Flames add some new faces in hockey operations

The Calgary Flames announced a slew of new hires in their hockey operations department on Thursday morning. Four brand-new hires were announced, as well as five individuals who were already part of the organization.

Joining the club are four scouts: one pro and three amateur.

Derek Clancey is the new pro scout. He joins the club after serving in a variety of pro scouting roles with the Pittsburgh Penguins since 2007, most recently director of pro personnel. Before scouting he also coached in minor pro, and played for about a decade professionally – including being teammates with Flames general manager Brad Treliving in 1994-95 on the Columbus Chill. He’s on the Stanley Cup twice from his time with Pittsburgh and has three rings – he didn’t get his name engraved during their first win while he was there.

David Åkerblom joins the club as a Swedish amateur scout, transitioning from a previous coaching role in the Brynäs organization.

Jason Taylor joins the club as a western Canadian amateur scout. He was previously a long-time agent with Newport Sports and before that he played pro for a decade, including a season with Treliving in Columbus. His father is former long-time pro Ted Taylor, who played in the NHL and WHA throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

Trevor Hanson joins the club as a New England amateur scout. He previously had that role with the Montreal Canadiens and Arizona, where he overlapped with Treliving’s last few seasons as assistant GM. He also worked as a scout previously with Saint John in the QMJHL.

Departing the organization are development staffer Ron Sutter, head European scout Hakan Loob (who retired), European scout Bobbie Hagelin, western Canada scout Reid Jackson and Quebec/New England scout Eric Soltys.

Five individuals previously in the organization have had their roles solidified.

As previously announced when the team’s coaching staff was shuffled, former assistant coach Ray Edwards is returning to hist old role as director of player development, while Martin Gelinas becomes a development coach.

Previous part-time Flames staffers Danielle Fujita (skating coach), Connor Rankin (video analyst) and Michael Charron (quantitative analyst) have had their roles upgraded to full-time. If Rankin sounds familiar, it’s because he played in the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen and in USports with Mount Royal University.

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