MacKinnon's reaction to the Avalanche drafting Makar was not what you would expect
The Colorado Avalanche were the worst team in the NHL during the 2016-17 season, with a record of 22-56-4 for only 48 points. The next worst team was the Vancouver Canucks, with 21 more points at 69.
The team's .293 points percentage was easily one of, if not the worst in the NHL's salary cap era.
Even though they were the worst team in the league by a mile and had the best odds of winning the draft lottery, the Avalanche got the worst-case scenario and ended up with the fourth overall pick.
Or so they thought ...
The New Jersey Devils won the draft lottery and picked Nico Hischier first overall. Following them were the Philadelphia Flyers drafting Nolan Patrick second and the Dallas Stars selecting Miro Heiskanen third.
Then, the Avalanche took "some guy from the Alberta Junior Hockey League," as Nathan MacKinnon recalls in the video below:
Safe to say that MacKinnon's thoughts on his team drafting Makar has changed over the years, but the honesty is kind of refreshing to hear. Even though the Avalanche lost the lottery and fell to fourth overall, they have still selected the best player from the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.
Hischier and Heiskanen have turned out just fine as they're both now All-Star NHL players and essential pieces to their teams. The same can't exactly be said for the second overall pick Patrick.
Top-4 selections NHL stats so far:
Nico Hischier(NJD) - 300 GP, 78 G, 128 A, 206 P
Nolan Patrick (PHI and VGK) - 222 GP, 32 G, 45 A, 77 P
Miro Heiskanen (DAL) - 275 GP, 33 G, 98 A, 131 P
Cale Makar (COL) - 178 GP, 48 G, 132 A, 180 P
