The Colorado Avalanche made a deal Saturday with a franchise many in the Denver area consider to be in bed with the devil: The Detroit Red Wings.

The Avalanche are hoping the fruit of that deal will be well worth the asking price.

With the 61st overall pick – the final choice in Round 2 of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft – the Avalanche selected Lewiston Maineiacs’ netminder Peter Delmas to be the newest member of their organization.

“That’s the place I wanted to go the most, and they’d shown the most interest,” Delmas said Saturday. “They made a lot of calls to my trainer, and I had an extra interview with them.”

Not far behind Delmas was power forward Danick Paquette, Lewiston’s first pick in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League draft in 2006. Paquette went in the third round, at No. 64 overall, to the Atlanta Thrashers, an organization well-acquainted with the Maineiacs.

“They have a great organization there in Atlanta,” Lewiston head coach and GM Ed Harding said. “I was able to speak with their assistant coaches, and let them know what Danick was all about.”

“I was just finishing up (an interview) on the floor when I saw him,” Delmas said of Paquette. “I gave him a big hug, but we were both kind of speechless in the moment.”

Maineiacs’ part owner Wendell Young is an assistant coach with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, the Thrashers’ top affiliate. One of the team’s assistant coaches is Todd Nelson, whose brother Jeff played for the Portland Pirates and still maintains a home in the area.

“With (former Lewiston defenseman) Chad Denny in the organization, too, it really seems like a good fit,” Harding said.

Delmas, meanwhile, had to wait a while to hear his name. Once rated as the No. 2 goaltending prospect in North America, Delmas watched four North American netminders — including another goalie from the QMJHL – slip off the draft board before Colorado called his name.

“I knew I wasn’t probably going to go in the first round, so that didn’t bother me much” Delmas said.

As expected, Chet Pickard of the Tri-City Americans in the Western Hockey League was the first goalie selected. Pickard stepped out from Carey Price’s shadow this past season and won more than 40 games for the Americans.

The surprise goalie pick early in the draft was Jake Allen, a member of the St. John’s Fog Devils franchise that will begin play as the Montreal Junior in the fall.

Delmas wasn’t as worried as you might think, though.

“All I wanted was to be drafted and to go to an organization like Colorado,” Delmas said. They really like to develop their players, and it sounds and looks like an excellent place for me.”

After a crazy first round Friday, which saw a record 13 trades completed over nearly four hours, the QMJHL had yet to see a single player drafted.

They went in droves Saturday. Allen was the first Q player selected, at No. 34 overall by St. Louis. Nicolas Deschamps of Chicoutimi went next at No. 35 to Anaheim. Vancouver selected Saint John Sea Dogs defenseman Yann Sauve at No. 41, Buffalo went with Fog Devils’ forward Luke Adam, and the Boston Bruins added Val d’Or centerman Maxime Sauve at No. 47.

In all, eight QMJHL players went in Round 2, including Delmas, and another four were drafted in Round 3, including Paquette.

“This is great for the organization, and for the league,” Harding said.

In all, 27 QMJHL players heard their names called Saturday. Quebec, Victoriaville and Chicoutimi led the way with three players each. Lewiston, Rimouski, St. John’s/Montreal, PEI, Rouyn-Noranda, Baie-Comeau and Val d’Or each checked in with two. Fourteen of the 18 teams in the Q saw at least one player drafted. The only teams shut out were Shawinigan, Drummondville, Acadie-Bathurst and Halifax.

Next up for the Maineiacs is the Import Player Draft, scheduled for this Thursday, June 26, where it is expected the team will select a scoring forward to augment its offense.