When you’re selecting last and coming off of a President's Trophy winning season, fans likely aren't all that concerned about hitting a home run at the draft. In the summer of 1997, that is exactly where the Colorado Avalanche stood. They were a great team that was likely more worried about beating the Detroit Red Wings the next season than they were about stocking the prospect pool.
That said, every draft is important in order to maintain the viability of the franchise and 20 years ago, the Avs definitely didn’t do themselves any favours by totally blowing the early part of the draft.