The NHL Draft: Day Two And The Calgary Flames

A recap of Day Two of the NHL Draft and the Calgary Flames selections:

• Patrick Sieloff (D)-  If you’re going to be forced to pick a defenseman, why didn’t you go with Olli Maatta?  Especially if your selection, Mark Jankowski is going to be around for a few rounds.  No one expected Jankowski to go so early and there’s a strong chance that he’d be available  in a later round.  Look, Sieloff was a good choice, but I would have pursued Maatta if defense was the most readily available.
• Jon Gillies (G): The young goalie grew up a Miikka Kiprusoff fan, and dreamed of being part of the organization.  And now the Calgary Flames have given him this opportunity by drafting him in the third round.  As part of the Indiana Ice, his second season stats read impressive.  In 53 games, Gillies had a GAA of 2.77 and SVS% of .915, great numbers for him to build off of at Providence College.
• Brett Kulak (D): What impresses me about this kid is his track record of health.  While many prospects going into the combine were labeled as “recovering from injury” or had significant injuries within the last season or two, Kulak never missed a game this season while in the WHL.  His resilience is an impressive feat, and if this continues through to more seasons, it would be nice to see him as a reliable d-man, night after night.
• Ryan Culkin (D): An over achieving d-man.  Well that’s something the Calgary Flames could use.  The team doesn’t always move with urgency, and having someone below them, lighting a fire under them might inspire some to move faster.

A few more went after Culkin, Coda Gordon and Matthew Deblouw, and for the most part, I’ve enjoyed who the Calgary Flames have picked up.  Obviously I would have done the first round differently but hey, I’m not the GM or part of the scouting team.  Yet.

Next year the NHL Draft will be in New Jersey.  Should be a good one!

Go Flames Go!