Calgary Flames Top 5 First Round Picks Since Arriving In Alberta
3. Cory Stillman – 6th Overall in 1992
Jun 27, 2014; Philadelphia, PA, USA; A general view of the complete draft board after the completion of the first round of the 2014 NHL Draft at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Stillman was an interesting pick by the Flames, in that he had a tremendous NHL career, but most of it was not in the city of Calgary. Taken 6th overall by Calgary in the 1992 NHL Draft, Stillman was never really looked at as a superstar, but he had a very, very long and successful career in the National Hockey League and was definitely worthy of being selected so early.
Stillman played ten games in Calgary during the 1994-95 lockout shortened season but finally made the NHL full time in the 1995-96 season when he scored 35 points in 74 games. He followed that up with 26 points in 58 games and then finally broke out in the 1997-98 campaign.
Stillman scored back to back seasons of 27 goals, finishing the 1997-98 season with 49 points and then scoring 57 points the next year. Just as he cemented himself as a top six forward, he suffered an injury plagued 1998-99, scoring 12 goals in just 37 games and was then dealt at the trade deadline the following season.
After scoring 21 goals in 67 games during the 1999-2000 season, Stillman was sent to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Craig Conroy and a 7th round pick that would end up yielding David Moss. He continued to play well with St. Louis having season of 45 and 67 points before he was dealt to the Tampa Bay Lightning in time for the 2003-04 season.
This is when his real success began as Stillman was part of a tremendous young Lightning team that won the Stanley Cup in 2004 led by Vincent Lecavalier and Brad Richards, but also had a lot of help from Stillman who set a career high with 80 points in 81 games.
After another lockout in 2004-05, Stillman signed on with the Carolina Hurricanes and would once again help a team win the Stanley Cup. He scored 76 points in 72 games that season in Carolina, and also chipped in 26 points in 25 playoff games en route to his second Stanley Cup in a row (though they were interrupted by a lockout).
Stillman continued to play well, though injuries began to slow his production following the 2006 Stanley Cup win. He eventually was dealt to the Ottawa Senators, Florida Panthers and then sent back to Carolina where he finished the 2010-11 season by scoring 16 points in 21 games before announcing his retirement.
Stillman ended his career having played an impressive 1025 games and scored 278 goals and 727 career points. He won a pair of Cups and was a serious contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2006 though it went to goaltender Cam Ward.
Stillman was taken 6th overall and the five players ahead of him had pretty decent careers, though there were no superstars ahead of him. Roman Hamrlik went first and was followed by Alexei Yashin, Mike Rathje, Todd Warriner and Darius Kasparitis before the Flames grabbed Stillman. I’m sure the Quebec Nordiques were shaking their heads at taking Warriner ahead of Stillman and the players that went directly after him show it was the right choice.
Ryan Sittler, Brandon Convery, Ronald Petrovicky, Andrei Nazarov and David Cooper went betweent 7th and 11th and don’t give the Flames much pause for reconsideration 23 years later.