Did I fly to Las Vegas for nothing? Okay, maybe not, but we now know that the Colorado Avalanche will not be selecting in the first round. They’ll be picking a few more times on Saturday, though.

There was a lot of movement at the Avalanche draft table all night long, with Chris MacFarland on the phone consistently for about 30 minutes prior to trading the 24th overall pick to the Utah Hockey Club. In return, the Avalanche will be getting picks 38 and 71 in the 2024 NHL Draft, as well as the Rangers second round pick in 2025. Coming into Friday night, Colorado didn’t have any picks in rounds two or three this year, and didn’t have any picks in the first three rounds next season. That’s obviously not the case anymore.

This is a tidy piece of business by MacFarland. The prospect pool has been depleted, and when you get to this part of the draft, opinions vary on many players. The player they might have wanted at 24 could very easily be there at 38. Colorado will now get the opportunity to add a few more prospects to their pool…or will they?

Colorado is now scheduled to have eight draft picks on Saturday. They can use those picks to add more talent to the organization in the way of drafted players, or they could use them as trade bait. Either way, MacFarland and company have options. Based on how much the Avalanche GM was on the phone Friday night, they might not be done.

MacFarland is still set to speak to the media this evening, and Colorado Hockey Now will be here for all the updates on what he has to say. This has been a fun draft, as the Las Vegas Sphere is one heck of a venue, and we’ll be here all day on Saturday.