had been honored and alternate jerseys had been revealed.

The blockbuster trades and wheeling-and-dealing, however, never really materialized. General managers generally played it safe, choosing to stockpile prospects instead of taking a chance on a transaction. Considered to be a fairly deep draft, it perhaps shouldn’t have come as a surprise that the night shook out this way.

The draft really started at pick No. 3. Rasmus Dahlin and Andrei Svechnikov were already guaranteed to go at Nos. 1 and 2. It was up to Montreal to determine who would be left and thus how teams went about drafting on the fly.

While there weren’t many shockers, there were a few surprises. Here are five of the biggest.

5. Colorado acquires Philipp Grubauer

Before Rasmus Dahlin had even had his name called, Colorado and Washington had swung a deal. With Semyon Varlamov’s injury history and a contract that expires next year, it’s perhaps not a huge shock that Colorado has begun the search for his replacement. Joe Sakic, however, did not sit back and wait for free agency to attempt to fill the void (Carter Hutton?).

With a first rounder of their own this year, next year, as well as Ottawa’s potential lottery pick in 2019, giving up just a second rounder is a great deal for Colorado. It was a small price to pay for a very underrated goaltender. Grubauer boasts a career 2.29 GAA to go along with a .923 save percentage.

Brooks Orpik was a thrown-in. A proverbial cap dump for Washington to give them a bit more cap space in their pursuit to re-sign John Carlson. There are already multiple reports that the Avalanche will attempt to trade him to one of his preferred destinations, and will buy him out should these attempts be unsuccessful.

Colorado may not have been big winners on the draft board, but Grubauer fills a big need. Avalanche fans should be very pleased with how day 1 of the draft went for their team.