2018 NHL Draft: Report card grades for every team

DALLAS, TX - JUNE 22: Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres, Andrei Svechnikov of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jesperi Kotkaniemi of the Montreal Canadians pose for a picture of the 2018 NHL draft on June 22, 2018 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Matthew Pearce/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

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DALLAS, TX – JUNE 22: Martin Kaut poses after being selected sixteenth overall by the Colorado Avalancheduring the first round of the 2018 NHL Draft at American Airlines Center on June 22, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

Colorado Avalanche – B

First Round Pick: Martin Kaut (RW) (16)

Martin Kaut was ranked fourth by Central Scouting among International skaters. He reportedly had a heart issue come up during the NHL Scouting Combine, but that appeared to be a false alarm. The knock on Kaut is that he doesn’t have superstar potential and projects as a second line player at best. Perfect. The Avalanche have their top line for years to come with Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Mikko Rantanen. They need a second line winger who can play in all three zones. Kaut seems to fit that bill. This looks like a safe pick and one that fits a big need.

Other Notable Picks: Justus Annunen (G) (64), Sampo Ranta (LW) (78)

The Avs started the draft with two second-round picks and ended with zero thanks to the Philipp Grubauer deal and a trade back. Justus Annunen helps stock a thin goaltending pipeline in Colorado. Sampo Ranta ws projected to go in the second round and the Avs were able to get him the third.

Trade: Acquired Philipp Grubauer and Brooks Orpik from Washington for a 2018 second-round pick

The real splash came via trade. Colorado picked up Grubauer and Brooks Orpik for the 47th pick in the draft. Seeing as they are trying to dump Orpik in another trade or possibly buying him out, we’ll call this Grubauer for number 47. That’s a solid deal for Colorado given the injury history of Semyon Varlamov. At worst, they got a bonafide backup who can win 15-20 games. At best, they have their new number one goalie because Varlamov got injured again.

There’s a lot to like from this draft if you’re an Avalanche fan. The trade alone would have given them at least a C, but their draft selections put them with a high B.

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