I really liked the Flames approach in this draft, although I'll stop short of giving them a letter grade.
Having Tkachuk fall to them at 6 and grabbing a legitimate starting goalie for an early 2nd round pick was a fantastic start to the draft. Everything else is just gravy.
If Tkachuk can make the team out of camp I'm going to bet he spends most of the season playing with Sam Bennett, although the ultimate goal is probably to have him play with Johnny and Mony.
The Flames have now had 3 big OHL stars fall to them at 6, 4, and 6. It's worked really well for them the last 2 times. I look forward to seeing how Tkachuk transitions into the pro game and if he can show that he is, in fact, ready for "The Show" as soon as this upcoming season.
Beyond that I really like the Flames approach to this draft. They focused on skill, IQ, and competitiveness. They took the smallest guy (Phillips) in the draft and one of the biggest guys (Falkovsky) in the draft.
If any one of these later round guys hits, they have potential to hit huge. You don't have to tell Flames fans how good a guy like Matthew Phillips could be if he is able to continue his progression through the professional ranks.
The Flames went into Buffalo with a glaring hole in net, and they filled it without opening up another hole on the roster.
The Flames prospect cupboards seemingly lacked skilled forwards. They Flames left Buffalo with more than a few of those.
Overall, a very successful draft.
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