Conner Bleackley? Gone.
Kyle Wood? Gone.
Nick Magyar and Alexis Pepin? Also gone.
If you’re not up to speed with that lede, let me explain -- those guys were Colorado’s first four picks at the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Now, none of them are with the organization.
Bleackley and Wood never received entry-level deals, and were dealt to Arizona in the Mikkel Boedker trade. Today, per ESPN, the Avs decided not to sign Magyar and Pepin, meaning both can re-enter this year’s draft.
(At this point, it’s probably worth mentioning Colorado fired director of amateur scouting Rick Pracey just months after the ’14 draft.)
Magyar, 20, is a right winger that has spent the last three years with OHL Kitchener. He had 11 goals and 20 points in 49 games this year, missing time with a broken ankle.
Pepin, also 20, spent last year in Val d’Orscoring 23 goals and 47 points in 62 games. At 6-foot-3 and 218 pounds, he’s regarded as a decent power forward prospect.
The complete gutting of a draft class is quite rare, but the Pracey era did yield some odd results (another prospect, ’13 draftee Will Butcher, is still unsigned and reportedly set to play his senior year at Denver University.)
The ’14 draft wasn’t all for naught, though. The Avs did recently agree to terms with Swedish d-man Anton Lindholm, who they took in the fifth round.
Related: Coyotes won’t sign former first-rounder Bleackley, say compensation pick is ‘more valuable’