It appears Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy have their sights set on Nathan MacKinnon.
The general manager and head coach of the Colorado Avalanche both say they are leaning towards selecting the Halifax Mooseheads centre with their first round pick in Sunday’s NHL Draft.
“It would be tough for us not to take MacKinnon,” Roy told ESPN The Magazine Monday. “MacKinnon is ready to play tomorrow.”
Sakic spoke to a local Denver news station where he made similar statements about the team’s serious interest in MacKinnon.
“I think if we had to do it right now, he’d probably be the guy,” Sakic told CBS Denver.” We know we’ll get some offers but if not we’re very happy picking No. 1.”
“These forwards are too good to pass up right now,” Sakic explained. “You saw what Nathan MacKinnon did at the Memorial Cup. He’s always elevated his game. It doesn’t matter about the moment. He’s lived under the microscope of being the next (Sidney) Crosby and he’s done pretty well with that. He’s got a lot of upside.”
According to Roy, the Avalanche remain high on top-rated forwards Jonathan Drouin and Alexander Barkov but the organization sees MacKinnon is the ideal third-line centre for next season.
“It would be great for MacKinnon to start there. Less pressure,” Roy said. “It’s the perfect fit for him.”
Right now, the Avalanche have centres Matt Duchene and Paul Stastny on their roster.
Colorado, who owns the No. 1 overall selection, have received plenty of interest in the pick since publicly claiming they would not draft defenceman Seth Jones at No. 1, but Roy would not rule out the possibility of a trade.
“We have received a lot of calls. Joe (Sakic) has received some. I have received some,” Roy said. “It’s important for us to see, what can we do to make our team better? We have to look at all options. We can’t just close our eyes and say, ‘Let’s just take a player.’”
The 2013 NHL Draft is on Sunday with the Avalanche set to make the first pick.