Tod Button's Take on the Flames 2013 Draft Picks

[c.t.ner]

I'm sure this has already been posted in another thread, but it's probably buried deep within the pages of those threads.

Anyways, this is the sort of thing I find facinating about the draft is the justification and stories behind why the scouts, Button, Conroy and Weisbrod like a pick. Some interesting takes on some of the later round picks.

http://blogs.calgaryherald.com/2013/...-flames-picks/

135. D Eric Roy (six-two, 180, WHL Brandon): “He put up some tremendous numbers last year (53 points), so we were on him early because they had another first-round pick there in Ryan Pulock.

I find this interesting, as it means the Flames were very much interested in Pulock. EDIT: Thanks to Flames Draft Watcher for the note

“(Scout) Mike Addesa pounded the table for this guy . . . all through our meetings, all through the year — ‘This guy is a good player. He’s big. He’s strong. He skates. He’s physical.’ He liked him so much and he had so much conviction about this guy being a player, we just said, ‘That’s your spot. Do you want to take him now?’ And he said, ‘Absolutely.’ ”

One of the "off" the board picks. Interesting that Addesa had a "spot" in the order.

The side story to that is I asked Craig Conroy to phone Igor Kravchuk because Igor coached his team . . . just to do some background on (Valeri) Nichushkin. I didn’t tell him about any other names. I just told Connie to ask him about Nichushkin. But through the conversation, Rafikov’s name kept coming up. We already knew about him, but it was confirmation.”

Anyways, I find this stuff super interesting. Gives a better sense of the process that the Flames go through during the draft.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Originally Posted by c.t.ner

I find this interesting, as it means the Flames were very much interested in Pulock (who was still available at 22 and 28), but passed on him.

Incorrect. Pulock went 15th so we basically had no shot at him.

[you got PHANUEFED]

That's some cool insight.

[Stay Golden]

Mike Addesa lets see how you un ranked pick develops. The Flames scouting staff just help themselves going way off Central scouting. Poor history of failed picks doing just that so lets keep an eye on Tim Harrison and John Gilmour and see if they are the routine odd selections.
Outside of that I thought the Flames had a great draft day.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

Mike Addesa lets see how you un ranked pick develops. The Flames scouting staff just help themselves going way off Central scouting. .

No teams drafts by or consults Central Scouting.

[Stay Golden]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

No teams drafts by or consults Central Scouting.

central scouting has proven since the 70's as a fairly accurate guideline where players generally should be ranked.
The Flames have proven to their fan base when it comes to the draft they dance to a different beat.

For whatever reason the Flams brass just can't resist to go off the board every year at least twice.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

central scouting has proven since the 70's as a fairly accurate guideline where players generally should be ranked.
The Flames have proven to their fan base when it comes to the draft they dance to a different beat.

For whatever reason the Flams brass just can't resist to go off the board every year at least twice.

There is no board.

[the2bears]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

central scouting has proven since the 70's as a fairly accurate guideline where players generally should be ranked.
The Flames have proven to their fan base when it comes to the draft they dance to a different beat.

For whatever reason the Flams brass just can't resist to go off the board every year at least twice.

Link?

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

central scouting has proven since the 70's as a fairly accurate guideline where players generally should be ranked.
The Flames have proven to their fan base when it comes to the draft they dance to a different beat.

For whatever reason the Flams brass just can't resist to go off the board every year at least twice.

Central scouting has proven fairly accurate at determining where players will be picked. Given that two of three Norris nominees were picked after the first round, given that all three Vezina nominees were not first round picks, given that the greatest defenseman of the modern era was drafted 53rd overall, that arguably the greatest goalie ever to play the position was a 9th rounder, given ALL of this, I would argue that central scouting no better at predicting player success past the top 15 than any front office in the NHL.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

central scouting has proven since the 70's as a fairly accurate guideline where players generally should be ranked.
The Flames have proven to their fan base when it comes to the draft they dance to a different beat.

For whatever reason the Flams brass just can't resist to go off the board every year at least twice.

How many teams don't go off the board???

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Stay Golden

central scouting has proven since the 70's as a fairly accurate guideline where players generally should be ranked.
The Flames have proven to their fan base when it comes to the draft they dance to a different beat.

For whatever reason the Flams brass just can't resist to go off the board every year at least twice.

And yet Tie Domi during his interview with Max one of the things he said he made a point to tell max early was don't pay attention to Central Scouting, they are a bunch of idiots.

[getbak]

The thing with picking 157th is that if you pick the consensus 157th best player, you're picking a guy that the consensus agrees will never play in the NHL.

When you look at the 2003 Draft, considered the best Draft class of its generation and probably the second best of all time (after 1979), only 130 players ever played at least 1 NHL game, and only 80 have played a minimum of 100 NHL games. So, if the 157th pick lives up to expectations, he'll never play an NHL game.

Why not pick a player that seemingly only one scout has ever even heard of but believes will be a great player one day, instead of picking a player that the consensus agrees will likely never amount to much? Either way, the odds are that the player picked at 157 isn't going to ever see an NHL game that he didn't buy a ticket for.

The late round picks have to be about trying to show you're smarter than the consensus, otherwise, you shouldn't even waste your breath making the pick.

Late round picks are such a crap shoot that 30 years ago, months after Ronald Reagan had called the Soviet Union "The Evil Empire", the Flames used their 231st overall pick to grab a 25 year-old Sergei Makarov because they figured there was a better chance that the Berlin Wall would fall down and the Red Army players would be released to play in the NHL than there was that anyone else they could take in that spot would be worth anything in the NHL.

[GGG]

Is the 157rd or whatever pick really on the board. The only reason the 157rd pick will make the nhl more often than the 211th player is that they would be in a teams system.

Again people will compare this pick against all of the people who were available rather than 1 specific alternative. So if you really object to any one pick decide which guy you would have rather had. Odds are, neither will ever play an nhl game.

[VladtheImpaler]

Isn't this how we got Fleury? Thompson (I believe) convinced Fletcher to spend the late pick. So, I am all for this - go with the passionate opinion.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Isn't this how we got Fleury? Thompson (I believe) convinced Fletcher to spend the late pick. So, I am all for this - go with the passionate opinion.

It's also good for the scouts. Wouldn't shock me if many teams employed a strategy in which after 'x' round they chose a scout to pick his guy.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern2814

given that the greatest defenseman of the modern era was drafted 53rd overall,

I have nothing but respect for Robert Dirk, but isn't that just a wee bit over the top?

[timbit]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Isn't this how we got Fleury? Thompson (I believe) convinced Fletcher to spend the late pick. So, I am all for this - go with the passionate opinion.

Ian McKenzie.

[FAN]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

No teams drafts by or consults Central Scouting.

Every team consults Central Scouting (or they haven't done their job), they might not draft by it.

[Itse]

They'll want every piece of information and every potentially useful opinion on players.

Central scouting opinions might not be the final word, but they are better than random guesses, so yeah, propably teams will want to "consult" them (or read their reports I would guess).

I would however guess that the best use for that is to check that there's not a guy somewhere that you've missed.

[Freeway]

There are 30 different teams with 30 different sets of scouts and 30 different ideas of what a good hockey player is at the draft.

Central Scouting is merely a 31st different set of eyes. It's not meant to be definitive.