Bob McKenzie on Colorado Avalanche draft plan: “Strong sense” they take Cale Makar 4th

Colorado hasn’t picked a defenseman in the first round since 2011.

Christian Clark

Jun. 21, 2017, 2:24 p.m.

NHL hockey pucks. Bill's Sports Collectibles. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) Avalanche; bill's sports collectibles; retail; kevinjbeaty; denver; denverite; colorado; — NHL hockey pucks. Bill's Sports Collectibles. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

Are the Colorado Avalanche leaning toward taking Canadian defenseman Cale Makar fourth overall Friday in the first round of the NHL Draft? That’s what TSN hockey insider Bob McKenzie seems to believe.

On a Vancouver radio show Wednesday morning, McKenzie said there’s a “strong sense” Colorado will choose Makar with its first-round selection Friday.

“I think the Colorado Avalanche are very interested in taking a defenseman,” McKenzie said. “The strong sense about Colorado, and it’s early yet, but that guy would be Makar. If it’s Makar that the Vancouver Canucks want, they’re probably not going to get him at five.”

Colorado hasn’t picked a defenseman in the first round since 2011, when it chose Duncan Siemiens 11th overall. That drought could come to an end this year.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Makar is the fourth-ranked prospect on McKenzie’s big board. He just completed his second full season with the Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League.

Makar, 18, scored 24 goals and recorded 51 assists in 54 games with Brooks last season. This fall, he is set to begin his college career at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.

The Avalanche have used their first-round pick on forwards four years in a row. They picked Nathan MacKinnon first in 2013, Conner Bleackley 23rd in 2014, Mikko Rantanen 10th in 2015 and Tyson Jost 10th in 2016.

Colorado is coming off nightmare 48-point season.

The first round of the draft takes place Friday, while rounds two through seven happen Saturday. Coverage begins at 4 p.m. Friday. You can watch the draft on NBC Sports Network.

Subscribe to Denverite’s weekly sports newsletter here.

Marlene Kaiser holds her ball up in her right hand, as she moves to throw it, guiding herself with her left hand on the rail. She wears sunglasses and a focused look on her face.

Meet the Colorado Blind Bowling Association, the Saturday league that has rolled for 50 years

Crown Lanes, on Federal Boulevard, is a bowling alley that has become a home for adaptive athletes.

Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins attends a Denver Police Academy graduation in their Central Park training facility. March 31, 2023.

Mayor Mike Johnston re-appoints Hancock-era Sheriff Elias Diggins and Fire Chief Desmond G. Fulton

City Council will make the final decision.

A protest for Arthur Janis on Aurora's University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Nov. 9, 2023.

UCHealth says staff cut Indigenous man’s hair out of medical necessity. The family disputes the hospital’s claim.

“They were lying. There’s no breakdown of communication. It is just lies."

A man secures a tent in an encampment on Zuni Street, where migrants who had stayed in a city-contracted motel relocated after they had to leave the facility. Oct. 28, 2023.

Friday’s snowy forecast leads to overnight shelter activation

With snow and low temperatures, the city will provide overnight accommodations from 7 p.m. Friday night to 7 a.m. Saturday morning.

Holiday lights in the alley behind Denver’s Milk Market on Dec. 9, 2021.

Things to do in Denver this weekend, Dec. 8-10

Enjoy taking photos with Santa, decorating holiday cookies, or a Denver Nuggets game this weekend.

A chilly day on the 16th Street Mall. March 10, 2022.

Here’s what Denver might do with another $1.15 million on the 16th Street Mall

A city council committee approved a contract that would continue the redesign of the area.

Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas, left, and Commander Matt Clark brief the media at Denver Police Headquarters. Thursday, December 7, 2023.

Denver police shot and injured a man who they worried was reaching for a gun they’d seen in his waistband

The man has been released from the hospital and charged with unlawfully carrying a firearm.

People who've been living in an encampment around 20th and Champa Streets downtown wait in line to board a bus to a new hotel shelter in Central Park. Dec. 7, 2023.

Denver is starting to move 200 people from a 20th and Curtis encampment to a converted hotel

It's part of the city's attempt to move 1,000 people indoors by the end of the year.

Migrant arrivals and flu season are straining Denver Health’s resources

The hospital is always busy this time of year, but a surge of patients from other countries means logistical and financial challenges.

The annual Christkindl Market at Civic Center Park. Dec. 4, 2022.

Holiday markets and other festive family events in Denver this weekend

Markets in Five Points, Cherry Creek, West Colfax and DTC all happening this weekend.

Tristan Sanders, Denver's director of community and behavioral health, sits in on a discussion about the city's Support Team Assisted Response program, or STAR, during a Safety, Housing, Education and Homelessness Committee inside the City and County Building. Dec. 6, 2023.

A behavioral health center needs extra funding to make it through 2024 as some Denverites lose health coverage

Behavioral Health Solutions Center says it will run out of initial city funding in September next year, but federal pandemic recovery funds will bail them out through the end of the year.

Marina Ledesma Barrios sorts through a donation cache for migrants, and really anyone who needs something, at Para Ti Mujer's headquarters on Sheridan Boulevard, in Barnum West. Dec. 6, 2023.

Looking to give back this holiday season in Denver? Here are places to volunteer your time and donate clothes, toys and more

The city and many nonprofits are accepting all forms of donations for migrant families and other individuals in need.

Celia Leal, who usually works for Denver Human Services but has been posted here, in the city's second emergency shelter, helps two men who recently arrived from the U.S. southern border arrange transport out of the city. Jan. 6, 2023.

Denver says it hired more than 200 people Friday as it looked to increase bilingual staffing at migrant shelters

More than 250 area residents attended Friday's hiring event.

A Northeast Park Hill home for sale on January 5, 2022.

Home sales dropped around Denver in November as high interest rates kept buyers away

The housing market typically slows during winter, but sales were down even more this year.

Mariano Valle drags a steer by its tail during a coleadero event in Strasburg, on Colorado's eastern plains. Nov. 4, 2023.

The next generation of Mexican Cowboys: Colorado youth are embracing the legacy of Charrería

“We call ourselves charros. That’s what we are.”

This plot of land at 2301 S. Santa Fe Dr. will soon host more than 100 tiny homes for Mayor Mike Johnston's House1000 plan.

The Santa Fe Drive micro community in the Overland neighborhood is moving forward after some concessions

Denver City Council approved a contract for the site that includes 60 units, down from 150 originally planned by Mayor Mike Johnston's office.

A rendering of La Musidora at Denver Art Museum. (Courtesy Denver Art Museum)

What happened to the musical rocking chairs outside the Denver Art Museum?

Where’d the multi-colored musical chairs go? We asked the museum and got an answer.

Protesters make noise as they march past the downtown Hyatt Regency, where many attendees of Jewish National Fund's annual Global Conference for Israel are staying. Dec. 2, 2023.

Four days of a conference for Israel, four days of protests for Palestinians: Here’s what we saw

Pro-Palestinian protestors marched, chanted and blocked streets this weekend as the Jewish National Fund USA's Global Conference for Israel was held.

A statue of César Chávez at Berkeley's César Chávez
Park. Nov. 25, 2023.

Street Week: Tennyson

How César Chávez Park got its name

The park on Tennyson Street in Denver had a long history before it was dedicated to the Labor Rights activist.

Members of the Denver-Boulder Jewish Voice for Peace sit in a circle, arms bound together, to shut down the intersection of Speer Boulevard and Champa Street in protest of the Jewish National Fund's annual Global Conference for Israel happening across the street in Denver, on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023.

Over a dozen arrested as pro-Palestinian protesters shut down Speer Blvd.

Protesters rallied against the Jewish National Fund’s Global Conference for Israel, which has been taking place in Denver since Thursday.

More Denverite

NHL hockey pucks. Bill's Sports Collectibles. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)