from Mike Chambers of the Denver Post,
The Avs, in fact, have just six of their own draft picks on the roster, and only two selected outside the first round: forward Ryan O'Reilly (second round, 2009) and defenseman Tyson Barrie (third, 2009). The other Colorado-drafted players are top-three overall picks Matt Duchene (2009), Gabe Landeskog (2011) and Nathan MacKinnon (2013) — who were tabbed as future stars before their drafts — plus Alex Tanguay (1998), who has played for three other teams before returning to the Avs.
Which explains why Sakic and Roy recently fired head amateur scout Rick Pracey after a summer's worth of adding depth free agents to stock the big-league roster as well as their minor-league affiliate, the Lake Erie Monsters. The Avs declined to address Pracey's firing, but his poor draft results outside the no-brainer top-three picks and the O'Reilly and Barrie selections wholeheartedly support the move.
Fact is, the only mid- or late-round Colorado pick to make a dent with the Avs was 2008 fifth-rounder Mark Olver, who is now playing in Russia at age 26. That's a small dent. And even some of the premier picks haven't panned out. Former first-rounders Joey Hishon (2010) and Duncan Siemens (2011) appear to be mistakes, and second-rounders Cameron Guance and Peter Delmas ( both 2008), Stefan Elliott (2009) and Mitchell Heard (2012) are shaping up similarly.
more with a comparison between the Avs and Oilers when it comes to the draft...
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