[sureLoss]

Flames Director of Amateur Scouting, Tod Button on 770 talking about the draft. Some of the information he already talked about in previous interviews, but some may have missed it.

Sam Bennett

• very happy Sam fell to 4
• First thing that stands out - he is a real fast, quick, and speedy player
• Sam doesn't slow down with the puck unlike a lot of players (very unique)
• makes plays at high speed, goes into traffic at high speed, can handle the puck at high speed
• compliments Monahan who is cerebral, bigger, draws player to him and finds players while Sam is an electrifying speed first, handle the puck at high speed player

• On whether Bennett can make the team - Sam has 4 months to get ready for training camp and a lot can happen
• Sean earned his spot, not given based on his draft status
• Sean kept earning his spot throughout the year
• Will do the same with Sam [in terms of opportunity to earn a spot] - when Sam is ready to contribute and play, he will

• he is a feisty kid and doesn't take a backseat against anyone on the ice
• plays hard against everyone regardless if you are smaller or bigger than him
• has tremendous desire to succeed - huge attraction for the Flames

• interviewed at the Combine fine
• personality on and off the ice is the same
• well spoken kid
• understands where he needs to get to, understands the steps he needs to take to get there
• came across as very sure and confident and didn't come off as I know everything and I have done everything
• one important part of interview process is for the players self evaluation to match how the Flames see the player
• had more interviews with him and brought him back to Calgary, so spent a lot of time away from the rink with these guys

Hunter Smith

• tall and has room to grow and add muscle mass
• only 4 days away from being a first time draft eligible this year
• skating has improved over the 2 years they have been watching him
• Tom Webster knew him from Windsor, watched him before he got to the OHL
• Hunter's leaps in development and skating wise he put himself on the track to be evaluated as a third round pick, top 90 pick, we had him in the top 50 of the draft - (Button first called him a third round top 90 pick then quickly corrected himself to top 50 read into that what you will)
• thought the steady progression and working on his game shows a lot of character

Mason McDonald

• tall kid and takes a lot of room in net, fills the net really well
• thinks the game really well
• he is compact in movements but he is fluid and quick so that doesn't open a lot of holes as he moves side to side
• came up on the radar as a 17 year old at u17 world challenge
• didn't play on a lot of good teams last year, but as you watch the goals go in, he still gives you confidence, doesn't blame anybody, hang his head or give off bad body language
• another player who steadily improved and put the work in
• a lot to like mentally and physically

• Flames have a separate goalie list and Flames have a positional list
• try to slot in where they would take goalie into their positional list
• determined they had 19 players (he might have said 14 before [in previous interviews]) ahead of the goalies
• if all 19 players were gone at #34 on their list they would take a goalie whoever it was
• Mason was there and the top 19 were gone, so easy decision

Brandon Hickey

• excellent skater, world class skater
• bit slight, has good frame
• lot of room to put on weight and strength
• down the road see a 6'1.5'' - 6'2'' 200lb defenceman that can move the puck and can really skate
• going to a good program at BU, very good at developing players especially defencemen
• 2,3,4 years away but [NCAA] path will be beneficial

Adam Mattsson

• Swedish scout Bobby Hagelin wouldn't stop nagging Button to select the kid
• Hagelin kept asking for them to acquire a pick to select Mattsson as they went through the 4th and 5th rounds
• character kid and big kid
• definitely needs to work on his footwork/agility
• has all the intangibles, great teammate and leader
• projects to be a guy that can play against other teams bottom 6 forwards
• bottom pairing guy that can be on the PK and can play in all types of defensive situations
• may eventually be more than that

Sven Baertschi

• only his first year pro (Button seems to have forgotten 2012-2013)
• Sven still has a lot of time
• there are growing pains along the way
• when you don't have a great prospect base and you have a guy that was as dynamic as Sven was in Portland, you push him or build him up to a point that with the fan base and media, it is unfair to the kid because he won't meet expectations
• still excited about Sven
• had a huge learning year last year, has to digest it
• hopefully mentality is there and is strong enough to do the work he needs to do this summer

Misc

• Webster earned that standing ovation
• Flames haven't talked about making changes to scouting department right now
• Webster's retirement came as a surprise

• asked if he feels happy on how the cupboards feel restocked compared to 3-4 years ago - never happy with what you have, you want more
• happy with what they added to their base over the last few years
• once the team is top of the league will he be truly happy

• big tournament in Buffalo tomorrow, will be back for Flames development camp
• excited about Eichel vs McDavid next year, not only as a scout but as a hockey fan
• looking forward to watching the other highly ranked kids preform as well