Dion Phaneuf And The 2003 NHL Draft For The Calgary Flames

The 2003 Draft was one made of dreams and excitement for the Calgary Flames.  Marc Andre Fleury,  one of the most overrated goalies, was drafted first and ended up with the Pittsburgh Penguins.  The Calgary Flames picked 9th overall and managed to not make me /headdesk at their draft pick.  Sure, he may have inspired Scott Hartnell to say some choice words to him at the All Star Game while being mic’d up (seriously guys, what was that clown Hartnell doing at the ASG? Flames didn’t send Cory Sarich…) and caused Sean Avery to give that memorable sound bite about “seconds”, but what the Calgary Flames 2003 Draft pick is most notable for is his booming open ice hits.  Dion Phaneuf isn’t the biggest body out on the ice at 6’3″ 215lbs but don’t tell his hits that, their devastating blows would shake the boards, and his opponents to the core.

In his 4 1/2 seasons with the Calgary Flames, Phaneuf slammed bodies and racked up assists and won the hearts of many.  January 2010, Phaneuf was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs after suffering suffering a hip injury and broken ribs the season before and the Flames changed their course of action.

While the draft class was an enviable one, Flames walked away with a pretty good deal.  The players they passed up:

• Jeff Carter
• Dustin Brown
• Brent Seatbrook
• Zach Parise
• Ryan Getzlaf
• Brent Burns
• Corey Perry
• Loui Eriksson
• Patrice Bergeron
• Matt Carle
• Shea Weber
• David Backes
• Dustin Byfuglien
• Matt Moulson

Really anyone who drafted that year came out a winner.  There’s some severe draft envy for those who picked of Brown or Parise but in the end, Phaneuf was an awesome acquisition.

As for what happened in 2004, you’ll just have to wait for the next post!

Go Flames Go!