[FlamesAddiction]

It's impossible to really know because there are other factors. The influence of GMs and the larger scouting staff as a whole play a part as well. If the GM thinks he's smarter than the scouts, it doesn't matter how good your head scout is. And if the regular scouts suck, then the data and information they provide to Button would reflect that. And you can't discount player development, which I think had an impact at various time in the Flames past.

I kind of have to think he is good at his job just based on his survivability in the organization. It's not like the Flames are afraid to fire people. Unless maybe his longevity itself has created some tenured seniority that makes it impossible to fire him without it coming from ownership itself and the interpersonal relationships at that level make him untouchable. I doubt that is the case, but it's possible.

I could be misremembering, but I seem to recall that there is or was a Flames scout who had a knack for identifying defensemen deeper in the draft, and the Flames used to designate a pick every draft that he could choose who to select. Does anyone remember who that was or if I just dreamed it.