With the 109th pick in the NHL Entry draft, the Colorado Avalanche picked forwards Tyler Weiss from the USNTDP U18 team. Weiss is slated to go to the University of Nebraska-Omaha next season. The Raleigh North Carolina native was ranked as high as 59th by McKeen’s Scouting Service. Though he looks like he’s 12-years old, Tyler Weiss has a tone of skill. At only 150lbs, Weiss is going to need a lot of time to grow, luckily, the NCAA is a great place to do that. Selected 15th overall by Sarnia in the 2006 OHL Priority Selection draft, Weiss decided to move back to the US to develop as a part of a stacked National Development team. He is a highly skilled player that loves to have the puck on his stick. He is the epitome of a boom or bust player that could turn into an absolute steal at this point in the draft. Overshadowed by a great U18 team this past season, he should get a chance to play big minutes this season in Omaha. To learn more about Weiss’ journey to the draft, check out this amazing piece by Sunaya Sapurji or The Athletic.<doc-sep>Just prior to the start of Friday's NHL Draft, the Washington Capitals traded goaltender Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Brooks Orpik to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for the Avs' second-round pick (47th overall). Grubauer, 26, is a pending restricted free agent and will likely find himself as the Avalanche's backup goalie behind Semyon Varlamov. The German netminder had a solid campaign last year, recording a .923 save percentage over 35 games for the Capitals. He entered the postseason at the Caps' starting goaltender before being replaced by Braden Holtby after two games. Orpik, who will turn 38 prior to next season, is expected to be either flipped or bought out by the Avalanche. His inclusion in the deal is huge for the Capitals, who get to shed the veteran defenseman and his $5.5 million cap hit before the final year of his contract. That money saved may go a long way toward helping Washington retain defenseman John Carlson, who is heading towards the open market as a potential unrestricted free agent. The 28-year-old Carlson has been a pivotal part of their blue line, recording nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game last season. He had 15 goals and 68 points during the regular season, plus 20 points during the team's playoff run. This trade could ultimately be a major factor in Carlson staying put, and -- if that's the case -- it's a pretty big deal for Washington.<doc-sep>DALLAS — The Washington Capitals traded goalie Philipp Grubauer and defenseman Brooks Orpik on Friday to the Colorado Avalanche specifically to help them keep premium defenseman John Carlson. The Capitals received a second-round pick in the deal, but the salary cap room created was far more important. Orpik has a $5.5 million cap hit, and losing that should give the Capitals enough space to get Carlson signed. He probably would be offered $9 million per season if he goes on the open market as an unrestricted free agent July 1. “Hopefully we can get (a new deal) done here over the next few days,” Washington general manager Brian MacLellan said. “We’re really close.” MacLellan said it was difficult trading both players because they helped the team. “It was tough trading Brooks Orpik for what he’s done for the organization,” MacLellan said. “He’s been a big part of our culture change and a big part of the room.” The Avalanche are planning to trade Orpik or buy him out. Would the Capitals bring him back at a reduced salary? “It’s legal,” MacLellan said. “We are open to that.” The Avalanche are thrilled with the deal. “We wanted to make sure with our young group we had two goalies that'll make sure we have great goaltending for 82 games,” Colorado general manager Joe Sakic said. Semyon Varlamov is Colorado’s No. 1 goalie, but Grubauer might be able to challenge him for an equal share of playing time. The Capitals and Avalanche were winners on the first day of the NHL draft. Here are other winners and losers. Loser: Montreal Canadiens. It feels as if we are all waiting for the Canadiens to make a difference-making move, it just never comes. The consensus is the Arizona Coyotes were the early winner in the earlier Alex Galchenyuk-Max Domi swap, and it doesn’t feel as if we should celebrate Montreal's decision to take Jesperi Kotkaniemi with the No. 3 pick. More:How the first day of the NHL draft went down More:Scouting reports on the first-round picks Kotkaniemi is a quality center prospect, and the Canadiens need a center. But Filip Zadina seems like a more dynamic offensive player. When you factor in his flair and cockiness, it feels as if he was born to play in front of Montreal fans. Winner: New York Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello. Owning the No. 11 and No. 12 picks in the draft, Lamoriello landed the second-best pure goal scorer in Oliver Wahlstrom and one of the top three available defenseman in Noah Dobson. Loser: Fans. Several trades were expected and only one was transacted. This was projected to be an exciting draft, but the trade market was all talk and no action. “That was kind of a boring first day or first round,” Philadelphia general manager Ron Hextall said. “It’s not typical for this day.” Winner: Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland: With the No. 6 pick, the Red Wings landed Zadina, one of the most exciting offensive players in the draft. With the No. 30 pick, they landed Joe Veleno, a hard-working, high-character center who was projected to go much earlier. Loser: Carolina Hurricanes. General manager Don Waddell came into Friday ready and willing to make trades to shake up his roster, but he couldn’t find a trading partner who was eager as he was to make a deal. It still could happen on Day 2, but the Hurricanes were looking to make an immediate splash. The only consolation is they did get to draft winger Andrei Svechnikov, who will be a star. “We got so many conversations going on,” Waddell said. "I've had more talks probably at this draft than I've had in 15 other years. It seems people are coveting their draft picks a lot more than they maybe used to because of the salary-cap era and we all need young players to move forward." Winner: Edmonton Oilers. They drafted Evan Bouchard at No. 9 to finally land the defenseman they have needed for several years. Bouchard might have the best point shot the team has had in a decade. He’s 6-2, and it’s not unthinkable that he could make the team and work in slowly. Loser: New York Rangers. It feels as if they should have chosen Bouchard with the No. 9 pick. Nothing against Vitali Kravtsov, who might end up being a premium NHL forward, but Bouchard is going to be a top-pairing defenseman and those are more difficult to find. The Rangers did make two other strong picks in K’Andre Miller and Nils Lundvist, both of whom will be listed among their top prospects.<doc-sep>
With their second pick in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft, the Colorado Avalanche select goaltender Justes Annunen at the top of the third round. The Avalanche chose to move down, trading the 58th pick to Pittsburgh for picks 64 and 146. At 64, the Avalanche select the third goaltender in the draft. Here is what our own Cat Silverman had to say about Annunen in her goaltender breakdown for The Athletic: Strengths: Annunen is a big body of a prospect; he’s grown an inch and added nearly 20 pounds since he started his draft-eligible season, and he was already being watched for his size at that point. Annunen is the poster child of the evolution of Finnish goaltending, adding in some conservative elements to a game that boasts quick, aggressive challenges and active hands. After a lackluster international performance in his 2016-17 season, Annunen was a key piece of Team Finland’s gold medal win at the 2017 Ivan Hlinka tournament this past year, and his transition from Junior B to Junior A within the Finnish system ended on a high note with a strong playoff run. He still needs to show that his game can withstand the rigors of Liiga play in the coming years, but he’s managed to hold his own while working his way up the system in the last few years; he’s not a groundbreaking talent like we’ve seen in past draft classes, but he’s a solid option for a team that wants to add some potential depth down the line. Weaknesses: Pronman pointed out one of the biggest issues in Annunen’s game in his own goaltending rankings, identifying the lack of a top-gear speed for the tall prospect when he tries to play with a Pekka Rinne level of aggression. He can’t quite execute the attack and retreat method that Rinne does with the timing of the perennial Vezina candidate, and that raises a red flag for teams that want to see a safe bet. He’s got a little more agility than Gravel does at his size, but also plays a much more aggressive game — which can hurt him when he’s unable to recover as quickly as players like Dostal or Miftakhov. He’ll need to make a change before long; either he’ll have to adapt to playing a more conservative style to eliminate his need for so much extra movement, or he’ll need to work on his conditioning enough to get him across the top of the crease when he decides he needs to challenge. Recommended path to the NHL: Few teams would try to move Annunen over to North America before they’ve seen him put up at least two quality seasons of play in Finland’s Liiga, proving that he’s both competent and consistent. That puts him at least two years off from making the jump, although it’s likely that he’ll need closer to three or more before he’s officially ready for action at the AHL level. His current delays in getting across the crease would get quickly exposed with the smaller ice surface in North America, so he’ll need to see those changes made in his game before he gets a shot to come over.