NHL Draft retrospective: A look back on the No. 9 overall pick
The Calgary Flames now know they will be drafting at the No. 9 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, with many talented players expected to be available by the time the Flames are officially on the clock. From Tij Iginla to Sam Dickonson and Berkly Catton to so many more, this draft is shaping up to be very unpredictable with some top tier talent expected to be available for Calgary.
We’ve also heard rumours that the team could look to move back into the lottery by using Jacob Markstrom and their late first-round pick in 2024, so the 2024 NHL Draft could ultimately become a franchise changing weekend for this team.
With six weeks left on the clock until the draft, we will have plenty of time to look to the potential future of the Flames, but for now, let’s take a look back on the past decade of the No. 9 overall pick to see what type of talent consistently falls to this selection.
Too early to tell - Nate Danielson (2023) and Matthew Savoie (2022)
The past two drafts have been very deep, and with the calibre of prospects that Matthew Savoie and Nate Danielson are, the Flames would be incredibly happy to have this level of talent in their organization. Both Danielson and Savoie were highly thought of prospects heading into the draft, with both putting up over a point per game in the WHL in the season since being drafted.
The Flames would end up landing Samuel Honzek a year ago after Danielson was drafted, and while he’s a solid prospect, he simply isn’t thought of in the same category as these two. Obviously, neither of these two have yet made it to the professional level, but when they do, the expectations are high, and whether or not they pan out, if the Flames can get a player with this type of hype, at the very least, it will give the fans optimism as the rebuild/re-tool continues.
Rising Stars - Dylan Guenther (2021), Marco Rossi (2020), Trevor Zegras (2019)
On a team that lacks a true star moving forward, the Calgary Flames would be delighted to land any player as exciting as these three, as all three are expected to be All-Star calibre players at some point in their career. Thus far it’s Zegras that has made the biggest impact at the NHL level with his incredible highlight plays, but it’s Gunther and Rossi that have the opportunity to become major stars at the top level.
With Marco Rossi potentially on the trade block, the Flames could look into not only adding a player at No. 9 overall but Rossi as well, but given their desire to retain most of their draft picks, this is highly unlikely to be the play. However, if the team can manage to add a player of this calibre, along with their other first-round pick and a potentially high one in 2025 as well, it would be a fantastic way to kick-start the rebuild that this team desperately needs to go through.
Bust - Vitali Kravstov (2018)
Unfortunately, no spot in any draft is immune to busts, and at the No. 9 pick, there’s been no bigger bust in recent times than Russian winger Vitali Kravstov, who was drafted by the New York Rangers back in 2018. While he had all of the skill on the ice to be a solid player, it was seemingly non-stop issues away from the ice for Kravstov, and after a trade to the Canucks didn’t help, he headed back to the KHL where he remains.
Despite being drafted six years ago, Kravstov is still just 24-years of age and can certainly turn it around, but for a team getting production from Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil among others, they would have loved for Kravstov to turn into a genuine middle-six winger. The Flames are familiar with first-round picks that don’t quite turn out at the NHL level, but with this top pick they can’t miss, so after nine solid pickups at this position and just one bust, they have great odds at landing a future key piece of their lineup.
Solid NHLer - Michael Rasmussen (2017)
While plenty of players bust in the draft and others boom, there’s also another alternative; a nice, solid NHLer that can contribute in the bottom six, and that’s exactly what Michael Rasmussen has done thus far. The 25-year old Center has 119 points in 312 NHL games played thus far, and while his potential remains as a bottom-six player at the top level, the Flames could do better, but they could also do much, much worse.
The first round of this years draft has plenty of talent, and with the Flames holding Vancouver’s pick, which we now know will be No. 28, that is the position the team would love to target someone like Rasmussen. Ultimately, Detroit likely aren’t unhappy with the pick, and while you want to swing for a star at No. 9 overall, if you fall short and land a solid contributor, there’s plenty of positives to be found in that.
Veteran Stars - Mikhail Sergachev (2016), Timo Meier (2015), Nikolaj Ehlers (2014)
Now this is what the Flames will be hoping for when they hit the clock, as any comparison to these three players would certainly be a homerun for Calgary in the 2024 NHL Draft. Nik Ehlers, Timo Meier and Mikhail Sergachev have all been consistent pieces for their teams over the better part of the last eight years, and while Meier has been traded and Ehlers may be moved soon, they continue to play well for their teams.
Sure, none of these players rank in the top 2-3 in their position in the NHL, but those type of players can come from anywhere, as the Flames found out when the greatest player in recent franchise memory was selected in the fourth round. Ultimately, the Flames are expected to have their choice of several talented players when they are on the clock, and if they hit on it right, they would absolutely love to land players the calibre of any of these three players.