[Calgary4LIfe]

You missed Backlund Jiri.


Edit:


If you listen to Todd Button, the turnaround started happening under Darryl Sutter. IMO, he consistently takes too much flak for the scouting and development programs. It was him who pushed for the Flames to actually have their own AHL squad so that they could actually develop players. It was under his watch that the Flames started to prioritize character and IQ. I do think that you saw an evolution happening while Darryl was still the GM. One could argue (and be right) that the Flames would have eventually had their own AHL team in time, but he pushed it to happen sooner rather than later. Maybe Brodie wouldn't have developed well enough. Maybe others as well. Tough to say one way or the other. Darryl also got the owners to buy into hiring additional scouts and development personnel. It is fair to criticize him for his misses, but at the same time, I also feel he needs equal amount of praise for kickstarting what the Flames have continued to build upon.


Feaster was a terrible GM, but was smart enough to listen to his scouts and hire additional scouts. However, even under his regime, he quickly identified (and rightfully so) that the Flames needed to obtain bigger prospects. Even in today's NHL - years later - purely skilled and small teams can not compete in a league that still has physicality as a major component of the game. You just can't. It has to be the right mix, and optimally, that size HAS to come with skating ability and a fair amount of skill. That's why the Flames drafted guys like Hunter Smith and Keegan Kanzig. People forget that they were fairly decent goalscorers (in Smith's and others) or were really good at the actual game of hockey (in Kanzig's case - a defensive defencemen that made huge strides in a short time, but unfortunately ended up stalling). Flames didn't draft them as 'goons'. Had they panned out, they would have been a huge help to this team right now (just go back and read their draft info, especially the one where Button got ALL the scouts to take a look at Kanzig, and they all really like him). People like to look at them as just outright goons, but Burke also shared Feaster's apprehension about the lack of size and toughness in the organization might catch up with them.


Treliving has been drafting skill, but he has also had an eye out for big strong players as well who like to drop the mitts:
Pospisll - 6'2" 253PIM in draft year
Fischer - 6'1" 145PIM (lots of fighting majors)


He also has drafted guys with size, who aren't necessarily truculent, but are big bodies:
Falkovsky 6'7"
Bruce 6'7"
Tuulola 6'3" (220lbs)
Mattsson 6'4"
Joly 6'3"
Ruzicka 6'4"


This organization would LOVE to add a couple of Ferland types to the roster. Big guys who hit and are difficult to play against, but who have good wheels and can play the game. Until they ban all contact, this is a contact sport, and the bigger, faster and more skilled you are, the better success you will have, especially come playoff time when the whistles are put away. I would bet that the Flames are still prioritizing size - of course they are! - but are prioritizing other areas more. Still, if the Flames are not managing to get bigger in the next few seasons, I actually sort of expect the needle to move a bit more to prioritizing for size and toughness again.



They have had to bring in guys like Brouwer and Neal - bigger guys that play with an edge - as well as trying to sign guys like Reaves and Maroon.



Players that can play in your top 6 and actually contribute to that line, rather than detract from it, are worth steep prices. It does help if you have a Lucic on your team, but know what helps more? Guys that can play in your top 6 and can battle for pucks and fight through the checks while having IQ, speed and skill. They are so difficult to contain.



I think you will probably continue to see this team prioritize (and hit well) on finding those skilled players that are perhaps undersized. Let's face it, it has been working great for the Flames. They just need to start finding a couple of guys with size as well that can play in the top 6. You need that mix. They are too expensive to acquire in trades usually, and they are often past their best before due date when get a chance to sign them in free agency. Neal and Brouwer would BOTH have been great additions if the Flames drafted them originally, right?



It will be interesting to see the evolution of the draft. I do, however, feel that from Darryl onwards, Todd Button has had the ability to grow into his role better, as well as having a larger voice at the draft table. They managed to hire some really great scouts (let's not forget Webster under Sutter, however!). I see it as a continuity from the past to the present, with a noticeable positive increase every single year starting from Sutter's regime (halfway through that, you will notice that line on the graph start trending upwards).