The 2015 NHL Draft class has been big for the Flames
By Ryan Pike
4 years agoWay, way back in the early 2000s, the Calgary Flames were not particularly good at drafting and development. Heck, they weren’t particularly great at it when the 2000s turned into the 2010s. But quietly, the 2015 NHL Draft has emerged as one of the most productive crops for the Flames in decades.
The 2015 class, at a glance
At the time, the 2015 NHL Draft seemed like it would be notable for the Flames in terms of the picks they didn’t make. Due to Brad Treliving’s trade deadline wheeling and dealing, the Flames had a ton of picks available. They entered the weekend with nine picks – they ended up making five after a couple of trades.
- They sent their first rounder (15th overall) and two seconds (their own, 45th overall, and Washington’s, 52nd overall) to the Boston Bruins for Dougie Hamilton.
- They sent two third rounders (their own, 76th overall, and Washington’s, 83rd overall) to the Arizona Coyotes for the 60th overall pick.
But the team’s five picks have turned out to be pretty impressive overall:
- Second round, 53rd overall (Vancouver’s pick), they selected Rasmus Andersson.
- Second round, 60th overall (Arizona’s pick), they selected Oliver Kylington
- Fifth round, 136th overall, they selected Pavel Karnaukhov
- Sixth round, 166th overall, they selected Andrew Mangiapane
- Seventh round, 196th overall, they selected Riley Bruce
(They traded their fourth round pick to San Jose for T.J. Galiardi a couple summers prior.)
Post-draft success
First, the picks that didn’t pan out. Karnaukhov left the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen and returned to Russia, dissatisfied with his playing time. Bruce never really matured as an offensive player, combining for two whole goals in his first two post-draft seasons – shockingly, the Flames didn’t extend him a contract offer.
Kylington, Andersson and Mangiapane all signed entry level deals with the Flames and went pro with the organization. All three worked their way up through the minor league system. All three made it to the NHL.
All three began the season on the Flames’ NHL roster and took their twirls before 19,000 Saddledome fans. Barring something going off the rails, it seems likely that the Flames will produce multiple regulars players from a draft for the first time in ages.
Putting it in perspective
Let’s set the parameters fairly simply: a team gets a “regular player” if they draft somebody who plays 200 games for the franchise. That’s it. Right now, Andersson (94), Mangiapane (58) and Kylington (42) are well on their way. Andersson’s almost a lock to make it and it seems pretty likely that at least one of Kylington or Mangiapane will hit 200 games with the Flames.
So how many other drafts produced multiple 200+ game Flames? A few, but not many recently – players marked with an asterisk were first rounders.
- 2008: Lance Bouma & TJ Brodie
- 2002: Eric Nystrom* & Matthew Lombardi
- 2001: Chuck Kobasew* & David Moss
- 1996: Derek Morris* & Toni Lydman
- 1995: Denis Gauthier* & Clarke Wilm
- 1984: Gary Roberts*, Paul Ranheim & Gary Suter
- 1982: Dan Quinn* & Sergei Makarov
- 1981: Al MacInnis* & Mike Vernon
- 1980: Kevin LaValee, Steve Konroyd & Hakan Loob
- 1979: Paul Reinhart*, Tim Hunter & Jim Peplinski
- 1976: Dave Shand* & Kent Nilsson
- 1975: Richard Mulhern* & Willi Plett
- 1974: Guy Chouinard & Pat Ribble
- 1973: Tom Lysiak*, Eric Vail & Ken Houston
Historically, the Flames merely have whiffed on their first rounders. In 2015, the Flames traded their first rounder for Hamilton and still might have managed to produce multiple NHL regulars. That’s pretty impressive.
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