Calgary Flames And The Glimmer Of Hope In The 2006 Draft

As much fun as I’ve had bashing the Calgary Flames draft picks these last few posts, I must admit that the 2006 NHL Draft pick was not too shabby.  I mean sure, it would have been nice for the Flames to draft earlier pick up Jonathan Toews or Phil Kessel or even the first pick overall, Erik Johnson, but the Flames choice of goaltender Leland Irving is not a total waste of a pick.

As the team faces the decision of what to do post-Miikka Kiprusoff, watching Irving grow and develop in the AHL is a comforting sight.  His skill and confidence is growing with each passing day, and if Kipper decided to turn in his skates, Iriving would be a good addition to the Flames line up.  And if Kipper doesn’t retire any time soon?  Irving has enough talent to fetch a decent return in a trade.  And I think that Irving is more suit for the Flames line up than anyone else they could have drafted from the 26th spot.

• Nick Foligno
• Jamie McGinn
• Michal Neuvirth
• Nikolai Kulemin
• Milan Lucic
• Blake Geoffrion
• Brad Marchand
• Cal Clutterbuck
• Viktor Stalberg

While there are some all stars that went later in the draft, none could have worked into the Calgary Flames line up seamlessly at the time.  The extra time goalies need to grow and train has given Irving the opportunity to one day don a Calgary Flames jersey full time.

Go Flames Go!