On Thursday night, the 2022 NHL Draft will be hosted at the Bell Centre in Montreal from July 7-8 in what will be the first in-person draft since 2019 due to COVID-19 restrictions affecting the past two years.
Fresh off a victorious season where the Colorado Avalanche claimed their third Stanley Cup in franchise history, as of now, the club will be selecting four picks of prospects to add to their system as they currently own a third rounder (97th overall), a fifth rounder (161st overall), a sixth rounder (161st overall) and the last choice of the draft in the seventh round at 225th overall. All selections are subject to trade pending any trades that could ensue.
The Avalanche are currently without a first and second round pick after dealing both of those respective selections.
Ahead of last year's regular season, the team acquired goaltender Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes in exchange for their first-round pick (No. 32), defenseman Conor Timmins and 2024 third-round pick. They also dealt their second rounder (No. 65) to the New York Islanders back in 2020 in exchange for defenseman Devon Toews. Colorado's fourth round pick (No. 129) was sent to the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for defenseman Patrik Nemeth back in April 2021.
While Colorado only has four picks heading into this year's draft, the experience itself will still be exciting as it's the first in-person draft in two years and the Stanley Cup will be present for the Avalanche's front office and Head Coach Jared Bednar, who will all be in attendance to show off. This year also marks the first time since 1985 that the host city will be drafting the first overall, as the Montreal Canadiens received the first pick via the annual NHL Draft Lottery.
The 2022 NHL Draft officially begins on Thursday night with a 7 p.m. ET start time (5 p.m. MT). The draft can be viewed on ESPN or streamed on
ESPN+
.
