The 2011 NHL Draft was an interesting time for the Calgary Flames, serving as the first draft under the direction of new general manager Jay Feaster, who had been promoted from assistant GM the previous December.

Feaster attempted to put his stamp on the Flames by placing an emphasis on drafting and development, and being really explicit with the scouting team to focus on building out the draft list with the right attributes, then “drafting the list.” The 2011 was the first test of that philosophy.

So what do the Flames have to show for the 2011 draft?

The Flames made five selections in 2011. Three of them were their original draft choices, while two were acquired from the New York Rangers in exchange for Tim Erixon. The son of former Rangers winger Jan Erixon, Tim Erixon apparently had a desire to play for his dad’s old team despite being drafted by the Flames, so Feaster swung a trade to land the Flames a pair of second-round picks and forward Roman Horak in exchange for Erixon and a fifth-round pick.

In the first round, 13th overall, the Flames selected Swiss forward Sven Baertschi. Baertschi famously joined the Flames on an emergency recall in 2011-12 and scored three goals in five games, but then just couldn’t recapture that magic in subsequent seasons. He played 66 games for the Flames before being traded to Vancouver for a second-round pick in 2015, which was used to select Rasmus Andersson, who has played 536 games (and counting) for the red team.

In the second round, 45th overall, with the first of the two picks from the Rangers, the Flames selected forward Markus Granlund. The brother of Mikael Granlund, Markus Granlund couldn’t quite find a consistent role with the Flames. He was traded to Vancouver in exchange for Hunter Shinkaruk, who played 14 games with the Flames. Shinkaruk was then flipped to Montreal for Kerby Rychel, who played twice for the Flames and left as a free agent.

In the second round, 57th overall, with the second of the two picks from the Rangers (originally Washington’s), the Flames selected blueliner Tyler Wotherspoon. Wotherspoon played 30 games for the Flames before leaving as a free agent.

In the fourth round, 104th overall, the Flames selected forward Johnny Gaudreau. One of the smallest and youngest players available in the 2011 draft class, Gaudreau ended up being one of the better success stories of the draft. He played 602 games for the Flames before leaving in free agency. He was, quite simply, one of the best draft selections in franchise history.

In the sixth round, 164th overall, the Flames selected goaltender Laurent Brossoit. He was subsequently traded, along with Horak, to Edmonton in exchange for Ladislav Smid and Olivier Roy. Smid played 109 games for the Flames before departing.

The Flames traded their own second-round pick to Toronto as part of a trade that sent Wayne Primeau and the pick to the Leafs in exchange for Anton Stralman, Colin Stuart and a 2012 seventh-round pick. Stralman was flipped to Columbus for a third-rounder use draft Max Reinhart, who played 23 games. The seventh-rounder was used to select Matthew DeBlouw.

Their third-rounder was traded to Edmonton, along with Aaron Johnson, in exchange for Steve Staios. Staios played 57 games for the Flames before leaving as a free agent.

Their fifth-rounder went to the Rangers in the aforementioned Erixon trade.

Their seventh-rounder was traded to Atlanta in exchange for Freddie Modin. Modin played four games for the Flames.

All-told, the 2011 draft was one of the better bits of asset management by the Flames in years. Yeah, their first and second-rounders weren’t any great shakes – Baertschi just never seemed to find his two-way game to management’s sanctification. But Gaudreau was a home run draft choice, and arguably his success helped influence a shift towards involving the data side of things in drafting a bit more than happened before.

Overall, the players the Flames chose and the assets they acquired related to the 2011 class have accumulated 1,529 games for the Flames. And that number will creep up due to Andersson (and whatever assets the Flames end up getting if/when he’s traded).

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