Colorado Avalanche

Winning lottery not exactly a lock
April 11, 2017, 5:22 PM ET [40 Comments]
Rick Sadowski
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The NHL on Tuesday released its Central Scouting final rankings of draft-eligible prospects for the June 23-24 draft, and Brandon Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick remains the No. 1-rated North American skater despite an injury-plagued season.

It remains to be seen if the Avalanche will have the first selection despite their last-place finish and 48 points -- 21 behind 29th-place Vancouver.

Colorado has a 17.9 percent chance of winning the lottery, scheduled for April 29. Vancouver is next at 12.1 percent, followed by Vegas and Arizona (10.3 percent each) and New Jersey (8.5 percent). The New York Islanders have the worst chance at 0.9 percent.

The Avalanche can't finish lower than fourth in the lottery. Their other lottery chances: second (16 percent), third (14.1 percent), fourth (52 percent).

Kelowna Rockets defenseman Cal Foote, the son of former Avalanche defenseman Adam Foote, is the third-rated defenseman and 12th overall. Foote, who is 6-feet-4 and 210 pounds, had 57 points (six goals, 51 assists) in 71 games in his second season with the Western Hockey League team.

Here are the COMPLETE RANKINGS.

Patrick, who is 6-feet-1 and 198 pounds, had 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 33 games this season, with 204 points (91 goals and 113 assists) in 160 games in three seasons. He's the son of former NHL player Steve Patrick and nephew of former NHL player James Patrick.

He missed 35 regular-season games this season because of an upper-body injury and all four Western Hockey League playoff games because of a lower-body injury. He had surgery in July for a sports hernia, played the first five games of the 2016-17 season, and was out until Jan. 13.

"He's got a good understanding of the game, has been taught good fundamentals from a young age," NHL Central Scouting's Matt Ryan told NHL.com. "There are a lot of guys who don't seem to have that understanding of the effort it takes to play at a high level with and without the puck. Nolan Patrick does."

The top-rated international skater is forward Klim Kostin (6-3, 196) of Dynamo Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League. He had shoulder surgery in January and hasn't played since.

Swiss forward Nico Hischier (6-0, 174), who plays for the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, is ranked second among North American skaters. He had 86 points (38 goals, 48 assists) in 57 games and was the league's rookie of the year.

Hischier is followed by forward Casey Mittelstadt of Eden Prairie High School in Minnesota, forward Gabriel Vilardi of Windsor of the Ontario Hockey League and forward Michael Rasmussen of Tri-City (WHL).

Mittelstadt (6-1, 201) averaged 2.56 points per game in high school and was named Minnesota's Mr. Hockey. He had 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 24 games with Green Bay of the United States Hockey League.

Vilardi (6-3, 201) had 61 points (29 goals, 32 assists) in 49 games. Rasmussen (6-6, 215) had 55 points (32 goals, 23 assists) in 50 games before sustaining a season-ending wrist injury Feb. 1.

The highest-rated North American defenseman is Cale Makar (5-11, 180), who is ninth overall. He had 75 points (24 goals, 51 assists) in 54 games with Brooks of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

Boston University freshman Jake Oettinger (6-4, 212) is the top-rated North American goalie. He had a 21-11-3 record, 2.11 goals-against average and .927 save percentage in 35 games.

*****

Congratulations are in order for Avalanche prospect A.J. Greer, who won the Yanick Dupre Memorial Award as the American Hockey League Man of the Year. The award is presented annually to the AHL player for his outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations.

Greer, 20, made raising awareness of childhood cancer a top priority in San Antonio this season with the Rampage’s Face Off Against Kids Cancer initiative. He emceed a local St. Baldrick’s Foundation event that raised more than $88,000 for children’s cancer research.

He also participated in the Rampage’s Pink in the Rink event in support of breast cancer awareness and volunteered with the Spurs Sports & Entertainment’s nonprofit partner Silver & Black Give Back through the Team Up Challenge, providing funding for youth-led service projects in the community.

Greer had 38 points (15 goals, 23 assists) in 63 games with San Antonio. He was Colorado's second-round pick (No. 39) in the 2015 NHL draft.