Avalanche 2025 NHL draft tracker: Avs take UMass defenseman in third round

The Colorado Avalanche went back to a familiar place for its first selection in the NHL draft Colorado selected Francesco Dell Elce a defenseman from the University of Massachusetts with the No pick in the third round Saturday Listed at -foot- and pounds the left-shooting Dell Elce had seven goals and points in games as a freshman at UMass this past season Dell Elce is a King City Ontario native He was named to the Hockey East All-Rookie Squad This was the third year Dell Elce was eligible for the draft He turned years old on Monday Dell Elce will be the third Avs draft pick to play for UMass in the past nine years Cale Makar was the No pick in the draft and then Taylor Makar was a seventh-round selection in The Makar brothers played for the Brooks Bandits in the AJHL ahead of the draft before joining UMass Related Articles Avalanche trades Charlie Coyle Miles Wood to Columbus for two picks intriguing prospect Avalanche prospect pool might be the weakest in the NHL after years of trades Avalanche to host Rookie Showcase to kick off next season Avalanche Journal Colorado s late-round NHL draft record must improve to extend Stanley Cup window Diamondbacks beat the heat wallop the Rockies in high-scoring affair Want more Avalanche news Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis