NHL Draft Retrospective: A Look Back At The No. 16 Overall Pick

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After a season of misery for Calgary Flames fans, it was officially confirmed on Monday night that the team would be drafting at the No. 16 overall spot in the 2023 NHL Draft, and while many will be disappointed that they didn’t move up at all in the draft order, it’s not all negative for Flames fans.

Sure, Calgary missed out on two of the biggest names in recent draft memory in Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli, but this is one of the deepest draft classes we’ve seen, and looking back over the past decade, there’s certainly been plenty of quality found throughout the draft.

But what about the No. 16 overall pick specifically? Today, we are going to take a look back on the past decade of NHL Draft’s and see what type of player has been found at that spot, and if Flames fans should be confident that they can potentially find a future star when the draft rolls around on June 28.

VANCOUVER, CANADA – JANUARY 5: Martin Kaut #61 of the Colorado Avalanche gestures while skating during NHL action against the Vancouver Canucks on January, 5, 2023 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Rich Lam/Getty Images) /

Too early to tell – Martin Kaut (2018), Kaiden Guhle (2020), Zachary Bolduc (2021), Noah Ostlund (2022)

Some players get drafted and contribute at the NHL level immediately, while others take a few years to develop, and while all four of these names look like solid players that can contribute to their team for years to come, we just haven’t seen enough of it at the NHL level yet.

Out of these four, just Kaut and Guhle have played at the NHL level, with Guhle debuting in Montreal this past season to the tune of 18 points in 44 games, so it may be too early to make a call on any of them, but thus far in their respective leagues, all of them look like they have the talent to potentially compete in the NHL.

Bolduc especially had 110 points in 60 games this past season in the QMJHL, and with a stacked Wranglers squad that’s bound to lose a few players next season as they progress to the NHL level, bringing in someone that can compete in the AHL immediately would be a big win for Calgary, especially if they’ve got this type of scoring potential.

SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 07: Juuso Valimaki #6 of the Calgary Flames skates with control of the puck from behind his goal against the San Jose Sharks during the second period of an NHL hockey game at SAP Center on April 07, 2022 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /

Solid NHL Players – Nikita Zadorov (2013), Sonny Milano (2014), Juuso Valimaki (2017)

The Calgary Flames fingerprints are all over the ‘solid NHL player’ tier, as they have featured all three of them on their team at one point or another, even selecting D-man Juuso Valimaki with the No. 16 pick the last time they held it way back in 2017.

Beyond that, we’ve got current Flames D-man Nikita Zadorov as a pick of the Sabres back in 2013, as well as 2023 PTO Sonny Milano, and while none of these three have turned out to be franchise changing stars, they’ve all got significant roles with their current team.

Given the Flames need for elite young talent, they’ll be hoping that someone drops to them that can come into the Wranglers and make an impact immediately, but ultimately, they would no doubt settle for a solid contributor like these three if it helps them progress forward in an increasingly tough Pacific Division.

HELSINKI, FINLAND – MAY 24: Matt Barzal #13 of Team Canada in action during the 2022 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship Group A match between France and Canada at the Helsinki Ice Hall on May 24, 2022 in Helsinki, Finland. (Photo by Xavier Laine/Getty Images) /

Star/Potential Star – Matt Barzal (2015), Jakob Chychrun (2016), Alex Newhook (2019)

In the NHL and all American sports, there are many avenues to finding a superstar, but the draft is the best place to find a young name that can grow with the franchise, and three times over the past 10 years, teams have been lucky enough to do just that.

Since 2013, there’s been stars come before and after the No. 16 overall pick, but in that time, the New York Islanders, Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche have managed to draft well, landing stars Matt Barzal and Jakob Chychrun, with Alex Newhook expected to develop into that.

For Calgary in 2023, there’s names out there like Brandon Yager, Andrew Cristall, Nate Danielson and plenty of others to potentially go after, and while the hit rate at this position isn’t fantastic over the past decade, there’s no doubting that you can find a star anywhere in the draft if the evaluations are done properly.

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