Avs Pick Chiefs’ Sauer

No. 88 must be the Sauer’s lucky number.

Kurt Sauer, 18-year-old defenseman of the Spokane Chiefs, was the third-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche Saturday and 88th pick overall in the National Hockey League entry draft.

Two years ago his brother Kent, who played with the Portland Winter Hawks, was selected 88th by the Nashville Predators.

“They’re (Avalanche) a great team and I’m excited,” said Sauer. “I like how they talk about working hard to succeed - it’s a big thing for them.”

Sauer, from Sartell, Minn., was projected as high as the second round. He said he wasn’t disappointed, but it took “forever” to hear his name called.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Sauer came out of the U.S. Junior Hockey League last season to help the Chiefs win the Western Hockey League West Division crown.

His importance to the Chiefs will be magnified in the season to come now that Kyle Rossiter has signed with the Florida Panthers and is expected to play in the American Hockey League.

Sauer probably won’t reach agreement with the Avs before next spring, after his 19-year-old season here.

Goalie picked first

The New York Islanders have new owners, a new attitude and a new 18-year-old goalie.

The once-proud franchise that has gone six years without making the playoffs, made NHL draft history Saturday by taking Rick DiPietro with the first overall pick.

“It’s a fantastic honor,” said DiPietro, who left Boston University after only one year. “It’s something I never imagined happening.”

It marked the first time the No. 1 choice was a goalie, topping New York’s 1997 selection of Roberto Luongo with the fourth pick.

New York made room for DiPietro by trading Kevin Weekes to the Tampa Bay Lightning along with defenseman Kristian Kudra for the fifth pick, used on left wing Raffi Torres.

The Islanders also traded Luongo, along with forward Olli Jokinen, to Florida for forwards Oleg Kvasha and Mark Parrish.

The Atlanta Thrashers followed and picked Dany Heatley - the top-ranked North American forward - out of Wisconsin. The expansion Minnesota Wild chose left wing Marian Gaborik from Slovakia with the third pick.

The other expansion team, the Columbus Blue Jackets, then took defenseman Rostislav Klesla from Brampton of the Ontario Hockey League.

The Nashville Predators drafted right wing Scott Hartnell from Prince Albert of the Western Hockey League, and the Boston Bruins took Swedish defenseman Lars Jonsson with the seventh pick.

At No. 8, the Lightning chose Russian right wing Nikita Alexeev from Erie of the OHL. Calgary then selected Brent Krahn of the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen.

The Chicago Blackhawks chose Russian players with the 10th and 11th picks. They took center Mikhail Yakubov, then right wing Pavel Vorobiev.

All-Star defenseman Sandis Ozolinsh was dealt from Colorado to Carolina, along with a second-round pick, for the Hurricanes’ first three picks (Nos. 14, 47 and 63) and defenseman Nolan Pratt.

The Avalanche used the first of those picks on Vaclav Nedorost, a center who played with Budejovice of the Czech Republic.

Montreal took defenseman Ron Hainsey from Massachusetts-Lowell with the 13th pick and center Marcel Hossa at No. 16.

Anaheim took left wing Alexei Smirnov from Dynamo, Russia, with the 12th pick. Buffalo picked forward Artem Kriukov from Yaroslavl, Russia, at No. 15.

The Edmonton Oilers tabbed forward Alexei Mikhnov, another Yaroslavl player, with the 17th pick.

The first three rounds of the nine-round draft were held Saturday, with the rest Sunday.

Complete list of first three rounds./C9

LOCAL WATCH By the phone

Spokane Chiefs winger Tim Krymusa is expected to be picked when today’s lower rounds are called.