The Cupboard Wasn’t Bare

 

 

A common refrain around town is that Darryl Sutter had to rebuild the Flames prospect pool from scratch when he took over in 2003-04. The perception, I think, comes from the messainistic glow that infuses Sutter’s tenure, specifically when it comes to the early years. The truth of the matter is the Flames prospect pool wasn’t totally absent talent and, in fact, has yet to markedly improved.

Here is a list of players 24 years old or younger that were either drafted or acquired by prior regime(s) when Darryl Sutter was hired as the Flames coach in 2003:

Robyn Regehr (23)

Jordan Leopold (23)

Blair Betts (23)

Steve Montador (23)

Mike Commodore (23)

David Moss (22)

Oleg Saprykin (21)

Brent Krahn (20)

Andrei Taratukhin (20)

Chuck Kobasew (20)

Matthew Lombardi (20)

Eric Nystrom (19)

Curtis McElhinney (19)

After Regehr, there’s no real difference makers in the bunch. That said, all of these guys have gone on to have significant NHL careers with the exceptions of Krahn (injuries), McElhinney (backup) and Taratukhin. The latter was a guy who played professional hockey overseas before and after he appeared in a single season for Calgary’s AHL affiliate (during which he co-led the team in scoring). He was apparently interested in pursuing an NHL career before Sutter signed guys like Wayne Primeau and Mark Smith to fill the bottom end of the Flames roster. The young russian balked at the possiblity of another year filled with long bus rides to small towns and he bolted for the mother land. I have no idea if he would have made a capable NHLer, but his history and stats suggest he was at least in range.

All told, Sutter had 13 potential NHL players at 24 or under at his disposal when he took the reins. Some guys he kept, some guys he dealt, some guys he let walk. But this list makes a lie of the narrative that Sutter had to somehow completely re-stock a system that was totally bereft of NHL caliber talent. There’s a dearth of gamechangers, to be certain, but that remians true to this day.

Which isn’t to say that Sutter hasn’t done anything for the Flames development system. After the cup run and lock-out, Darryl pressed to re-establish a franchise owned and operated farm team, which culminated in the creation of the Omaha Knights (by and by the QC Flames, presently the Abbotsford heat). The returns on that venture on the whole have been substandard given the costs associated and the fact that the club has yet to really develop any prospect of note, but I respect the theory as sound.