Surprise revelation by an analyst: The Avs did not want Nathan MacKinnon in 2013

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Jeff Drouin
May 20, 2022 (3:02 PM)

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As we know, the Canadiens will have the first pick in the next NHL draft and according to some experts, the 2022 draft is not what you would call an extraordinary year. To the point where we still wonder if top prospect Shane Wright will be the player selected by Kent Hughes.

But this isn't the first time there has been doubt as to who will be the very first pick in the draft. This was also the case in the 2013 draft that was held in New Jersey. That year, the Colorado Avalanche held the first pick.

While several good youngsters like Seth Jones, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Drouin and a certain Nathan MacKinnon were among the top prospects, many wondered who would be the Avalanche's first pick. While the team had one player in mind, it was the team's new head coach who finally settled the debate. Without knowing it at the time, he had changed the image of the franchise.

As reported by J.B. Gagné of Gohabsgo.com, Patrick Roy, then newly named head coach of the Avalanche, had been clear that Nathan MacKinnon would become the Avalanche's first pick. But a rumor circulating at the time stated that Colorado native defenseman Seth Jones was tipped to become the team's pick, but RDS reporter Stephane Leroux denied the rumor during his appearance on L'Antichambre.

According to him, Finnish forward Aleksander Barkov was supposed to be the Avalanche's choice, but a certain Patrick Roy decided otherwise.

"Let's remember, I'll give the example of 2013 when we had Nathan MacKinnon, Jonathan Drouin, Seth Jones. There were still questions at the Memorial Cup tournament. There were a lot of people saying, "Maybe Drouin will be number one" and all that. And it was really Patrick Roy, when he came to Colorado who said, "Stop that, MacKinnon's our pick." The people in Colorado, what I learned was that it was Barkov, their pick before Patrick Roy got there."

The rest is now history. MacKinnon was the Avalanche's first pick and Barkov was the next selection by the Florida Panthers.

Let's say Barkov had been chosen by Colorado, it would have been quite a selection also, as both forwards come in at the top of the 2013 draft scoring charts. MacKinnon leads the way with 648 points in 638 games, while Barkov has 553 points in 596 games.