Brad Treliving post-combine interview. Update: added Tod Button interview

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by hockey.modern

Yeah that something the managers should look into. However he was probably just looking at it from what Chicago is doing. Building a franchise with players around Kane and Toews.

I'm so excited that Calgary has a real good potential of having three guys that are calibre of being elites. Does any team have triplets that they build around? I know that many teams in the league have it built around duos.

Hawks I would argue have 3. Hossa is definitely part of the core even at his age. TB had a great trio back when the big 3 played up front.

However the main downfall of the Lightning after the '04 lockout was their lack of goaltending and defence once Boyle got traded. Brodie is a fantastic piece however. But we could use another young stud on the backend to compliment him. I think we are set in net for a while with both Ortio and Gillies who could potentially be considered core pieces.

[dammage79]

Trelving has a solid rapport with the radio guys. Pretty solid talker. Gives you just enough of a glimpse into his teams mindset to keep you interested but nothing substantial.

[sureLoss]

Tod Button - Calgary Flames Director of Amateur Scouting
QR770 June 8

interviewed around 90 players - felt it was prudent to interview as many as possible with so many picks this year


use the physical testing results as a baseline for the player - want to know where weakness and inequalities are
the biggest interview is on the ice
don't want to evaluate or drop guys because of a fitness test
some of them still have room to grow - still teenae boys
you sometimes drool thinking what a player like Sam Bennett can do if he was 10-15 lbs heavier and faster
obviously some kids are further along than others - but for us it is just an eyeball test

did not interview Connor McDavid but would be very happy to take him if he falls to 15

had 7 Flames staff in the interview - 3 full time scouts (Jim Cummings, Rob Sumner, Fred Parker), himself, Treliving and Conroy
Chris Snow was also there documenting and askin some questions
usually the player has already been interviewed by the area scout before the combine
you get 15 minutes with the kid at the combine, so the area scouts need to have done their due dilligence beforehand so they don't miss anything
combine interview is more of a get together for Craig and Brad so they can put a face to a name

Brad spent a lot of time talking to other GMs to see what is out there (trade wise)
jokes that he spends a lot of time trying spread misinformation to throw people off course

3 picks in the 2nd and 2 picks in the 3rd is very exciting for the scouts
when we put our lists together we can stratagize with mutliple picks
thinks it is very deep draft - another reason he loves having multiple 2nds
you can take a little more of a gamble with multiple picks - take a higher risk player
3 2nds and 2 3rds will let them be agressive not only in trading up, but in swinging for the fences as well

jokes he provides his brother with Craig's list


Button is asked about his opinion on Merkley:
Merkley is a good player
moved over from C to RW - seemed to do it seamlessly
versatility is always important - only 2 or 3 centers that can be offensive players and sometimes need to move over to wing
had a good year
have heard people say Draisaitl helped him out alot, but in our early viewings before Draisaitl was traded there, he was productive
nice to see a Calgary kid up there in the draft


Flames amateur scouting staff prefers that they make their list without any knowledge of what Treliving might be doing (tradewise)
that helps in their prepardness - don't want to overthink things by thinking about a potential trade up or down

when they do look at trading up or down, they don't think of it as numbers like trading two 2nds for #25. they think of it as names, you may have a box of 5 players and you are trading 2 of those names for one guy

Brad does his work, and as we get closer to the draft he will bring us scenarios


for sure in the first 3 rounds we are doing BPA (well maybe not the 3rd round)
depending on how we use the first 4 or 5 picks we may do something positionally
out list is based on BPA - that is how we have done it the last few years and in his humble opinion has been very succesful that way


Smith and Kanzig are examples of guys who today might not have all the skills and measurables but physical gifts can't be overlooked
both kids have improved imensley over the last 2 years
once Smith has his strength and feet under him we think he will have a good NHL career. just needs to get his feet going
the trade to the Hitmen for Keegan was beneficial for him, was able to get our group to help and critique him
both have a chance to go pro next year


texter asks Button how is this draft deep?
it is deep with skill
lots of top 6 forwards and top 3-4 defencemen
plethora of forwards and lots of defencemen - would say forward group is deeper than defence group
although the top 4 or 5 defencemen in this draft are very good too
its in the skill positions - in the forwards - in the offence - that is where the depth of the draft is

[Red Menace]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

3 picks in the 2nd and 2 picks in the 3rd is very exciting for the scouts
when we put our lists together we can stratagize with mutliple picks
thinks it is very deep draft - another reason he loves having multiple 2nds
you can take a little more of a gamble with multiple picks - take a higher risk player
3 2nds and 2 3rds will let them be agressive not only in trading up, but in swinging for the fences as well

I'm going to pretend that means we are drafting Kylington in round 1.
The more I read about him, the more I like him.

[Rick M.]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

Tod Button - Calgary Flames Director of Amateur Scouting
QR770 June 8

interviewed around 90 players - felt it was prudent to interview as many as possible with so many picks this year


use the physical testing results as a baseline for the player - want to know where weakness and inequalities are
the biggest interview is on the ice
don't want to evaluate or drop guys because of a fitness test
some of them still have room to grow - still teenae boys
you sometimes drool thinking what a player like Sam Bennett can do if he was 10-15 lbs heavier and faster
obviously some kids are further along than others - but for us it is just an eyeball test

did not interview Connor McDavid but would be very happy to take him if he falls to 15

had 7 Flames staff in the interview - 3 full time scouts (Jim Cummings, Rob Sumner, Fred Parker), himself, Treliving and Conroy
Chris Snow was also there documenting and askin some questions
usually the player has already been interviewed by the area scout before the combine
you get 15 minutes with the kid at the combine, so the area scouts need to have done their due dilligence beforehand so they don't miss anything
combine interview is more of a get together for Craig and Brad so they can put a face to a name

Brad spent a lot of time talking to other GMs to see what is out there (trade wise)
jokes that he spends a lot of time trying spread misinformation to throw people off course

3 picks in the 2nd and 2 picks in the 3rd is very exciting for the scouts
when we put our lists together we can stratagize with mutliple picks
thinks it is very deep draft - another reason he loves having multiple 2nds
you can take a little more of a gamble with multiple picks - take a higher risk player
3 2nds and 2 3rds will let them be agressive not only in trading up, but in swinging for the fences as well

jokes he provides his brother with Craig's list


Button is asked about his opinion on Merkley:
Merkley is a good player
moved over from C to RW - seemed to do it seamlessly
versatility is always important - only 2 or 3 centers that can be offensive players and sometimes need to move over to wing
had a good year
have heard people say Draisaitl helped him out alot, but in our early viewings before Draisaitl was traded there, he was productive
nice to see a Calgary kid up there in the draft


Flames amateur scouting staff prefers that they make their list without any knowledge of what Treliving might be doing (tradewise)
that helps in their prepardness - don't want to overthink things by thinking about a potential trade up or down

when they do look at trading up or down, they don't think of it as numbers like trading two 2nds for #25. they think of it as names, you may have a box of 5 players and you are trading 2 of those names for one guy

Brad does his work, and as we get closer to the draft he will bring us scenarios


for sure in the first 3 rounds we are doing BPA (well maybe not the 3rd round)
depending on how we use the first 4 or 5 picks we may do something positionally
out list is based on BPA - that is how we have done it the last few years and in his humble opinion has been very succesful that way


Smith and Kanzig are examples of guys who today might not have all the skills and measurables but physical gifts can't be overlooked
both kids have improved imensley over the last 2 years
once Smith has his strength and feet under him we think he will have a good NHL career. just needs to get his feet going
the trade to the Hitmen for Keegan was beneficial for him, was able to get our group to help and critique him
both have a chance to go pro next year


texter asks Button how is this draft deep?
it is deep with skill
lots of top 6 forwards and top 3-4 defencemen
plethora of forwards and lots of defencemen - would say forward group is deeper than defence group
although the top 4 or 5 defencemen in this draft are very good too
its in the skill positions - in the forwards - in the offence - that is where the depth of the draft is

It's interesting that Button sees the depth of the draft in the forwards. Perhaps a clue to Flames drafting strategy?

[Caged Great]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

It's interesting that Button sees the depth of the draft in the forwards. Perhaps a clue to Flames drafting strategy?

Yes, and it makes sense. There are guys like Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson, Anthony Beauvillier, Jack Roslovic, Denis Guryanov that may end up being available at 45, and all of them have 1st line upside (although would probably be 2nd liners at the nhl level if they develop). Then you have Nicolas Roy who is a Colborne clone and Erik Foley who looks like a Lance Bouma type with offensive skill and those guys are rated at the end of round two.

With only a couple of exceptions in the later part of the 1st round and 2nd round, most of the defensemen are like Brandon Hickey with a lot of good tools, but are very raw. Guys like Spencer, Brisebois, Juulsen and a few others are good but are likely 4 years away from the NHL. That's good for the latter two picks, but it would likely be better going for forwards at 45.

Overall though, the amount of skill is amazing for both the quality and the depth.

[The Original FFIV]

Originally Posted by Rick M.

It's interesting that Button sees the depth of the draft in the forwards. Perhaps a clue to Flames drafting strategy?

An interesting takeaway is his comments on the top 4-5 defencemen being very good. Obviously the top 3 are a slam dunk but which other 1-2 is he lumping in with them? 1-2 of Roy Chabot Zborik or Kylington? And is he including these d in the same tier as the big 3? If so might foreshadow us picking a top d at #15

[Fighting Banana Slug]

when they do look at trading up or down, they don't think of it as numbers like trading two 2nds for #25. they think of it as names, you may have a box of 5 players and you are trading 2 of those names for one guy.

I like this way of thinking. Too often I think we as observers throw out trade-up proposals that don't really consider the cost properly. The NFL stlye draft values are great to a point, but they need to treat those picks as potential players, and go from there.

[polak]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

another reason he loves having multiple 2nds
you can take a little more of a gamble with multiple picks - take a higher risk player
3 2nds and 2 3rds will let them be agressive not only in trading up, but in swinging for the fences as well

I love hearing this.
Big risk Big reward = Big excitement.

Although I hope they're thinking of taking risk on a player with a lot of skill but lacking elsewhere (i.e. Gaudreau) and not taking a scrub just cause they're big...

[ricardodw]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

Hawks I would argue have 3. Hossa is definitely part of the core even at his age. TB had a great trio back when the big 3 played up front.

However the main downfall of the Lightning after the '04 lockout was their lack of goaltending and defence once Boyle got traded. Brodie is a fantastic piece however. But we could use another young stud on the backend to compliment him. I think we are set in net for a while with both Ortio and Gillies who could potentially be considered core pieces.

and then add in Sharp who has been top player for the last 5-6 years.

Toews-Kane-Hossa and sharp -- Landeskog- Duchences-Mackinnon and RoR

Chicago is Colorado if they have Johnson/Barrie instead of Keith/Seabrook

While I am not arguing that it is valid to say that Chicago is built around Toews/Kane it would be equally valid that they are built around Keith/Seabrook who were there first....

Sort of like Brodie/Gio rather than Monahan/Gaudreau/Bennett/??

[Bownesian]

Originally Posted by polak

I love hearing this.
Big risk Big reward = Big excitement.

Although I hope they're thinking of taking risk on a player with a lot of skill but lacking elsewhere (i.e. Gaudreau) and not taking a scrub just cause they're big...

It could mean both - taking a big player on an upward trajectory who is still growing into his body would be a big risk/big reward scenario as well.