Andrew Mangiapane highlights some strong Calgary Flames sixth-round drafting
By Ryan Pike
10 months agoBrought to you by odds site Betway!
When you get to the sixth round of the NHL Draft, the pickings can be slim. But if your team has scouts that are pretty good, they can find a gem occasionally. Heck, some teams have found gems regularly in the sixth-round.
The Calgary Flames own their sixth-round pick, 176th overall, in the 2023 NHL Draft.
Their last five picks
Here are the last five sixth-round selections for the Flames:
- In 2021, the Flames selected forward Jack Beck from the OHL’s Ottawa 67’s at 168th overall and forward Lucas Ciona from the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds at 173rd overall.
- In 2020, the Flames selected forward Rory Kerins from the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds at 174th overall.
- In 2018, the Flames selected forward Emilio Pettersen from the USHL’s Muskegon Lumberjacks at 167th overall.
- In 2017, the Flames selected forward D’Artagnan Joly from the QMJHL’s Baie-Comeau Drakkar at 171st overall.
The Flames traded their 2019 sixth-round selection to Carolina in the Eddie Lack trade. The Flames acquired the 2021 selection they used to select Jack Beck in a trade with Los Angeles. The Flames traded their 2022 sixth-round selection to Florida in the Sam Bennett trade.
Ciona, Kerins and Pettersen all signed entry-level contracts with the Flames; Ciona has yet to make his pro debut, Kerins largely spent 2022-23 in the ECHL, while Pettersen has become an AHL regular.
Beck and Joly did not sign deals with the Flames.
Some notable selections
17 past sixth-rounders have played NHL games, with 14 of them doing so with the Flames.
The best one is obviously Brett Hull (1984), who played just a season and change with the Flames before being traded to St. Louis. He became a legit goal-scoring legend and a Hockey Hall of Famer.
Beyond Hull, some really useful NHL players were selected:
- Ken Houston (1973) was a really reliable depth forward for many seasons.
- Clarke Wilm (1995) became a really effective checker and penalty killer.
- Joel Bouchard (1996) emerged as a really useful two-way blueliner.
- Curtis McElhinney (2002) won a pair of Stanley Cups with Tampa Bay and was arguably the least throwback backup netminder in the NHL.
- Adam Pardy (2004) was an effective depth defender.
Current roster player Andrew Mangiapane, who’s emerged as a very important Flames player, was a 2011 sixth-rounder.
Some notable misses
Honestly, it’s hard to really knock how the Flames have done in the sixth round. At that point finding players that fill out your minor league system with regularity is a win, and the Flames have done more than that. Heck, they haven’t even really experienced big gaps between effective picks, and they’ve found NHL players in the sixth round more frequently than in the fifth round.
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