Avalanche pick 17-year-old in NHL draft

The Colorado Avalanche have selected center Nathan MacKinnon with the first pick of the NHL draft.

Colorado executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic made the announcement Sunday at the Prudential Center. The 17-year-old MacKinnon, a 6-foot, 182-pound center, is a solid two-way presence with strong hands and stickhandling and skating skills. He is considered a natural scorer and a very good puck distributor.

The Avalanche won the draft lottery for the first time in team history and had made it clear that MacKinnon was going to be their top pick. He was the first player drafted No. 1 overall out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League since the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Sidney Crosby in 2005.

The Florida Panthers made center Aleksander Barkov, the top-ranked European skater, the second overall pick.

The New Jersey Devils and the Prudential Center hosted the draft for the first time.

Tampa Bay took forward Jonathan Drouin with the third overall pick.

The Nashville Predators pounced on defenseman Seth Jones with the fourth overall pick. Jones, a 6- 4, 205-pound defenseman, was widely considered the top prospect in the draft.