Best Calgary Flames Draft Picks - Round 3

[Bingo]

Ranking

1. MacInnis 32%
2. Nieuwendyk 35%

[Bingo]

Tough one for me.

I think this is where I start battling with the Fleury off ice stuff vs Hull not playing here long vs Gaudreau and the heart strings.

Going Hull for now.

[getbak]

Have to keep picking the Hall of Fame Conn Smythe Trophy winners. Vernon this time.

[troutman]

Vernon is the correct answer.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Bingo

Tough one for me.

I think this is where I start battling with the Fleury off ice stuff vs Hull not playing here long vs Gaudreau and the heart strings.

Going Hull for now.

It's like the prospect poll where your criteria is your own I guess. Though I tend to think sentiment and recency bias put Gaudreau way above guys who were way more successful and/or had a bigger impact (on the Flames or other teams). Talent wise, he is not quite as high as Fleury, Nilsson, Makarov, Reinhart, and maybe even guys like Loob, Suter, etc.

I predict Suter, Nilsson, Reinhart and Choinard will be severely underrated here.

[Bleeding Red]

Some things I am considering is - would that player have been picked later by another team? Would he have gone undrafted? I think BOS was taking JG with their next pick. Was anyone taking TF or BH in later rounds? IDK. I think TF could have easily gone undrafted. Would CHI or WPG taken a flyer on BH in later rounds? maybe.

[kermitology]

Gaudreau for sure. He brought life to this franchise in a way we hadn't seen in decades.

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by kermitology

Gaudreau for sure. He brought life to this franchise in a way we hadn't seen in decades.

Maybe, but a guy like Nilsson was Calgary's first legit star, led the league in points (a feat matched by only one other Flame and no other Flame draft pick) and was a PPG guy very year in the NHL, everywhere he played. And like Gaudreau, drafted in the 4th round. The only guy with more points in his draft year is Federko who played almost twice as many games.

I think as a player, Gaudreau was more on a level with Chouinard or Loob than Nilsson.

[Rejean31]

No Vernon in 89. No Stanley Cup!!

[Strange Brew]

This is very much a personal criteria thing.

Best player: Hull followed by Makarov (although could be debated I suppose)
Most accomplished Flame: Vernon
Face of the franchise level player: Fleury, then Gaudreau

With Gaudreau being more current and very much a sentimental choice.

I could see arguments for all of them.

But since the poll is best Flames pick in the NHL draft, I went with Hull. He is my number one overall, followed by Chopper.

Makarov while a great player with a great international career, is going to be farther down as I'm not counting anything before he was drafted.

[Reggie Dunlop]

Hall of Famer Mike Vernon

[Kipper_3434]

Fleury gonna get high-roaded out of the top 5?

[Kipper_3434]

Also Hull may have been a great pick, but he didn't have tons of value when traded for rentals. So the Flames didn't benefit THAT much by selecting Hull. (Yes I know folks don't think we win the cup without that trade)

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by Strange Brew

This is very much a personal criteria thing.

Best player: Hull followed by Makarov (although could be debated I suppose)
Most accomplished Flame: Vernon
Face of the franchise level player: Fleury, then Gaudreau

With Gaudreau being more current and very much a sentimental choice.

I could see arguments for all of them.

But since the poll is best Flames pick in the NHL draft, I went with Hull. He is my number one overall, followed by Chopper.

Makarov while a great player with a great international career, is going to be farther down as I'm not counting anything before he was drafted.

I think some people are also think best pick considering the draft position, which is where Gaudreau, Flery and Makarov really come in. And Wolfe.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

Maybe, but a guy like Nilsson was Calgary's first legit star, led the league in points (a feat matched by only one other Flame and no other Flame draft pick) and was a PPG guy very year in the NHL, everywhere he played. And like Gaudreau, drafted in the 4th round. The only guy with more points in his draft year is Federko who played almost twice as many games.

I think as a player, Gaudreau was more on a level with Chouinard or Loob than Nilsson.

Nilsson never led the league in points. In his best season, 1980-81, he was third behind Gretzky and Dionne -- 33 points behind Gretzky. In 2021-22, Gaudreau was second (tied with Huberdeau), only 8 points behind McDavid.

Gaudreau was also an insane +64 that year, and surprisingly, only 25 points came on the power play. Nilsson had 53 power play points and was only a +14 in 1980-81.


Gaudreau was a point a game player in his time with the Flames, at a time when scoring was much lower than the era Nilsson played in. Also, at the time of his death, he was second in points of his draft class behind Kucherov.



It can be easy to dismiss voting for Gaudreau as recency bias but when you look at the hard numbers, he really is one of the best players in franchise history. He was the best player for this team during a stretch that was arguably the second-best iteration of the Flames after the team from the mid-late 80s.

He is 12th all-time in games played with the franchise, and 5th in points. He's 9th in points-per-game (ahead of Iggy), but the only player in the top-10 who didn't play a large chunk of his career in the high-scoring 80s and early 90s.


If anything, recency bias probably makes us underrate how good he really was.

[Flamesfan05]

Makarov was not a great find

Everyone knew who he was.

Russians were not allowed to leave , it was not the pick based on talent

It was a pick and hope he defects

Again, if it’s based on career then it’s Hull and it’s not close

If based on value to the Flames then it’s Johnny

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Bleeding Red

Some things I am considering is - would that player have been picked later by another team? Would he have gone undrafted? I think BOS was taking JG with their next pick. Was anyone taking TF or BH in later rounds? IDK. I think TF could have easily gone undrafted. Would CHI or WPG taken a flyer on BH in later rounds? maybe.

While I understand this argument, I think you also have to consider would the player have chosen to play for the Flames if he hadn't been drafted? It's still important to have him on your reserve list, to give you that control in negotiations.

If you know you're the only team who has scouted a player, you can take a risk on picking him in a later round, but at some point, you do need to draft him so he's on your list and not a free agent.

[Strange Brew]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

I think some people are also think best pick considering the draft position, which is where Gaudreau, Flery and Makarov really come in. And Wolfe.

Hull is the top of that list. Probably one of the best late round picks of all time.

[dissentowner]

I love Johnny as much as the next guy but voting him over Hull and Fleury is a little unrealistic.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Hard to vote Hull when his impact wasn't with the team.
How high would Dallas vote Iginla in a similar poll?

I went with Gaudreau.