[News Roundup] The stigma of being the 6th pick: Johnson

[Mango]

I realize this could have fit in the draft discussion thread, but I think this is a fantastic piece by Johnson. It features quotes from all Calgary's past 6th picks and the pressure that came with it: Stillman, Fata and Tkaczuk. Lots of honest comments.

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/...medium=twitter

"Do I think it’s unfair?” repeats Daniel Tkaczuk, now 34, a little more than a year into retirement and president of his own online hockey school, iHockeyTrainer.com. “Is it too much? You know what? No. It’s not. Because that’s why teams invest. The Flames invested a high draft pick in me. They should expect a lot.

[FlamesAddiction]

I still remember the comparisons of Stillman to Sakic when he was drafted. In hindsite, he was still a good pick at 6th, but the fans never seemed to get past the high expectations.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

We definitely screwed up Fata's development starting him so early in the NHL. Terrible pick given the spot.

[jlh2640]

Daniel Tkachuk and Rico Fata 2 of the biggest reasons why the Flames have been awful mid 90s and early 2000s.

[Parallex]

Y'know all things considered Stillman really wasn't a bad pick at 6... that was one stinky draft year.

[kermitology]

Tkachuk wasn't a bad pick, he just lost his brains courtesy concussions.

[Enoch Root]

Quote:
Any advice for the young man who’ll be slipping on a Flames’ jersey the way he did 16 years ago?
“Go, play your heart out, listen and learn to adapt in the way the organization wants,” is his reply. “Sometimes that’s a role change. Maybe even a position change. Those are the difficult things prospects face. To make that team, I had to fit the Brian Sutter mold a bit. Right or wrong, that was the way.


This is what worries me about Nichushkin... I am not convinced that he will have the willingness to do what is necessary to be an NHLer. Not everyone can make it big without changing their game and adapting.

[ah123]

Originally Posted by Flames Draft Watcher

We definitely screwed up Fata's development starting him so early in the NHL. Terrible pick given the spot.

I remember an interview where the justification for picking Fata was phrased as "he has an NHL body", i.e., he was physically developed enough to play that year. Those were dark days

[KootenayFlamesFan]

“I look back now,” he admits, “and wonder ‘What if I hadn’t hit my head like that?’ Because I was off to a pretty nice start there when I did get my cup of coffee, so to speak. You wake up in L.A., and you just don’t feel right anymore. I was never a big believer in making excuses but it just never was the same after that. The team’s just starting to count on you, you’re starting to feel part of it, then you wake up and can’t even stand up anymore. I remember flying to L.A. after the (Phoenix) game, getting up in the hotel to pee and I couldn’t stand. I was wobbly, like ‘Whoooooa ...’

“That’s just the nature of concussions. You can’t work harder. You can’t do more physio. Maybe in 20 years, there’ll be something more that can be done. But at the time ...

“So that was it. I never saw the NHL again. A lot of players get two, three chances. But no real doors opened up for me after that.”

Such a crappy way for Tkaczuk to end his career in the NHL. I was so over the moon when he fell to the Flames in that draft......he was everything the team could use: smart, good two-way player, good character, heart and soul kind of player. That was a fantastic pick at the time, nobody knew his career would be so short due to the concussions. Such a shame.

[SuperMatt18]

Tkaczuk was a casualty of concussions before they were a big deal.

Actually don't like that he gets lumped in with Fata and the rest of the Flames draft busts. The kid would have succeeded if he didn't get his bell rung.

[GreenLantern]

Agreed, you can't help the post concussion syndrome and it wasn't as well documented then as it is now.

Fata on the other hand, well rushed or not he just flat out didn't live up to expectations. Whether you want to say it was on the Flames or him or both the bottom line is he was expected to be a star for the Flames in the NHL and that never happened. I would say he is the only true bust at 6.

[Keselke]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Tkaczuk was a casualty of concussions before they were a big deal.

Actually don't like that he gets lumped in with Fata and the rest of the Flames draft busts. The kid would have succeeded if he didn't get his bell rung.

He MIGHT of panned out, he doesn't get an automatic pass just because his career was halted by injuries, another equally likely scenario is that he could of been perfectly healthy and never amounted to anything.

But anyways regardless of the past, hopefully this 6th pick works out.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by ah123

I remember an interview where the justification for picking Fata was phrased as "he has an NHL body", i.e., he was physically developed enough to play that year. Those were dark days

That illustrates the challenge of being a 'poor' team: the tendency to a) draft players because they are NHL-ready, and b) to keep 18 year olds on the roster.

Both of these are detrimental to long-term team success.

And I watched it over and over again with the Jets.

[Alberta_Beef]

Originally Posted by Keselke

He MIGHT of panned out, he doesn't get an automatic pass just because his career was halted by injuries, another equally likely scenario is that he could of been perfectly healthy and never amounted to anything.

But anyways regardless of the past, hopefully this 6th pick works out.

Yes he absolutely gets an automatic pass. To blame him for getting injured is pretty f'd up.

Bottom line is his career was derailed by concussions, that is all we will ever know and those concussions stopped him from getting the chance to be the star he had the potential to be.

[CliffFletcher]

Sorry, Tkaczuk was already showing signs of being a disappointment before the concussion. Had trouble adjusting to the pro game - he didn't have the pure skill to be an offensive player and didn't have the jam or strength to be a defensive player. It was unfortunate, but I don't believe he was going to make it in the NHL anyway.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by ah123

I remember an interview where the justification for picking Fata was phrased as "he has an NHL body", i.e., he was physically developed enough to play that year. Those were dark days

"Win now."

[Husky]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Sorry, Tkaczuk was already showing signs of being a disappointment before the concussion. Had trouble adjusting to the pro game - he didn't have the pure skill to be an offensive player and didn't have the jam or strength to be a defensive player. It was unfortunate, but I don't believe he was going to make it in the NHL anyway.

I disagree. The guy had 66 points in his first AHL season and 11 points in 19 games in his first NHL season. Then injuries. Never the same. he was also part of the St Johns that won the calder cup.

[Dr. Doom]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Sorry, Tkaczuk was already showing signs of being a disappointment before the concussion. Had trouble adjusting to the pro game - he didn't have the pure skill to be an offensive player and didn't have the jam or strength to be a defensive player. It was unfortunate, but I don't believe he was going to make it in the NHL anyway.

Not sure where you can say any of that but that's not what I recall at all. I remember this place (maybe the old forum at the time?) being extremely disappointed with the way he went out. He was shaping up to be just fine.

Fata on the other hand...

PS That was a great article thanks for sharing. Brings back memories. Even Saprykin mentioned in there.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Sorry, Tkaczuk was already showing signs of being a disappointment before the concussion. Had trouble adjusting to the pro game - he didn't have the pure skill to be an offensive player and didn't have the jam or strength to be a defensive player. It was unfortunate, but I don't believe he was going to make it in the NHL anyway.

Where was he showing those signs?

He was fantastic in that call up here where he got injured. I remember him and Val Bure showing very good chemistry.

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Yeah, he was definitely showing signs of gaining confidence and taking his game to another level before he got hurt. Looked like a guy with a pretty long career ahead of him.