What do the Flames have to show for their last 10 first rounders?

Until maybe a few seasons ago, the Calgary Flames were known as a team that was bad at drafting. Like, really bad. Like, couldn’t find a nut if they were a squirrel in a room full of nuts bad. Not only was their drafting not particularly great, their asset management with their first round picks – free assets that teams get from the league to help them stay competitive – was pretty awful as well.

So to take a look at Calgary’s drafting and asset management, here’s what the Flames have done with their last 10 original draft picks.

The Flames stayed put and drafted goalie Leland Irving. Irving was signed to an entry-level deal, puttered around the organization for a few seasons, and eventually left as a free agent without making much of an impact.

The Flames traded down to 24th overall with St. Louis and got an extra third round pick. They selected Mikael Backlund at 24th overall and defenseman John Negrin with the third round pick. Both were signed, both played pro in the organization. Negrin was later traded to Winnipeg for Akim Aliu, who left as a free agent after two seasons and seven NHL games.

The Flames traded their own pick (along with a 2009 second round pick) to Los Angeles in exchange for Mike Cammalleri and a 2008 second round pick. They selected Mitch Wahl with the extra pick. Cammalleri left as a free agent a year later, and Wahl was eventually traded away for a depth AHL prospect (who also left as a free agent).

In 2009, the Flames traded down to 23rd overall and got an additional third round pick (which they used to trade up later on). They selected Tim Erixon with their pick. When Erixon didn’t want to sign with the Flames, he was traded (with a fifth round pick) to the NY Rangers for two 2011 second round picks (Tyler Wotherspoon and Markus Granlund) and Roman Horak. Subsequently, they traded Horak to Edmonton along with Laurent Brossoit in exchange for Ladislav Smid and Oliver Roy, and Granlund to Vancouver for Hunter Shinkaruk.

Just prior to 2009’s trade deadline, the Flames traded a conditional pick (their choice of either 2009 or 2010) to Phoenix as part of a package (along with Matthew Lombardi and Brandon Prust) that landed them Olli Jokinen. The Flames elected to keep their 2009 pick. Less than a year later – before the Coyotes had used the 2010 first round pick – the Flames traded Jokinen away (with Prust, reacquired) to the Rangers for Chris Higgins and Ales Kotalik. Kotalik was sent to Buffalo in a swap that gained the Flames Chris Butler and Paul Byron, both of which left the organization (via free agency and waivers, respectively) for nothing.

The Flames (for once) didn’t trade down or trade their pick away. They selected Sven Baertschi at 13th overall. He was traded before the end of his entry-level deal to Vancouver in exchange for a 2015 second round pick (used to select Rasmus Andersson).

The 2012 Draft was a fairly, uh, contentious one. The Flames traded down from 14th to 21st overall with Buffalo, gaining a second round pick in the process. They drafted Mark Jankowski at 21st overall and Patrick Sieloff with the resultant second round pick. Both players have been signed to entry-level deals, and Sieloff even scored a goal in the NHL.

The Flames stayed put at sixth overall, selecting the consensus “best player available” Sean Monahan. Monahan signed an entry-level deal and joined the Flames the season after his selection, and has generally been a damn fine young NHL center.

For the second season in a row, the Flames kept their original pick. For the second season in a row, they took the “best player available” at their pick. This time, they grabbed Sam Bennett from Kingston. Like Monahan before him, Bennett signed almost immediately and spent time in the NHL in his first post-draft season.

The Flames traded their pick to Boston (along with a pair of second rounders) for Dougie Hamilton, who they promptly signed to a long-term extension.

A: Mikael Backlund, Tyler Wotherspoon, Hunter Shinkaruk, Ladislav Smid, Rasmus Andersson, Mark Jankowski, Patrick Sieloff, Sean Monahan, Sam Bennett and Dougie Hamilton.

That’s kind of impressive when you recall that they have nothing to show for the 2006, 2008 and 2010 first round picks (and were just dreadful for several years preceding this time period). That said, we’re going to be doing follow-up pieces comparing Calgary’s haul from their past 10 first rounds to Edmonton and Vancouver to provide a couple comparisons.