[Jeff Lebowski]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Well, no. That is just not true. Mason McDonald was the highest ranked goalie by Red Line heading into the 2014 Draft. I suspect a big part of the reason for that were the concerns about Demko's hips:

NHLCS had McDonald #2 behind Demko.


Here is the entire reaction to the McDonald pick as it played out in real time:

[Spoiler-tags for size —I skipped about a dozen posts in the thread that were responses to previous posts, but this represents a fair cross section of the reaction here to McDonald v. Demko]


So, no. No one was "screaming about not taking Demko there." I think most of the frustration about the McDonald pick stemmed from the fact that the Flames picked a goalie—ANY goalie—in the top-fifth of the second round. There was a lot of concern about the depth of the prospect pool on the blue line, and most posters were hoping the Flames would have picked a defensman like Andreas Englund, Julius Bergman, Roland McKeown or Jack Dougherty. A number of posters correctly identified Demko as a better prospect, but this was not an off-the-board draft shock like you imagine it to have occurred.

My point is this: most of us think we remember what happened in NHL entry drafts from nearly a decade ago with crystal clarity. But I think the lesson here is that our memories are very much deeply coloured by what has happened in the years since the draft. Like I said above: people remember a freak-out about Demko or Dvorak or Point that simply did not happen. People remember this because all of our memories are incredibly flawed, and easily susceptible to more current events.

I am not disagreeing with your larger point about looking back but I found this quote:

In something of a mild surprise, the Flames took the no. 2-ranked goalie, Mason McDonald of the QMJHL’s Charlottetown Islanders, with the 34th overall pick, passing up no. 1-ranked Thatcher Demko.

“Lot of debate on it with the guys for the last few weeks,” said Treliving. “Ultimately our goalie list had Mason at the top. Our guys liked this guy, he was there, we made the pick.”

https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl-...-day-of-draft/


Treliving's quote, to me, sounds like he was just defending his scouts on this pick (but I think since he got to CGY only a month prior to draft it hints at him not agreeing - ultimately McDonald tops list).

Could be just me but I recall the post draft radio interview with Treliving and him saying exactly the same thing but it didn't sound like he was sold on that decision. Despite your objection I truly recollect this - now it was my interpretation of his comments and I'm probably wrong because I'm guessing what he really meant.

Again, not trying to throw rocks in hindsight, but who would (over)rule on goalie selections?