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With the 2016 NHL Entry Draft now in the books I offer my thoughts on how the Calgary Flames fared:
1) The Flames getting Matthew Tkachuk at 6th overall has to have the management team ecstatic.
He is the gritty, in your face-type player the team has been after but at the same time he's extremely skilled.
He has some of the best hands in the draft class, his vision and ability to make plays below the dots is as good as anyone's and he does have some finishing ability, too.
No CHL player in this draft class had more even-strength points than Tkachuk (67). No CHL player was involved in more of his team's offense at even-strength, either, as he recorded a point on 92%(!) of the goals he was on the ice for at evens.
I have no doubt Tkachuk will be a quality top-6 forward for a long time and, on top of being a great player, he fills a position of need for the Flames.
2) I know drafting goaltenders is more or less a crap shoot but I don't mind the Flames taking a shot on Tyler Parsons in the 2nd round. If you're going to draft a goaltender taking the guy with a .921SV% in a high scoring league is probably the best route to take. No doubt the Flames saw a lot of him while scouting Tkachuk and obviously they loved what they saw.
3) From top to bottom the Flames may have had as good of a draft as anyone in the league.
Tkachuk was Bob McKenzie's 4th ranked player. The Flames landed him at 6th overall.
Parsons was ranked 48th on McKenzie's list. The Flames drafted him 54th overall.
Dillon Dube was 37th on McKenzie's list. The Flames drafted him 56th overall.
Adam Fox was 55th on McKenzie's list. The Flames drafted him 66th overall.
Obviously high ranking doesn't guarantee success but the Flames consistently drafted skilled players below where they were projected to go. That's a very good thing.
Another thing I liked is the Flames also took shots on some undersized players with big point totals (like they did with Andrew Mangiapane a year ago). I'm sure Johnny Gaudreau's success is one of the reasons they're willing to try their luck again.
Note: I will have more on the Brian Elliott trade and other happenings in the coming days.
Recent posts:
On the hiring of Glen Gulutzan
Flames sign David Rittich
Andersson, Mangiapane featured in OHL All-Star teams
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